Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) expressed dismay today about the New York Court of Appeals decision to deny marriage to same-sex couples.  Particularly troubling is the court’s misguided reliance on outmoded ideas about childrearing.

 “If marriage is good for the children of opposite-sex couples, then it’s good for children of same-sex couples as well,” said Gary Buseck, GLAD’s Legal Director.  “Denying marriage to parents doesn’t benefit the children of same-sex couples or anyone else.” 

Just this week, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a report surveying the country’s marriage laws and their impact on same-sex couples and their families.  The report concluded, “Simply put, same-gender civil marriage harms no one, whereas prohibiting civil marriage for gays and lesbians harms these couples and their children.”

As dissenting Chief Judge Kaye noted, the state has an interest in encouraging opposite sex couples to marry for the sake of their children.  However, excluding same-sex couples from marriage “in no way furthers this interest...No one rationally decides to have children because gays and lesbians are excluded from marriage.”
 
“The New York court is clearly out of step with the movement in America toward equal treatment of all families,” said Buseck. “Again, as noted by Judge Kaye, six of the seven jurisdictions bordering New York afford some legal status to same-sex couples. We know that the people of New York will continue working to right the wrong of marriage discrimination, and ultimately, loving, committed couples will be able to marry in New York and every state.”
 
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders is New England’s leading legal rights organizations dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and HIV status.  GLAD’s lawsuit, Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, decided in November 2003, brought marriage equality to Massachusetts starting in May 2004.

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