Attack update: Oct. 25, 2006The attack: “This [the New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision in Lewis v. Harris] is a textbook example of agenda-driven judges who are willing to twist their state laws and invade the province of the legislative branch in order to force same-sex ‘marriage’ on the people of New Jersey. … Because New Jersey has no residency requirement for marriage, if the Legislature caves in to the court, it could open the door for lawsuits challenging every state’s marriage law. … The New Jersey Supreme Court has distinguished itself once again for imposing its own form of discrimination by arrogantly declaring that a woman is not needed to make a marriage, or that a man is not.” Significance: Where to begin? First, the Concerned Women for America press release contains glaring inaccuracies. The New Jersey court did not “invade the province of the legislative branch to force same-sex marriage” on anyone. It specifically ruled that it is up to the Legislature to decide whether equal rights and benefits should be extended to same-sex couples through marriage or some other arrangement (e.g., civil unions). CWA’s “warning” about the effect of the New Jersey court’s ruling on other states is similarly misplaced. CWA apparently ignores the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act,” a federal law providing that no state shall be required to give effect to any relationship between persons of the same sex that is recognized as a marriage by another state. CWA’s press release also bizarrely uses the word “discrimination” in discussing the court’s decision. It is difficult to determine what is meant by this. This is the type of overheated, empty rhetoric that serves only to diminish respect for the courts and the principle of judicial independence.
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