CHALLENGER CITES RULING; VERMONT DECISION ON COUPLES' BENEFITS CALLED PART OF TREND.Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer The debate over same-sex marriages Noun 1. same-sex marriage - two people of the same sex who live together as a family; "the legal status of same-sex marriages has been hotly debated" couple, twosome, duet, duo - a pair who associate with one another; "the engaged couple"; "an inseparable is brewing brewing: see beer. in an unlikely spot, the conservative Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. , after a court ruling in Vermont extended benefits enjoyed by married couples to gay couples. Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Democrat Rick Lott on Tuesday used Monday's Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont and is one of seven state courts of Vermont. The Court consists of a chief justice and four associate justices; the Court mostly hears appeals of cases that have been decided by other ruling as leverage in stating his opposition to an initiative that would allow Californians to ban gay marriages. Lott is challenging the author of the bill, state Sen. W.J. ``Pete'' Knight, R-Palmdale, in next November's Senate election. ``It's hard to argue that any group of citizens should be denied the same rights and benefits of the law that are granted to others,'' Lott said. ``Same-sex couples A same-sex couple is a pair of people of the same gender who pursue a romantic or sexual relationship together. The term "same-sex relationship" may be used when the sexual orientation of participants in a same-sex relationship is not known. are denied these rights by being denied the right to marry. The only remedies would be to either allow gays and lesbians to marry or to stop using marriage as a vehicle for extending these rights and privileges.'' Though the ruling extended benefits and protections to gay couples, the ruling left it up to the state Legislature A state legislature may refer to a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. The following legislatures exist in the following political subdivisions: ``I think that the ruling out of Vermont today is indicative of a trend toward providing equal rights and benefits under the law to gays and lesbians,'' Lott said. Knight said Monday's ruling shouldn't have any effect in Calfornia. ``It won't have any impact at all,'' he said. Knight said a proposition that he authored will allow the voters to decide whether gay marriages will be recognized in California. ``The initiative is very simple,'' Knight said of Proposition 22, on the March ballot. ``It's an initiative that maintains the definition of marriage. It's not an anti-gay initiative.'' Proposition 22 would allow California to prohibit the acceptance of same-sex marriages allowed in other states. At the initiative's 22 campaign headquarters, proponents were unhappy with the Vermont court's decision. ``The Vermont ruling is clearly a threat for California to decide for ourselves how we will define marriage,'' said Robert Glazier. '' |
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