NY Court Rejects Marriage Equality

The New York Court of Appeals ruled this morning that the state Constitution does not guarantee a right to marriage for same-sex couples, and that state lawmakers, not the courts, are better suited to consider the issue.

Related
The Ruling, read it and weep http://www.courts.state.ny.us/ctapps...ul06/jul06.htm

In a 4-2 decision that has been eagerly awaited by both sides in the gay marriage debate, the court, the highest in the state's judiciary system, concluded that the legislature could have "a rational basis" for limiting marriage to heterosexual couples, in large part because of their ability to bear children.

The court did not rule that the state should not or could not allow gay marriages, only that the state constitution did not require that it allow them.

The decision called the idea of same-sex marriage "a relatively new one" and said that for most of history, society has conceived of marriage exclusively as a bond between a man and a woman. "A court should not lightly conclude that everyone who held this belief was irrational, ignorant or bigoted," the decision stated.

"There are at least two grounds that rationally support the limitation on marriage that the legislature has enacted," the court said, "both of which are derived from the undisputed assumption that marriage is important to the welfare of children."

First, the court said, marriage could be preserved as an "inducement" to heterosexual couples to remain in stable, long-term, and child-bearing relationships. Second, lawmakers could rationally conclude that "it is better, other things being equal, for children to grow up with both a mother and the father."

"Intuition and experience suggest that a child benefits from having before his or her eyes, every day, living models of what both a man and a woman are like," the court said.

The court rejected parallels to laws barring interracial marriage, and the claim that sheer homophobia lay at the root of current law. "Plaintiffs have not persuaded us that this long-accepted restriction is a wholly irrational one, based solely on ignorance and prejudice against homosexuals," the court said.

One state, Massachusetts, currently permits gay marriage.

I was listening to Sirius radio this morning for the OutQ in The Morning show on the gay station, and they broke in with this news. The host, a New York Native, was so angry and digusted by the decision, I almost thought he was just going to walk out of the studio...

So not only are they against gay marriage, but essentially any marriage where no children are produced. So what about couples that adopt? Or couples that get married in their 60s or 70s? Those marriages don't produce natural offspring either, and I guess should not be recognized according to this ruling.

Another sad day for the gay commuity in this country.