In Case you Hadn’t Heard….
Here’s a press release from Equality Texas:
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Chuck Smith
Deputy Director
Equality Texas
512-474-5475
California Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
Upholds State Constitution’s Guarantees of Privacy, Intimate Association & Due Process
Austin, TX (May 15, 2008) – In a historic decision, the California Supreme Court has ruled that existing state statute barring same-sex couples from marriage is a violation of the California Constitution because it discriminates based on sexual orientation and sex and violates the fundamental right to marry, which are protected by the California Constitution’s guarantees of privacy, intimate association, and due process.
Statement of Paul Scott, Equality Texas Executive Director
Today’s decision in California is a victory for all Americans who cherish fairness, due process, and equal protection under the law. The Court rejected the State’s argument that domestic partnership law was an equal substitute, noting that marriage-like rights without marriage smacks of a concept long rejected by the courts: separate but equal.
While Texans are legally unaffected by this ruling, we are hopeful that same-sex couples in Texas will one day have the same opportunity to solidify and legally protect their families.
According to a January, 2008 study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, approximately 50,000 same-sex couples were living in Texas in 2005. About 20% of these couples are raising an estimated 17,444 children. They deserve the same opportunity to legally protect their family relationships as all California couples now have.
Equality Texas will continue its ongoing efforts to help build strong Texas families, including those with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender family members.
Equality Texas works toward the elimination of social, legal, and economic discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression through lobbying, education, and research directed toward the Texas Legislature and other state governmental agencies.
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This entry was posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 7:43 pm and is filed under Gay Stuff, Political. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
