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The New York Times
Opinion
2 Sue to Void Ban on
Same-Sex Marriage
By DAN FROSCH,
nytimes.com on the Web, February 14, 2008
DENVER — A lesbian couple from
nearby Englewood are seeking to overturn Colorado’s constitutional ban on
same-sex marriage, in what is thought to be the first challenge to the 2006
ballot initiative that established it.
The couple, Kate Burns and Sheila Schroeder, appeared Wednesday before Judge
James B. Breese of Denver County Court to face a trespassing charge stemming
from a brief sit-in they staged on Sept. 24, when, accompanied by their
minister, they were refused a marriage license from the Denver Clerk and
Recorder Office. Judge Breese set a trial date of April 14.
Earlier this week, Ms. Burns and Ms. Schroeder filed a motion with the court
claiming that Amendment 43, which defines marriage as the union of one man and
one woman, violated their constitutional right to equal protection. The
measure was approved by 55 percent of Colorado voters 15 months ago.
“The American system does not allow for the tyranny of the majority,” said the
couple’s lawyer, Mari Newman. “Marriage is a fundamental right, which
should be for all Coloradans, not just some Coloradans.”
Nine states and the District of Columbia afford a variety of benefits to gay and
lesbian couples, but only Massachusetts allows same-sex marriage.
Twenty-six states have constitutional bans on same-sex marriage, whose legality
is also being weighed by the highest courts of Connecticut, California and Iowa.
Ms. Burns, 44, who works for the University of Denver’s digital media studies
program, and Ms. Schroeder, 43, an assistant professor of mass communications
and journalism studies at the university, have been together five years. A
hearing on their motion to overturn Colorado’s ban is scheduled for Feb. 28.
The couple say their case is emblematic of discrimination faced by gay and
lesbian couples throughout the country.
“We are planning on sticking with this until the law has changed,” Ms. Burns
said. “When you see something unjust, you want to change it.”
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