'Yes' to gay marriage

2004-08-05 10:16

Seattle - A court in the north-western United States state of Washington has ruled on Wednesday that a state ban on gay marriages was unconstitutional and that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry.

The ruling was hailed by gay rights activists as a major victory for their cause as the explosive debate over same-sex marriages causes a deep divide in US society in an election year.

"The court concludes that the exclusion of same-sex partners from civil marriage and privileges attendant thereto is not rationally related to any legitimate or compelling state interest," Washington Superior Court Judge William Downing wrote in his 26-page ruling.

"The privilege of civil marriage and the various privileges legally conferred by that status are not being made equally available to all citizens" constituting a violation of due process and the state constitution, he said.

"Historic ruling"

The state's law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples had been challenged by eight same-sex couples who had sought marriage licenses from the King County clerk in Seattle but were refused the right to wed.

Gay group Lambda Legal hailed the decision as "a historic ruling for fairness and equality."

"This is a huge victory and a historic day," said the group's executive director Kevin Cathcart.

"The court recognised that unless gay people can marry, we are not being treated equally under the law. Same-sex couples need the protections and security marriage provides, and this ruling says were entitled to get them the same way straight couples do," Cathcart said.

In his ruling, the judge said of the eight couples who brought the action: "The characteristics embodied by these plaintiffs are ones that our society and the institution of marriage need more of, not less."

The decision is likely to be appealed to Washington's supreme court as a host of similar cases go through the judical systems in other US states.

The ruling comes as politicians were under pressure to act decisively over the issue of gay marriage as a gulf widened in US society over the issue.

In November, the Massachusetts Supreme Court sparked a national firestorm when it decided that barring gay partners from getting married violated the state constitution.

Three months later in San Francisco, Phyllis Lyon, 79, and Del Martin, 83, became the first same-sex couple in recent US history to receive a marriage license after the city began marrying gays and lesbians in a four-month blitz that was eventually halted by California's top court.

And while President George Bush has called for a US constitutional amendment barring gay marriage, Republicans in the US Senate failed last month to muster enough support to hold a vote on it.

- AFP