Religions > Bible > Washington to be next state to legalize gay marriage
| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"Bill Baker" |
| Date: |
11 Mar 2005 09:42:21 AM |
| Object: |
Washington to be next state to legalize gay marriage |
Washington Supreme Court Hears Gay Marriage Case
http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/03/030805waCourt.htm
(Olympia, Washington) The Supreme Court of Washington today began hearing
arguments in case calling for gays and lesbians to be allowed to marry.
The case hinges on how nine Supreme Court justices interpret 34 words in
the state constitution.
The key passage is Article 1, Section 12, which says, "No law shall be
passed granting to any citizen ... privileges or immunities which upon the
same terms shall not equally belong to all citizens."
"Our clients and same-sex couples throughout Washington have waited a long
time for this day," Lambda lawyer Jennifer C. Pizer told reporters outside
the courthouse.
"Lesbian and gay couples need the protections only marriage provides, and
that's what we're asking for today. This court has a solid track record of
treating same-sex couples equally. A ruling in favor of our clients would
be in line with the Washington Constitution and in line with recent
rulings from this court."
Nearby, opponents of same-sex marriage held a "Mayday for Marriage Rally".
In a historic ruling last August, King County Superior Court Judge William
Downing said that the Washington State Constitution guarantees basic
rights to lesbian and gay people -- and that those rights are violated by
a state law prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying. (story)
The case involved eight same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses
in King County (story)
Downing's ruling went on to say that the couples must be given marriage
licenses.
One month later, a court in Thurston County ruled similarly.
Both decisions were appealed to the Washington State Supreme Court.
The case is the first of its kind to be heard in a state supreme court
since the Massachusetts high court ruled that same-sex couples are
entitled to full marriage under that state's Constitution. (story)
A decision in the case is not expected for several months.
Similar cases are scheduled to be heard in the highest courts in New York
and New Jersey later this year. Another case is working its way to the
California Supreme Court.
As the Washington supreme Court prepared the hear the case the Williams
Project, a national think tank at UCLA School of Law, released a study on
same-sex couples in the state. According to the study, approximately
16,000 Washington householders identified themselves as living with a
same-sex partner in the 2000 Census. Washington has the third highest
percentage of same-sex households as a percent of all households among the
fifty states.
Approximately 24% of same-sex couples in Washington are raising children
under 18 - some 7,400 children. Over 30% of these children are
children-of-color, while only 21% of the children of married parents are
non-white. Compared to married parents, same-sex couples with children
have fewer economic resources to care for their children. Same-sex
parents have lower household incomes, lower home ownership rates, and
lower levels of education than married parents.
" The picture of same-sex couples raising children presented by Census
2000 is quite different than the popular misconception that gay men are
affluent, White and childless," says Brad Sears, the Executive Director of
the Williams Project and co-author of the study .
" People in same-sex couples look like Washingtonians generally.
Individuals in same-sex couples raising children, however, don't fare as
well: they are less affluent, more racially and ethnically diverse, and
hence particularly in need of the legal protections that marriage would
provide ."
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