TRENTON, N.J. (BP)–A New Jersey judge has thrown out a lawsuit seeking legalization of same-sex “marriage” in the state, marking the second straight defeat nationwide for homosexual activists.
In her opinion Nov. 5 Judge Linda Feinberg rejected arguments made by lawyers of seven homosexual couples that the state’s laws against same-sex “marriage” violate the New Jersey constitution, which was written in 1947.
“The right to marry has always been understood in law and tradition to apply only to couples of different genders,” she wrote. “A change in that basic understanding would not lift a restriction on the right, but would work a fundamental transformation of marriage into an arrangement that could never have been within the intent of the Framers of the 1947 Constitution.
“Significantly, such a change would contradict the established and universally accepted legal precept that marriage is the union of people of different genders.”
She said any change should occur in the state legislature, not the courts.
Lambda Legal, which is representing the seven couples, said it will appeal. The case is one of two that some social conservatives fear will result eventually in the legalization of same-sex “marriage.” The other case is in Massachusetts, where a ruling by that state’s highest court is pending.
The case now goes on to the state appeals court. It could wind up before the New Jersey Supreme Court, which is considered one of the more liberal ones in the country.
In October an Arizona appeals court also denied a request to legalize same-sex “marriage.”
The New Jersey case is Lewis v. Harris.
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An expanded story will be posted by Baptist Press tomorrow.
