| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"George Washington Hayduke" |
| Date: |
08 Sep 2004 09:50:14 PM |
| Object: |
Wash. State Court Says Gay Marriage Is Legal |
Wash. State Court Says Gay Marriage Is Legal
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=6173253
A second Washington state judge ruled on Tuesday that the state's ban on
gay marriage is unconstitutional, saying that the administration cannot
limit the legal benefits of marriage to heterosexual couples.
The decision by Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks will
be forwarded to the State Supreme Court, where it is expected to be
combined with another county case where the judge also ruled that the
state's ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the case on behalf of
11 gay and lesbian couples, hailed the decision, calling it an
"important victory for fairness and equality."
Judge Hicks said that the state's law limiting marriage to "a civil
contract between a male and female" was unconstitutional since "one part
of the community cannot be given a privilege that is not given to other
members of the community unless the government can demonstrate how that
discrimination furthers the benefit of the entire community."
"For the government this is not a moral issue. It is a legal issue,"
Hicks wrote in his opinion.
Support for allowing gay weddings, including moves in California, New
York state, New Jersey, New Mexico and Massachusetts, has touched off a
vigorous national debate and spurred President Bush to call for a
constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
"Two consenting adults who wish to enter into the commitment of marriage
cannot be denied its benefits simply because they are of the same
gender," Kathleen Taylor, Executive Director of the ACLU of Washington,
said in a statement.
Local religious groups, including Washington Evangelicals for
Responsible Government, have denounced the rulings and said they expect
the state's top court to uphold the law.
Last month, King County Superior Court Judge William Downing declared
that a state law limiting marriage to men and women was unconstitutional.
+--+
|George W. Bush is a deserter: http://www.glcq.com/bush_at_arpc1.htm
|Fascist War Criminal to stand trial: http://www.PeopleJudgeBush.org
|Hezbollah endorses George W. Bush: http://www.hezbollah.ws/
+--+
.
|
|
| User: "Gregory Gadow" |
|
| Title: Re: Wash. State Court Says Gay Marriage Is Legal |
09 Sep 2004 08:46:55 AM |
|
|
George Washington Hayduke wrote:
Wash. State Court Says Gay Marriage Is Legal
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=6173253
A second Washington state judge ruled on Tuesday that the state's ban on
gay marriage is unconstitutional, saying that the administration cannot
limit the legal benefits of marriage to heterosexual couples.
That is not to say that equal marriage is legal in Washington. No licenses
will be handed out until the state Supreme Court has issued the same opinion.
--
Gregory Gadow
techbear@serv.net
http://www.serv.net/~techbear
"The accumulation of all power, legislative,
executive, and judicial in the same hands...
may justly be pronounced the very definition
of tyranny."
- James Madison, _The Federalist_, #47
.
|
|
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
