Lilith
11-19-2003, 06:28 AM
(submitted by gekkogecko)
BOSTON (Reuters) - The highest court in Massachusetts ruled on Tuesday that the state cannot bar gays and lesbians from marrying, but it stopped short of ordering the state to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
In a 4-3 ruling that could make Massachusetts the first state to legalize gay marriage, the Supreme Judicial Court said the state may not deny the rights conferred by civil marriage to two individuals of the same sex who wish to marry.
"We declare that barring an individual from the protections, benefits, and obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the Massachusetts Constitution," the court said in its ruling.
The court remanded the case back to a state court to conform with its ruling, but said the ruling would be on hold for 180 days to allow the state legislature to take any action it may deem appropriate.
Gay marriages are forbidden in the United States, although one state, Vermont, allows same-sex civil unions -- contracts that essentially provide most of the legal rights and protections of marriage but under a different name.
A civil union is only recognized in the state in which it is granted while a marriage is recognized nationwide, experts said.
Debate over the issue of same-sex unions has intensified since Canada has taken steps to legalize gay marriages and the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) in June struck down state sodomy laws. Conservative critics say the Supreme Court's
ruling could open the door to same-sex marriages in the United States.
The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, signed by former President Bill Clinton (news - web sites), defines marriage for federal purposes as between one woman and one man. Gay marriages are forbidden in the United States.
BOSTON (Reuters) - The highest court in Massachusetts ruled on Tuesday that the state cannot bar gays and lesbians from marrying, but it stopped short of ordering the state to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
In a 4-3 ruling that could make Massachusetts the first state to legalize gay marriage, the Supreme Judicial Court said the state may not deny the rights conferred by civil marriage to two individuals of the same sex who wish to marry.
"We declare that barring an individual from the protections, benefits, and obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the Massachusetts Constitution," the court said in its ruling.
The court remanded the case back to a state court to conform with its ruling, but said the ruling would be on hold for 180 days to allow the state legislature to take any action it may deem appropriate.
Gay marriages are forbidden in the United States, although one state, Vermont, allows same-sex civil unions -- contracts that essentially provide most of the legal rights and protections of marriage but under a different name.
A civil union is only recognized in the state in which it is granted while a marriage is recognized nationwide, experts said.
Debate over the issue of same-sex unions has intensified since Canada has taken steps to legalize gay marriages and the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) in June struck down state sodomy laws. Conservative critics say the Supreme Court's
ruling could open the door to same-sex marriages in the United States.
The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, signed by former President Bill Clinton (news - web sites), defines marriage for federal purposes as between one woman and one man. Gay marriages are forbidden in the United States.