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Lawyer Argues for Gay-Marriage Licenses NewsMax.com WiresELMIRA, N.Y. -- An attorney for 25 same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses told a judge Friday that New York's opposition to gay marriage is similar to discrimination against women or minorities. Mariette Geldenhuys, an attorney for the couples who sued the city of Ithaca in June, told state Judge Robert Mulvey that the state's position contradicts a 2002 New York law outlawing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Story Continues Below ``The basis of the opposition (to gay marriage) is that it goes against tradition,'' Geldenhuys argued. ``If tradition carried on, we would still have slavery.'' Jim McGowan, an attorney for the state, argued that the court must follow previous court decisions upholding New York's prohibition against same-sex marriages. The state has prevailed in two similar cases. New York state officials, including Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Gov. George Pataki, have said that same-sex ceremonies violate state law. The Ithaca couples applied for marriage licenses last year but were turned down by the city clerk, who followed a state Health Department advisory against granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The couples sued the city and the state in June. New Paltz Mayor Jason West entered the national debate about same-sex marriage last year when he performed 25 marriages on Feb. 27. He faces misdemeanor charges of solemnizing marriages without a license in the Hudson Valley village. Mulvey was expected to rule within 60 days. Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press
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