The Cincinnati Enquirer |
Tempo Page
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Wednesday, March 23, 1995 |
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"When gay people are demanding the right to marry, we're not talking about religious ceremonies," says Evan Wolfson, senior staff attorney at Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a gay-rights legal organization in New York.
"Churches can decide whether they want to perform marriages. We're talking about a marriage license" and the legal benefits that it confers, such as automatic inheritance and health insurance for partners. Wolfson is co-counsel in Baehr vs Lewin, a 1993 case brought by three gay couples denied marriage licenses in Hawaii. The state Supreme Court said the denial "appeared" to violate the state constitution and returned the case to a lowercourt, where it still is in litigation. |
Wolfson is optimistic, predicting "a final wind" for the plaintiffs within 1 1/2 years.
"Eventually, of course, this will be an issue that will come up in Ohio," he says. "Many will go to Hawaii to get married and come back. The question is: Will Ohio try to block recognition of these marriages? "This is an issue that's really going to test America's understanding of who gay people are. In seeking to marry, we are saying, 'Look, we live in couples, we care for each other, we want the same rights and responsibilities our non-gay brothers and sisters have.'" |
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