The idea that marriage can only be defined as a union between one man and one woman is being challenged in the New Jersey Supreme Court as seven same-sex couples await the Court's decision, which could legalize gay marriage in the state. The Court heard opening arguments on Wednesday from the state and Lambda Legal, the gay civil-rights organization which first filed the suit in 2002. Lambda Legal originally sued the state to redefine the legal definition of marriage arguing that it violates the New Jersey constitution. The case was appealed at both the trial court and middle appellate court levels. The lower courts ruled there is no statutory constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry. Courtney Joslin, staff attorney for the National Center for Lesbian Rights said the denial of same-sex marriage breaches personal liberties, as dictated by the state of New Jersey. "The couples in the case are seeking the right to marry," she said. "The rejection of that violates the New Jersey Constitution," Massachusetts is the only state that has legalized same-sex marriage. California, Connecticut and Vermont have different legal partnerships that allow same-sex couples almost the same rights as heterosexual married couples. Currently, New Jersey has a domestic partnership, which is not the most expanded type of registry. The partnership does not provide the same rights to same-sex couples' children as children born to heterosexual couples, Joslin said. "It is less protective than most," she said. All states' laws regarding gay relationships, including Massachusetts, do not include more than 1,000 federal rights and protection laws given to heterosexual married couples. These benefits include the right to visit a spouse in a hospital, pass on property and access health records. Chris Stoval, Alliance Defense Fund senior legal counsel for the conservative Marriage Litigation Center, said more than 20 amicus curiae, "friend of the court," briefs were filed for the parties of the case by various organizations. "Marriage laws exist for reasons such as the protection of children," he said. The idea that heterosexual couples create children to join together and create a family has been accepted for thousands of years as a basis for marriage laws, Stovall said. For society the purpose of the basic structure of marriage, he said, has been to encourage men and women to run stable houses to raise children in. Stovall said he believes the best environment to raise children in is with a mother and father, based on collective wisdom of social science. ADF hopes the Supreme Court will examine the questions legally and declare the laws to be constitutional, he said. "Marriage is ultimately about encouraging procreation," Stovall said. "When men and women get together in a stable society, they will inevitably procreate." That has historically been the basis for marriage in society, he said. Lan Deo, president of the conservative New Jersey Family Policy Council, said the organization filed two briefs in Wednesday's case. "We believe marriage should be between only one man and one woman," he said. "No variations should be included. "If we start to redefine marriage, then we are totally dismantling the term marriage that has been in effect for thousands of years." Many same-sex couples claim they are being denied the right to marry, which is not true, he said, everyone has the right to marry with the current requirements that exist. "Technically, they are not denied that right," Deo said. "If the Court overturns 1000 years of understanding marriage between one man and one woman, we will seek every remedy available which may include a state constitution amendment." Felice Londa, private attorney for Garden State Equality, a gay civil rights organization, said no alternative for marriage exists and separate cannot be equal. When same-sex couples are being denied the right to a legal marriage, it is like saying they are not good enough to marry, she said. New Jersey currently has a Domestic Partnership Act, which acknowledges the importance of same-sex unions, according to an amicus brief filed by the New Jersey State Bar Association. However, by its own terms, the DPA limits the obligations of domestic partners to each other. Londa said she knew of a gay couple in a DPA where one partner fell ill and was rushed to the hospital. When she arrived, she was too ill to speak and doctors and nurses would not allow her partner to speak for her because they were not married. The hospital staff was unfamiliar with the rights afforded through a DPA, therefore, the doctors and nurses required that they spoke to a family member. Instead of the partner being able to spend time and comfort her ill partner in the hospital, she was barred from the room. "The fact is, they weren't married," she said. The decision of whether or not to legalize gay marriage in the state of New Jersey will not be reached for weeks, if not, months, Stovall said.
NJ lawmakers consider same-sex marriage law
Published: Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Updated: Sunday, July 19, 2009
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