Bell's World

Press Release:

LAMBDA LEGAL NEWS RELEASE, March 14, 2005

Contact: Eric Ferrero, 212-809-8585 x227; cell: 646-342-9310;
eferrero@lambdalegal.org

Lisa Hardaway, cell: 402-369-2104

Background material:

Today's ruling:
http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/press.html?record=1663

More on the plaintiffs:
http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/cases/documents.html?record=1642

               

California State Court Says Same-Sex Couples Must Be Allowed To Marry;
Lambda Legal Says Ruling Is 'Powerful, Historic and Legally Solid'
Lambda Legal, NCLR and the ACLU filed the case under the state Constitution,
saying gay Californians weren't being treated equally under the law unless
they could marry

(San Francisco, March 14, 2005) ? A California state trial court ruled today
that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry, in a decision that Lambda
Legal called "a historic breakthrough for couples who need the protections
and security marriage provides."

In a 27-page decision issued this afternoon in San Francisco, California
Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer said that lesbian and gay people's basic
rights are violated if they aren't allowed to marry. The decision said the
California Constitution requires same-sex couples to have equal access to
marriage, and that the couples represented by Lambda Legal, NCLR and the
ACLU must be given marriage licenses.

"We're still a little stunned ? but we're overjoyed," said Lancy Woo, a
38-year-old lifelong San Francisco resident who is the lead plaintiff in the
case with her partner, Cristy Chung, 40. "Our six-year-old daughter,
Olivia, is just beginning to understand how the world works, and we can't
wait to talk with her about today's ruling. We've always taught that her
that our family is based on love, just like other families, and this ruling
confirms that our family shouldn't be treated any differently by our
government."

"This is a historic ruling that says the freedoms guaranteed in our state's
Constitution belong to all Californians," said Jennifer C. Pizer, Senior
Counsel for Lambda Legal in the Western Regional Office and its lead
attorney on the case. "The court recognized that same-sex couples aren't
treated equally under the law unless we can marry. This ruling says that
same-sex couples deserve all the protections and security marriage provides
and that we're entitled to get them the same way straight couples do."

In today's ruling, Judge Kramer said California laws that prohibit same-sex
couples from marrying violate people's fundamental rights. "Simply put,
same-sex marriage cannot be prohibited solely because California has always
done so before," Kramer's ruling said. The decision also said, "The idea
that marriage-like rights without marriage is adequate smacks of a concept
long rejected by the courts: separate but equal." Judge Kramer will hold a
hearing on March 30 to finalize the ruling, and the state can then appeal
the case.

Appointed by Republican Governor Pete Wilson in 1996, Judge Kramer has
handled both civil and criminal cases in California Superior Court. Before
becoming a jurist, Judge Kramer specialized in banking litigation for 25
years.

Five of the 12 couples who are plaintiffs in the case had appointments to be
married in San Francisco last year but were turned away after the state
Supreme Court ordered the city to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex
couples. From February 12 to March 11, 2004, the City of San Francisco
issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples after Mayor Gavin Newsom
determined that the state Constitution's guarantees of equality and due
process required him to issue licenses to same-sex couples. The state's
high court eventually ruled that Newsom did not have the authority to issue
marriage licenses to same-sex couples before the state courts had reviewed
the constitutionality of the law limiting licenses to different-sex couples
only, and invalidated the marriages of over 4,000 same-sex couples.

"It's particularly rewarding to get this ruling just a year after thousands
of same-sex couples came forward and took their marriage vows in San
Francisco. Right after officials stopped issuing marriage licenses in San
Francisco last March, we filed this lawsuit to resolve this once and for all
for lesbian and gay couples statewide," Pizer said. "We sought full
marriage ? nothing more and nothing less ? and that's what we got with this
ruling. This is a powerful decision that's legally solid and well-grounded
in the California Constitution."

Lambda Legal, NCLR and the ACLU filed the lawsuit last year seeking marriage
licenses for same-sex couples in California, arguing that denying marriage
to same-sex couples violates the state Constitution's guarantees
of equality, liberty, privacy and expression for all Californians. In
addition to a diverse group of lesbian and gay couples, the case includes
Our Families Coalition and Equality California, agencies that educate the
public about why same-sex couples need equal freedom to get married. The
case was the first of its kind to be filed in California since the
Massachusetts high court ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to full
marriage under that state's Constitution.

Last month, Lambda Legal won a similar trial court decision in New York
which says that state's Constitution requires New York City to issue
marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The city appealed that ruling
directly to New York's highest court. Lambda Legal is awaiting a decision
from a mid-level state appeals court in New Jersey in a similar case seeking
marriage equality. On March 8, Lambda Legal and the Northwest Women's Law
Center argued at the Washington Supreme Court in a case seeking marriage for
same-sex couples under the Washington Constitution; the trial court in that
case ruled last summer that gay couples must be allowed to marry.

In addition to Pizer, Jon Davidson, Legal Director at Lambda Legal, is
handling the case, Woo, et al. v. Lockyer, et al. Other attorneys on the
case include: Courtney Joslin and Shannon Minter at lead counsel National
Center for Lesbian Rights; Christine Sun and Alan Schlosser at the ACLU of
Northern California; Peter Eliasberg at the ACLU of Southern California;
Stephen Bomse, Richard Denatale and Christopher Stoll at Heller Ehrman White
and McAuliffe; Dena Narbaitz and Clyde Wadsworth at Steefel Levitt & Weiss;
and David C. Codell.

               

are you following the Michael Jackson Coverage ??

if so and you like pictures... you need to check these out:

this entry:
Jackson arrives late for trial in pajamas and narrowly avoids jail.
dated:
March 11, 2005, 12:19:17
here:
http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/celebrity/29232004.htm

and

this entry:
A Real Dilemama - An Urgent Appointment, And Nothing To Wear
dated: 3/14/05
http://www.gravett.org/pc/index.php?cat=2


picture:
http://www.gravett.org/pc/archives/pic04827.jpg

I should make a new audio recording related to MJ and his PJ's and put
it - HERE

.