Court rules San Jose Cannot Recognize SSM Performed Elswhere/San Jose Mercury News

Married gays lose benefits from city
CONSERVATIVES CLAIM RULING AS VICTORY
By Mary Anne Ostrom
Mercury News
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/13447956.htm

A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge has ruled that the city of San Jose cannot offer benefits to the same-sex partners of its employees based only on a marriage certificate that was legally issued elsewhere.

Conservative legal groups filed the suit last year after the San Jose City Council voted to expand city worker benefits already given to heterosexual married couples to same-sex couples who had married legally.

Although a symbolic victory for opponents of same-sex marriage, the decision made public Monday has very little practical effect in San Jose. In the United States, only Massachusetts allows same-sex marriages.

And an expanded domestic partnership state law that went into effect Jan. 1 allows city workers who register as domestic partners to be eligible for the same benefits as heterosexual married couples.

``It's basically moot,'' said San Jose City Attorney Rick Doyle.
posted by maggie at 10:31 AM | link

1 Comments:

At 12/22/2005 4:05 AM,  Jesurgislac said...

Conservative legal groups filed the suit last year after the San Jose City Council voted to expand city worker benefits already given to heterosexual married couples to same-sex couples who had married legally.

Yeah, right. The US Constitution, what does that matter, compared to opposing marriage?

The San Jose City Council voted to do what Article 4 of the US Constitution requires them to do: and conservative legal groups filed an anti-Constitutional suit to stop the City Council from obeying the US Constitution.

"It's basically moot" - no, not really. Remove the concept that everyone in the US is entitled to the rights set out by the US Constitution, and you remove a very important principle of American government: law stands up against prejudice.

 

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