New Jersey Supreme
Court to hear
'gay marriage' case
in Feb.
By Baptist Press
Staff from the Web, January 6, 2006
TRENTON, N.J. (BP) -- The New
Jersey Supreme Court -- one of the more liberal state high courts in the land --
will hear a case Feb. 15 that could result in the legalization of "gay marriage"
in the Garden State, the court announced Jan. 6.
The case could provide homosexual activists another major victory in the
Northeast. In May 2004, Massachusetts became the first American state to
legalize "gay marriage," following a landmark ruling by that state's high court.
Another state, Washington, is awaiting a "gay marriage" ruling from its state
high court. The Washington state Supreme Court heard oral argument in
March 2004, and leaders on both sides of the issue say they expect a ruling any
week now.
If homosexual activists are successful, then three American states will have
legalized "gay marriage" by the end of 2006.
The homosexual group Lambda Legal filed the New Jersey lawsuit.
“For a case seeking to end the government’s ban on marriage, it is fitting that
we will be standing before the state’s highest court during the week of
Lincoln’s Birthday, which reminds us of how important the principle of equality
is to our nation and Valentine’s Day, which is about love,” Lambda Legal's David
Buckel said in a statement.
The New Jersey Supreme Court has sided with homosexual activists before.
In 1999 it ruled that the Boy Scouts could not prevent homosexuals from becoming
troop leaders -- a decision that eventually was overturned by the U.S. Supreme
Court.
Lambda Legal already has lost twice in New Jersey -- at the trial court level
and appeals court level. The appeals court loss came on a 2-1 decision
last June.
"Plaintiffs' claim of a constitutional right to state recognition of marriage
between members of the same sex has no foundation in the text of the [New
Jersey] Constitution, this Nation's history and traditions or contemporary
standards of liberty and justice," appeals court Judge Stephen Skillman wrote
for the majority.
Skillman further wrote: "The personal views of the members of the court
concerning 'the wisdom or policy of a statute' should play no part in
determining its constitutionality. A constitution is not simply an empty
receptacle into which judges may pour their own conceptions of evolving social
mores."
The case is Lewis v. Harris.
Conservatives in New Jersey are pushing for a constitutional marriage amendment
but face a tough battle in the left-leaning legislature.
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