02.17.06
New York Appeals Court Rejects Gays’ Right To Wed
N.Y. appeals court rejects gays’ right to wed
Christopher Curtis, PlanetOut Network
Justices rule unanimously that the Legislature is the place to end the marriage ban, while activists gear up for a higher-court fight.
A midlevel state appeals court ruled unanimously Thursday against same-sex couples seeking to be married in New York.
The Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court upheld the state’s marriage law as constitutional.
“In our opinion, the Legislature is where the changes to marriage” should be addressed, Justice John Lahtinen wrote in the 5-0 decision.
“We are disappointed, but not surprised, that the appellate court in the Third Department has ruled that New York State can continue to deny our families the protections of marriage,” said Alan Van Capelle, executive director for Empire State Pride Agenda.
Joe Tarver, spokesman for the gay rights group, said the state’s highest court is already considering the legality of same-sex marriage based on the Hernandez v. Robles case.
In that case, the state Supreme Court’s Appellate Division in New York City reversed a lower court decision that would have permitted same-sex couples to wed in New York City.
“This issue is already before the state’s highest court, and briefings are already under way,” Tarver said. “Whether the high court takes these cases and rolls them into one is up to them, but the fact of the matter, the issue, is already there. We are preparing for a decision from the high court as early as this summer.”
Members of Pride in the Pulpit, a program of the Empire State Pride Agenda Foundation that unites people of faith with the LGBT community, denounced the ruling.
“I will continue to pray for an end to this injustice and will reach out with care and compassion to everyone who is being denied fair treatment under the law based on fear and bias,” said the Rev. Steve Clunn, pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Schenectady.
Added Rabbi Don Cashman of B’nai Sholom Reform Congregation in Albany: “I’m disappointed that the time has not yet come that New York, the great beacon of freedom, will extend the legal right of marriage to our brothers, sisters and friends who are in same-sex relationships.”