N.J. City Stops Offering Same-Sex Marriages
POSTED: Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Officials in Asbury Park, N.J., decided Wednesday to stop taking marriage applications from homosexual couples.The vote came after state Attorney General Peter C. Harvey threatened prosecution if they did not stop issuing marriage licenses.
Some council members said they voted to stop their actions reluctantly.So far, 18 couples have filed for a license and 10 applications have been completed. Two men were married Monday in a ceremony at the city council chambers.Gay marriage has been rejected by state courts in New Jersey but gay activists are appealing.Harvey also said that the marriages that were performed had no legal value.Recent weeks have seen dramatic moves in the debate over gay marriage: the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court said the state cannot prevent homosexual marriages under its constitution and must start issuing licenses in May; the mayor of San Francisco ordered city clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, possibly in violation of state law, resulting in thousands of marriages; President George W. Bush called for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution defining marriage; the mayor of New Paltz, N.Y., issued licenses and officiated ceremonies and was charged with 19 criminal counts; and an Oregon county began offering marriages.Some states have also begun moving toward constitutional amendments banning gay marriages.
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
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Previous Stories:
- March 10, 2004: Court Upholds Ore. County's Same-Sex Marriages
- March 8, 2004: N.J. Town Sees First Same-Sex Marriage
- March 5, 2004: Two States Move To Ban Same-Sex Marriages
- March 4, 2004: Same-Sex Marriage Debate Rages All Over
- March 3, 2004: Portland Gets Into Gay Marriage Business, Others Decline
- March 1, 2004: Mayor Charged With Crimes For Same-Sex Weddings
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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