THE BATTLE OVER SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
Couple split up, drop names from state court case
- Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, November 13, 2006
The couple whose names top all the arguments in California's same-sex
marriage court case -- expected to head back to court today -- have separated.
Lancy Woo and Cristy Chung, who have been together 18 years and have a
young daughter, announced that they are no longer part of the lawsuit
challenging California's marriage statutes.
Attorneys arguing for same-sex marriage are expected to file a request
today asking the state Supreme Court to hear the case. They said the breakup should not affect the case.
Woo and Chung's breakup comes just months after two other high-profile
same-sex couples -- the lead plaintiffs in the case that legalized same-sex
marriage in Massachusetts and a Vermont couple who were the first in the
nation to enter a civil union -- also ended their relationships.
The couple are not talking publicly about their breakup, but they released
a statement. "Our separation is amicable, and our first priority will
continue to be protecting the best interests of our daughter," Woo and Chung
said. "We remain fully committed to the principle that couples should be
able to marry without regard to their sexual orientation, and we have been
honored to be a part of this historic litigation."
Registered domestic partners, the couple were waiting to marry at San
Francisco City Hall when the state Supreme Court ordered city officials to
stop marrying same-sex couples.
An attorney representing some of the couples in the case, who is a
personal friend of Chung and Woo, said their removal from the suit will not
hurt its prospects.
"It doesn't have any legal effect on the case at all, because the case was
brought on behalf of a number of couples as well as two organizations that
represent people with the same interests," said Jennifer C. Pizer, senior
counsel for Lambda Legal, a gay rights legal organization.
The split is unlikely to have a symbolic impact either, because the court
has already heard cases involving same-sex couples who break up and the
couple were together for nearly two decades.
Woo personally appealed in court filings in 2004 for marriage rights.
"Cristy and I seek the opportunity to enter into a civil marriage to
provide greater security to each other and our daughter, to help our
relatives and society understand the permanence of the bonds we share, to
give (our daughter) a clearer sense of the solidity of her family unit and
to honor each other by making that ultimate declaration of love and devotion
before our community and with the acknowledgment of our government," Woo
wrote.
After today's filing, the court has 90 days to decide whether to hear the
case. A California appeals court ruled last month that same-sex couples have
no constitutional right to marry and that marriage rights must be granted by
the Legislature or voters.
Same-sex marriage opponents have argued that the July breakup of Julie and
Hillary Goodridge in Massachusetts and the August breakup of Carolyn Conrad
and Kathleen Peterson in Vermont show that same-sex unions do not have the
staying power of heterosexual marriage.
But the nation's divorce rate hovers between 40 and 50 percent while
same-sex couples in officially sanctioned relationships appear to be
separating at a much lower rate. In Vermont, which became the first state to
enact civil unions five years ago, 113 of 8,109 couples have terminated
them, about 1.4 percent.
E-mail Wyatt Buchanan at [email protected].
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/11/13/BAGPNMBIA51.DTL
Couple split up, drop names from state court case
- Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, November 13, 2006
The couple whose names top all the arguments in California's same-sex
marriage court case -- expected to head back to court today -- have separated.
Lancy Woo and Cristy Chung, who have been together 18 years and have a
young daughter, announced that they are no longer part of the lawsuit
challenging California's marriage statutes.
Attorneys arguing for same-sex marriage are expected to file a request
today asking the state Supreme Court to hear the case. They said the breakup should not affect the case.
Woo and Chung's breakup comes just months after two other high-profile
same-sex couples -- the lead plaintiffs in the case that legalized same-sex
marriage in Massachusetts and a Vermont couple who were the first in the
nation to enter a civil union -- also ended their relationships.
The couple are not talking publicly about their breakup, but they released
a statement. "Our separation is amicable, and our first priority will
continue to be protecting the best interests of our daughter," Woo and Chung
said. "We remain fully committed to the principle that couples should be
able to marry without regard to their sexual orientation, and we have been
honored to be a part of this historic litigation."
Registered domestic partners, the couple were waiting to marry at San
Francisco City Hall when the state Supreme Court ordered city officials to
stop marrying same-sex couples.
An attorney representing some of the couples in the case, who is a
personal friend of Chung and Woo, said their removal from the suit will not
hurt its prospects.
"It doesn't have any legal effect on the case at all, because the case was
brought on behalf of a number of couples as well as two organizations that
represent people with the same interests," said Jennifer C. Pizer, senior
counsel for Lambda Legal, a gay rights legal organization.
The split is unlikely to have a symbolic impact either, because the court
has already heard cases involving same-sex couples who break up and the
couple were together for nearly two decades.
Woo personally appealed in court filings in 2004 for marriage rights.
"Cristy and I seek the opportunity to enter into a civil marriage to
provide greater security to each other and our daughter, to help our
relatives and society understand the permanence of the bonds we share, to
give (our daughter) a clearer sense of the solidity of her family unit and
to honor each other by making that ultimate declaration of love and devotion
before our community and with the acknowledgment of our government," Woo
wrote.
After today's filing, the court has 90 days to decide whether to hear the
case. A California appeals court ruled last month that same-sex couples have
no constitutional right to marry and that marriage rights must be granted by
the Legislature or voters.
Same-sex marriage opponents have argued that the July breakup of Julie and
Hillary Goodridge in Massachusetts and the August breakup of Carolyn Conrad
and Kathleen Peterson in Vermont show that same-sex unions do not have the
staying power of heterosexual marriage.
But the nation's divorce rate hovers between 40 and 50 percent while
same-sex couples in officially sanctioned relationships appear to be
separating at a much lower rate. In Vermont, which became the first state to
enact civil unions five years ago, 113 of 8,109 couples have terminated
them, about 1.4 percent.
E-mail Wyatt Buchanan at [email protected].
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/11/13/BAGPNMBIA51.DTL
