Same-sex marriage
brief filed in California

Lawyers for 12 gay and lesbian couples have submitted written arguments in favor of same-sex marriage to the California court of appeal in San Francisco. The paperwork, filed by the attorneys on Wednesday, uses an equal protection clause argument to make their case. The lawsuit notes, "The state is violating this fundamental right by excluding same-sex couples from marriage because of their gender and sexual orientation." The American Civil Liberties Union, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Lambda Legal are urging the court to affirm a lower court decision saying it is unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples the ability to marry. The case began when San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in February 2004. When the California supreme court ordered the mayor to stop issuing licenses, the couples sued. On March 14, San Francisco superior court judge Richard Kramer ruled that denying same-sex couples marriage rights is unconstitutional. The state appealed that decision to the California court of appeal. The 12 couples involved in this lawsuit have made lifelong commitments to each other. Gay rights pioneers Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, for example, have been together for over 51 years. (Bill Peterson, Sirius OutQ News)