Dean: Marriage Outdated and Bigoted

(FRC)

Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean today slammed the pro-marriage ruling of New York's Court of Appeals. Dean was "deeply disappointed" in the state's highest court, saying that the 4-2 opinion rested on "outdated and bigoted notions." Judge Robert Smith wrote for the majority in denying the appeal of a lesbian woman who, with her female partner, is raising an 11-year-old boy. The case had been pressed by the ACLU and Lambda Legal, a homosexual advocacy group. Judge Smith's opinion was forthright: "We do not predict what people will think generations from now, but we believe the present generation should have a chance to decide the issue through its elected representatives." This is the definition of judicial restraint. It's a textbook case of judges applying the law and deferring to the legislature in the making of any new law. New York has been a "progressive" state since it entered the Union. New York's high court was joined later today by Georgia's Supreme Court, which affirmed the voters' judgment upholding marriage as the union of one man and one woman. These developments are critical. Just weeks ago, Dean said his party's platform affirmed traditional marriage. Now, he says that position is outdated and bigoted.

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