OLYMPIA – Lawyers dueled in the state Supreme Court Tuesday on whether Washington’s ban on gay marriage is discrimination against same-sex couples or protection of a legal rite created only for a man and a woman.
Associated Press
In a 75-minute hearing, the justices focused on the foundation and the function of a 5-year-old ban that 19 gay couples from around the state contend is unconstitutional.
Attorneys for the couples argued that the state constitution does not allow granting privileges to one group of citizens and not another, in this case limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. “Marriage is a good thing for children, and marriage is a good thing for couples,” American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Paul Lawrence said. “We’re simply asking for more of that good thing.”
Attorneys defending the ban contended that marriage is recognized as a fundamental right only between a man and a woman.
“Same-sex marriage has not established a single root in the tradition of this country,” said attorney Steve O’Ban, who represented the two lawmakers who wrote the Defense of Marriage Act, state Sen. Val Stevens, R-Arlington, and Rep. Gigi Talcott, R-Tacoma.
He also said the ban was passed not with animus toward gay couples but out of concern for children.
“Society needs a coping mechanism … to channel heterosexual conduct into marriage,” O’Ban said.
A ruling is not expected for several months. If the justices throw out the ban, Washington would join Massachusetts as the only states to allow same-sex couples to legally marry.
The importance of the day was not lost on proponents and opponents, who arrived at 7 a.m. in hopes of getting inside the courtroom. People packed the lobby and lined a balcony to watch the proceeding on television.
The plaintiffs were barred from commenting afterward. “You can talk to them (Wednesday),” said Romi Neustadt, management supervisor for the communications firm DDB Bass and Howes of Seattle. “That’s just the way we do it.”
Before the hearing, plaintiffs had lots to say.
“It’s simple. We just want the same rights,” said Sherri Kokx, a King County resident who teaches in the Everett School District. “The goal is not to rewrite the constitution. We want to uphold the constitution.”
Kokx and her partner, Johanna Bender, have two sons. “It’s hurtful to hear other people insulting our family or saying we are bad parents.”
Washington’s Defense of Marriage Act limits marriage to a man and a woman only. The Legislature passed it in 1998. Former Gov. Gary Locke vetoed it, but lawmakers overrode the veto.
Tuesday’s hearing combined separate cases filed last year in King and Thurston counties.
On March 8, 2004, eight couples sued King County for refusing to issue them marriage licenses. A month later, 11 couples filed suit in Thurston County to obtain marriage licenses or have their marriages recognized under state law.
Decisions issued in August in King County and a month later in Thurston County concluded that the state’s law barring same-sex couples from marriage violated the state’s guarantee of equal protection for all people.
Darren Carnell, attorney for King County, argued that the judges in those courts overstepped their bounds. While he acknowledged gays and lesbians encounter discrimination in different arenas, he said this is not one of them.
“Why not?” questioned Justice Richard Sanders. He said the state constitution prohibits any law that might deny privileges to any citizen. “No law means no law, doesn’t it?”
Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com
Associated Press
Lauri Conner (left) and Leja Wright, plaintiffs in the case testing the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, wait to enter the Supreme Court on Tuesday in Olympia.
Marriage laws vary
Massachusetts is the only state where gay marriage is legal.
Legal challenges by same-sex couples seeking the right to marry are pending in California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Oregon as well as Washington.
Voters in 13 states passed constitutional amendments banning gay marriage last year. Four states already had gay marriage bans.
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