NOM BLOG

NY Lawyers Say Gay Marriage is a Civil Rights Issue (Yawn)

 

I'm quoted in this Reuters story on all the bar associations in New York who want to tell the legislature what to do about marriage:

Maggie Gallagher, chairman of the National Organization for Marriage, or NOM, which opposes same-sex marriage, said it was her group's position that it is up to state legislatures to define marriage. NOM is not opposed to legalizing civil unions, she added, although many same-sex opponents have rejected the idea.

"It's not my position that it's okay to discriminate, but marriage isn't discrimination," Gallagher said. "It's okay to treat different relationships differently."

The quote is accurate but here's what I told the reporter that she didn't choose to quote:

"Legal arguments are usually made to courts, not legislatures. New York's highest court has already considered these arguments--that gay marriage is a civil rights issue and akin to interracial marriage--and rejected them in Hernandez v. Robles (2006)."

"I don't think lawyers have any special standing to speak for marriage. The future of marriage should be decided by the people of New York, not the bar associations of New York."

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