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Email: "New Jersey Supreme Court Could Legalize Gay “Marriage” This Week"

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BY LifeSiteNews.com By Terry VanderheydenTRENTON, February 13, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The New Jersey Supreme Court could legalize same-sex “marriage” for the state as early as Wednesday, when it hears the case of Lewis v. Harris, in which seven same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses filed a lawsuit claiming the denials violated their rights of privacy and equal protection under the New Jersey Constitution.The Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court affirmed 2 to 1 last June a trial court decision that said limiting marriage to members of the opposite sex does not violate the New Jersey Constitution.The same Supreme Court struck down parental notification for abortion in 2000 and in the 1970s decided in favor of allowing brain-damaged Karen Ann Quinlan to be euthanized by her doctors.The Alliance Defense Fund filed a friend-of-the-court brief in December. “Same-sex ‘marriage’ has become an extremely divisive and emotional issue because we’re focused on the wrong things,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Chris Stovall. “Legally, marriage is not about two people being in love and it’s not about getting benefits. For the state, marriage is about protecting children by ensuring that as often as possible they are raised by their mother and father. Because same-sex couples cannot procreate, there exists no interest for the state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.”Stovall explained that there exists a misperception that protecting marriage as a union between one man and one woman is winning only in the legislature and not in the courts. He pointed to the majority of cases in the appellate courts in the past few years where judges ruled in favor of protecting marriage as a union between one man and one woman.“Except for the Goodridge opinion in Massachusetts, every American appellate court that has evaluated laws protecting marriage as one man and one woman in the last 10 years has found those laws to be legitimate, appropriate, and constitutional,” said Stovall.“When others say that many courts have ruled otherwise, they are referring to the trial courts, where some activist judges have embedded their own personal views into their decisions,” Stovall added.“This is not the case at the appellate level, such as the excellent appellate decision we are asking the New Jersey Supreme Court to affirm in this case, Lewis v. Harris.”New Jersey Family Policy Council President Len Deo told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “We’re hopeful the court will save us aggravation and leave things the way they are. But if they overturn laws here, we’ll seek whatever remedy is in our realm, including a state constitutional amendment.”See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:  New Jersey Appeals Court Rules for Real Marriage Against Same Sex ‘Marriage’http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/jun/05061501.html  New Same-Sex Civil Union Law for New Jerseyhttp://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/jan/04010910.html http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/new-jersey-supreme-court-could-legalize-gay-marriage-this-week/

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