WV SUPREME COURT WON'T HEAR SSM CASE: From the Charleston Gazette

The state Supreme Court voted 3-2 Thursday not to hear a petition that asked the court to allow same-sex marriages in West Virginia.

Chief Justice Spike Maynard and Justices Warren McGraw and Joseph Albright voted against hearing the case. Justices Robin Davis and Larry Starcher voted to hear the petition.

The petition, brought by four gay and lesbian couples, argued that a decision by Kanawha County Clerk Alma King to deny them marriage licenses was a violation of their right to equal protection under the state constitution.


Kanawha County Prosecutor Mike Clifford, who is King's attorney in the case, said a 2000 state law that defined marriage as being between a man and a woman was the final word on the debate in West Virginia.

West Virginia is one of 38 states that specifically limit marriage to a union between a man and a woman.

Opponents of same-sex marriage have argued that it will lead to the disintegration of marriage as an institution. They also have said that homosexual marriage could open the door to other unconventional unions.

Same-sex marriage has stormed to the forefront of the nation’s political debate. President Bush has called for a constitutional amendment banning it, which his Democratic opponent, Sen. John Kerry, opposes.

The original plaintiffs in the West Virginia case, Patricia Bailey and Sheila Chambers, said same-sex marriage is necessary so they can have rights, including hospital visitation rights and the right to be on their partner's health-care plan.

Their lawyer, Roger Forman, was not available for comment Thursday.

Jeremy Davis of Boone County, who joined the petition in mid-March with his partner, Jamie Bailey, said they would fight on even if the court denied the petition.

"This is only the beginning," Davis said. "Them turning it down is not the end. It’s just a matter of time."

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