
Court Hears NY Gay Wedding Case
NEW YORK, NY -- Gay and lesbian couples seeking the
right to marry in New York hit another obstacle Tuesday as New York's
appeals court appeared to side with the city lawyers who argued that the
issue of gay marriage should be decided by the legislature and not by the
courts.
Lambda Legal Defense Fund lawyer Susan Sommer argued that gay marriage is
a constitutional issue, not merely a legislative one. "There is a
fundamental right to marry the person of your choice," Sommer said.
However, at least three members of the five-judge panel of the Appellate
Division seemed skeptical to her arguments.
The dispute occurred after Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan
issued a ruling in February that a state law barring same-sex marriage was
unconstitutional. Ling-Cohan ruled that the city clerk could not refuse to
issue a marriage license to a couple just because they are of the same
sex.
"Under both the federal and New York state constitutions, it is beyond
question that the right to liberty, and the concomitant right to privacy,
extend to protect marriage," Ling-Cohan wrote.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg appealed the decision, telling the
gay and lesbian community that the constitutional status of marriage had
to be determined by the State's highest court, the New York Court of
Appeals. [Back to News Headlines]
|