Same-sex marriage defeated in New York, Georgia

Jul 6, 2006 / 22:00 pm

The highest courts in two states ruled against same-sex marriage Thursday.

In New York, the Court of Appeals ruled 4-2 that the state's law allowing marriage only between a man and a woman was constitutional, reported the Associated Press. The decision comes two years after homosexual and lesbian couples in the state first sued for the right to wed.

“Those who believe in judicial restraint will welcome today’s ruling; those who prefer a judicial system where judges impose their ideological predilections on the public will not be happy,” said Catholic League president Bill Donohue in a statement.

Donohue noted that a 2004 Daily News poll indicated that residents of New York City voted 47-40 against gay marriage. “Now, if gay rights advocates can’t win in New York City, they certainly are not going to win in the rest of New York State,” he said.

In Georgia, the court reinstated a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in Georgia. Three-quarters of voters approved a ban on gay marriage when it was on the ballot in 2004. Lawyers for the plaintiffs had argued that the ban was not valid because the ballot language was misleading.

While high courts in Washington state and New Jersey are deliberating whether same-sex couples have the constitutional right to marry, 45 states have specifically barred same-sex marriage through statutes or constitutional amendments.

Massachusetts is the only state that allows gay marriage, although Vermont and Connecticut allow same-sex civil unions that confer the same legal rights as heterosexual married couples.