A Washington
State supreme court justice said Wednesday that she expects
the court to hand down its long-awaited ruling on same-sex
marriage before this September's primary. Justice
Susan Owens's remarks flew in the face of widespread
speculation that the court would wait until after the
November election because of the controversy around marriage
equality, the Associated Press reports.
"We have never held cases. I resent when people
say that," Owens told the AP on Wednesday after
a forum for supreme court candidates in Seattle
(Owens is up for reelection this year). "It's not going to
be very long. We're at the point now where I can say that."
But such
predictions have been made before, as when Chief Justice
Gerry Alexander said in January that he hoped to issue
an opinion before the annual legislative session
concluded in March, only to be proved wrong. Alexander
had no comment on Wednesday, according to the AP.
"Obviously they're struggling," Gov. Chris
Gregoire told the AP, referring to the justices. "I've
given up predicting when the decision will come down."
The case before
the state supreme court involves 19 gay couples who are
challenging Washington's 1996 Defense of Marriage Act
banning same-sex marriage. The court heard arguments
in March 2005, after two lower courts ruled the ban to be unconstitutional.
Although Jamie Pedersen, a lawyer for the
couples, said he appreciated the care the high court
appears to be taking with the case, he's clearly
anxious for a decision. "Obviously we have all of our
plaintiff couples and thousands of others in the state
who live every day without the benefit of legal
protection," he told the AP. "The sooner we get the
ruling the better." (The Advocate)
