Honoring all the
plaintiff couples

A number of same-sex marriage cases were decided by state supreme courts in 2006, including defeats in Washington and New York and a ruling for equality in New Jersey. In the January 16 issue of The Advocate the plaintiff couples who brought marriage cases with the help of the gay rights group Lambda Legal were honored as part of our roundup of "People of the Year."

But there were many more plaintiff couples, including those represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, who deserve that honor for contributing their time and energy to marriage cases decided in 2006. In New York and Washington, multiple cases were consolidated when they reached those states' highest courts. In New York state, four cases were combined: a case brought by the ACLU, a case brought by Lambda Legal, and two cases brought by individuals in Nyack and Albany. In Washington state, two cases were combined: a case brought by the ACLU of Washington and a case brought by Lambda Legal.

Following is a list of couples The Advocate has added to its 2006 "People of the Year":

The ACLU plaintiffs in Washington were:

Brenda Bauer and Celia Castle

Jeff Kingsbury and Alan Fuller

Judy Fleissner and Chris Gamache

Marge Ballack and Diane Lantz

Tom Duke and Phuoc Lam

Gary Murrell and Michael Gyde

Karrie Cunningham and Kathy Cunningham

Kevin Chestnut and Curtis Crawford

Pamela Coffey and Valerie Tibbett

Allan Henderson and John Berquist

Lauri Conner and Leja Wright

The ACLU plaintiffs in New York were:

Kathy Burke and Tonja Alvis

Carol Snyder and Heather McDonnell

Amy Tripi and Jeanne Vitale

Wade O. Nichols and Francis Shen

Michael Hahn and Paul Muhonen

Danny O'Donnell and John Banta

Cindy Bink and Ann Pachner

Regina Cicchetti and Susan Zimmer

Alice Muniz and Oneida Garcia

Chelsea Dreher and Laura Collins

John Wessell and Billy O'Connor

The Nyack plaintiffs in New York were:

Elissa Kane and Lynne Lekakis

Robert Barnes and George Jurgsatis

The Ithaca plaintiffs in New York were:

Jason Seymour and Jason Hungerford

Susan Martin and Kristine Shaw

Margot Chiuten and Shawna Black

James Pelton and Jason Thornton

Patricia Flery and Elizabeth Cohen

Patricia Butler and Marjorie Parker

Sandra Fentiman and Alice Kenly

Todd Heron and Ronald Campbell

Lisa Bushlow and Nina Panzer

Teresa Niedzialek and Nancy Chapman

Anne Bell and Elisabeth Lindsay

Brenda Marston and Sarah Simpkins

John Houston and Dave Hebron

Deborah Vogle and Silvia Garcia

Carla Carick and Laurie Koehler

Lawrence Roberts and Oscar Ross Haarstad

Kim Trahan and Christina Knickerbocker

Lee Williams and Beth Dipasqua

Nancy Gabriel and Marion Dagrossa

Joseph Wheeler and David Biddle

Suzanna Schwartz and Mary White

Rodney Fairbanks and Brent Wandel

Amelia Sauter and Leah Houghtaling

Martha Hardesty and Joann Edwards

Sarah B. Jefferis and Tammy J. Travis