October 24, 2006
New Jersey Same-Sex Marriage Decision Tomorrow
Per the NJ State Supreme Court:
Expected Supreme Court Opinions for Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - Expected to be released at 3:00 p.m.A-68-05 Mark Lewis, et al. v. Gwendolyn L. Harris et al.
(Mercer County & Statewide)
Argued 2/15/06
Does the New Jersey Constitution require the State to allow same-sex couples to marry?
In '02, two gay couples sued New Jersey for denying them the right to marry. The Supreme Court finally heard oral arguments in Feb. Consider the political repercussions if NJ becomes the second state in the country to legalize gay marriage.
"The New Jersey Supreme Court is famously assertive and famously liberal," one court watcher e-mailed us. " On the other hand, they have also been accused of being attuned to political undercurrents -- think of the Torricelli decision."
Gay rights advocates are fairly optimistic about the case on its merits but worry about the backlash if the court legalizes marriage for same-sex couples.
In November, voters in eight states will have the chance to ban same-sex marriage. So far this year, courts in CA, NY and WA have upheld bans on gay marriage. A Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) to the Constitution failed in the Senate.
It's fast becoming an article of faith among conservative political strategists that these marriage amendments do not, in fact, bring legions of angry conservatives to the polls. But without a doubt, if NJ legalizes gay marriage, many Republican incumbents will make sure to ask their Democratic incumbents whether they agree with the decision.
In TN and VA, Democrats Ford and Webb say they oppose gay marriage. Webb supports civil unions, though, and he plans to vote against Virginia's so-called "Super-DOMA," which, according to gay rights activists and some legal scholars, would make it harder to establish civil union-type arrangements. Ford supports the Tennessee constitutional amendment. He also supported the FMA in the House. [MARC AMBINDER]
Posted at 04:24 PM
Comments
good afternoon
salim | 02.12.08 10:08 AM
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gays should b banned from the united states for ever
harry johnson | 03.27.08 11:22 AM
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Thank God for America! Thank God for California's recent marriage rights decision for gays!
Love reigns greater
Than any kind of hater.
Gary Rader | 06.17.08 08:13 PM
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