SAN FRANCISCO — For almost four hours on Tuesday, the California Supreme Court heard arguments in the most important same-sex marriage case since Massachusetts’s highest court allowed gay and lesbian couples to marry there more than four years ago.
But it took only 15 minutes for Justice Carlos R. Moreno to identify the central question. “Doesn’t this just boil down to the use of the m-word — marriage?” he asked.
California has a domestic partnership law that gives gay and lesbian couples nearly all of the legal rights and responsibilities that come with heterosexual marriage. That leaves open the question posed by Justice Moreno, one freighted with history, symbolism and emotion: What is so special about marriage?
Lawyers for the same-sex couples seeking the right to marry said that marriage was a unique expression of love and commitment and that calling their unions anything else was a form of second-class citizenship.
Lawyers for groups opposed to same-sex marriage agreed that marriage was a fundamental bond with ancient roots, but they drew the opposite conclusion, saying that allowing same-sex couples to marry would undermine the institution of marriage itself.Lawyers for the state also opposed a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, but they took a markedly more modest and even tentative approach. The Legislature, they said, may parcel out nomenclature in this area largely as it wishes, and the matter is for the political process rather than the courts.
“Realistically, you have to give society time to adjust,” said Christopher E. Krueger, a lawyer with the state attorney general’s office.
The state ban on same-sex marriage is based on a law enacted by the Legislature in 1977 and a statewide initiative approved by the voters in 2000 that defined marriage as being only between a man and a woman. The question before the court is whether those laws violate provisions of the state Constitution protecting equality and fundamental rights. continued...
For a great short summary, listen to NPR's California Justices Set
to Weigh Gay Marriage by Sarah Varney [3min. 56sec.]
1 comment:
Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the Câmera Digital, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://camera-fotografica-digital.blogspot.com. A hug.
Post a Comment