Wahingtons Supreme Court Decline to Reconsider Gay marriage ruling

Washington Supreme Court Declines To Reconsider Gay Marriage Ruling

by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
October 26, 2006 - 1:00 pm ET
(Olympia, Washington) The Washington state Supreme Court has turned down an application to reconsider its 5-4 ruling upholding a law barring same-sex couples from marrying.
The court's denial, in a one-page ruling signed by Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, means the high court's July ruling will stand.
Washington state law allows the losing side in appeals to the high court to petition for reconsideration.
In its request to revisit the ruling the Northwest Women's Law Center, the ACLU and Lambda Legal said the court erred in two points of law.
In the first, the brief points to the section of the ruling that said Legislature had a "rational basis" for seeking to regulate marriage. The two groups argued that the justices did not show any reason how it could hurt opposite-sex couples if same-sex couples get married, or why same-sex couples' children wouldn't equally benefit if their parents could get married.
In the second, according to the brief, the court overlooked the sex discrimination protections under the state constitution in that it did not recognize that the state's ban on gay marriage law treats individuals differently based on their gender — a man can marry a woman, but a woman can't do the same.
In its 5 - 4 July ruling the Supreme Court said that the ban on same-sex marriage, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, was not unconstitutional. (story) The court did, however, say that the legislature could repeal the law and pass legislation allowing same-sex marriage.
Although state law allows plaintiffs to petition the court to reconsider decisions, such applications are rarely granted.
Gay and lesbian couples denied marriage licenses filed suit in 2004. Two lower courts ruled that the state law barring gay marriage was unconstitutional and the the high court heard arguments in the case in March 2005. (story).
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