New York Should Not Ask Courts To Put Politics Before Principles, Lambda Legal Says in Papers Filed Today in Its Case Seeking Marriage for Gay and Lesbian Couples

(New York, Friday, September 24, 2004) — Refuting arguments from New York City attorneys saying the constitutional rights of gay people should be determined by public opinion polls and political reactions elsewhere, Lambda Legal filed court papers today in its lawsuit seeking full marriage equality in New York State.

“New York City attorneys are asking the courts to ignore our state’s Constitution and instead use public opinion polls to decide people’s basic civil rights. That’s the exact opposite of the principles our country was founded on. People’s constitutional rights are not subject to the whim of public opinion polls,” said Susan Sommer, Supervising Attorney at Lambda Legal, who is the lead attorney handling the case.

Earlier this year, Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit on behalf of five same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses in New York, arguing that denying marriage to same-sex couples violates the state Constitution’s guarantees of equality and fundamental rights. The case was the first of its kind to be filed in New York since the Massachusetts high court ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to full marriage under that state’s Constitution and is currently before a trial court in Manhattan.

In the papers filed today, Lambda Legal argues that the City’s argument for continuing to discriminate against same-sex couples – which the City says is an interest in “preserving traditional marriage” – is an improper basis for denying rights to people and doesn’t pass constitutional muster. Lambda Legal also argues that public opinion and possible conflicts in marriage laws from state to state should not play a role in what New York courts rule for New York gay and lesbian couples.

“As more New Yorkers engage in conversations about same-sex couples marrying, their understanding grows and their opinion shifts. People everywhere are increasingly seeing that nobody else’s marriage is hurt just because loving, committed same-sex couples are allowed to marry,” Sommer said. “We want to continue having that conversation with New Yorkers, and public opinion will continue evolving. But public opinion and majority whim have nothing to do with whether the city or the state is violating our Constitution by denying equal treatment to same-sex couples. Our courts are asked to decide whether people’s rights are being respected, not whether people are popular.”

The plaintiffs in Lambda Legal’s New York marriage case include: Daniel Hernandez and Nevin Cohen, a couple of five years who worry about the lack of protections in times of sickness if one should become ill and they are not married; Lauren Abrams and Donna Freeman-Tweed, a couple of six years who seek to marry to help protect their young sons; Michael Elsasser and Douglas Robinson, a couple of 17 years who seek to solidify their own family protections while successfully raising two teenage sons; Mary Jo Kennedy and Jo-Ann Shain, a couple of 22 years who with their teenage daughter want full respect for their family; and Daniel Reyes and Curtis Woolbright, a couple of three years who would like to start a family someday but worry about doing so without the protections of marriage.

According to the U.S. Census in 2000, New York City has the largest percentage of same-sex households of any city in the country, with 8.9% of the country’s total number of households where gay couples live together; statewide, the 2000 Census counted 46,490 same-sex couples throughout New York. City and state laws provide minimal protections and rights to same-sex couples. In addition to its lawsuit seeking marriage in New York, Lambda Legal is also currently litigating marriage cases in New Jersey, California (with the ACLU, National Center for Lesbian Rights and Equality California), and Washington (with Northwest Women’s Law Center).

Until Massachusetts began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on May 17, there was no place where same-sex couples could get married in the United States, as officials in San Francisco; Portland, Oregon; New Paltz, New York; and Sandoval County, New Mexico, were all ordered to stop issuing licenses to same-sex couples or solemnizing marriages. Four provinces in Canada are currently issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Sommer is Lambda Legal’s lead attorney on the case, Hernandez, et. al., v. Robles, et. al.. Jeffrey S. Trachtman and Norman C. Simon of the New York City law firm, Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel LLP, are co-counsel on the case.

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