Section One
Friday,
March 18, 2005
Volume 33,
Issue 11
Fri, Mar 12, 2010
IN THE SGN
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California court says same-sex couples must be allowed to marry |
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| California court says same-sex couples must be allowed to marry | ||
| Lambda Legal says ruling is powerful, historic and legally solid
SAN FRANCISCO A California state trial court ruled Monday that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry, in a decision that Lambda Legal called a historic breakthrough for couples who need the protections and security marriage provides. In a 27-page decision issued in San Francisco, California Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer said that Lesbian and Gay peoples basic rights are violated if they arent allowed to marry. The decision said the California Constitution requires same-sex couples to have equal access to marriage, and that the couples represented by Lambda Legal, NCLR and the ACLU must be given marriage licenses. Were still a little stunned but were overjoyed, said Lancy Woo, a 38-year-old lifelong San Francisco resident who is the lead plaintiff in the case with her partner, Cristy Chung, 40. Our six-year-old daughter, Olivia, is just beginning to understand how the world works, and we cant wait to talk with her about todays ruling. Weve always taught that her that our family is based on love, just like other families, and this ruling confirms that our family shouldnt be treated any differently by our government. This is a historic ruling that says the freedoms guaranteed in our states Constitution belong to all Californians, said Jennifer C. Pizer, Senior Counsel for Lambda Legal in the Western Regional Office and its lead attorney on the case. The court recognized that same-sex couples arent treated equally under the law unless we can marry. This ruling says that same-sex couples deserve all the protections and security marriage provides and that were entitled to get them the same way straight couples do. In Mondays ruling, Judge Kramer said California laws that prohibit same-sex couples from marrying violate peoples fundamental rights. Simply put, same-sex marriage cannot be prohibited solely because California has always done so before, Kramers ruling said. The decision also said, The idea that marriage-like rights without marriage is adequate smacks of a concept long rejected by the courts: separate but equal. Judge Kramer will hold a hearing on March 30 to finalize the ruling, and the state can then appeal the case. Appointed by Republican Governor Pete Wilson in 1996, Judge Kramer has handled both civil and criminal cases in California Superior Court. Before becoming a jurist, Judge Kramer specialized in banking litigation for 25 years. Five of the 12 couples who are plaintiffs in the case had appointments to be married in San Francisco last year but were turned away after the state Supreme Court ordered the city to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. From February 12 to March 11, 2004, the City of San Francisco issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples after Mayor Gavin Newsom determined that the state Constitutions guarantees of equality and due process required him to issue licenses to same-sex couples. The states high court eventually ruled that Newsom did not have the authority to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples before the state courts had reviewed the constitutionality of the law limiting licenses to different-sex couples only, and invalidated the marriages of over 4,000 same-sex couples. Its particularly rewarding to get this ruling just a year after thousands of same-sex couples came forward and took their marriage vows in San Francisco. Right after officials stopped issuing marriage licenses in San Francisco last March, we filed this lawsuit to resolve this once and for all for Lesbian and Gay couples statewide, Pizer said. We sought full marriage - nothing more and nothing less - and thats what we got with this ruling. This is a powerful decision thats legally solid and well-grounded in the California Constitution. Lambda Legal, NCLR and the ACLU filed the lawsuit last year seeking marriage licenses for same-sex couples in California, arguing that denying marriage to same-sex couples violates the state Constitutions guarantees of equality, liberty, privacy and expression for all Californians. In addition to a diverse group of Lesbian and Gay couples, the case includes Our Families Coalition and Equality California, agencies that educate the public about why same-sex couples need equal freedom to get married. The case was the first of its kind to be filed in California since the Massachusetts high court ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to full marriage under that states Constitution. Last month, Lambda Legal won a similar trial court decision in New York which says that states Constitution requires New York City to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The city appealed that ruling directly to New Yorks highest court. Lambda Legal is awaiting a decision from a mid-level state appeals court in New Jersey in a similar case seeking marriage equality. On March 8, Lambda Legal and the Northwest Womens Law Center argued at the Washington Supreme Court in a case seeking marriage for same-sex couples under the Washington Constitution; the trial court in that case ruled last summer that Gay couples must be allowed to marry. Lambda Legal news release |
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