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American Morning
Same-Sex Marriage
Aired November 18, 2003 - 09:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, 20 minutes ago we talked about the story, what could be a very significant court ruling, expected about 30 minutes from now in Massachusetts. That state supreme judicial court will issue a ruling on same-sex marriages.
Deborah Feyerick live from our bureau here in New York to tell us what we may anticipate here.
Good morning.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. Well, Massachusetts highest court is said to either legalize marriages between same-sex couples or deny them the right to wed. That's on the table right now. This was a lawsuit brought by seven couples. One of them, the Goodriches, who have been together for 16 years, they took a clause in Massachusetts state constitution, which basically prohibits discrimination based on sex.
Now Vermont has sort of a similar law. They allow civil unions. However, they don't go so far to call it marriage. So if the court does give the thumb's up on this decision, then same-sex couples could legally marry. This does not mean it would be recognized by any religious institution, but they could go down to city hall and apply for a marriage license.
Now President Bush has said he would fight this. He has even suggested that he would go so far as to possibly try to amend any bill in order to prevent these marriages from happening. Again, religious institutions would not have to recognize it, but people would be able to get a marriage license -- Bill.
HEMMER: Deborah Feyerick, thanks here in New York, 24 minutes away from that ruling.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 18, 2003 - 09:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, 20 minutes ago we talked about the story, what could be a very significant court ruling, expected about 30 minutes from now in Massachusetts. That state supreme judicial court will issue a ruling on same-sex marriages.
Deborah Feyerick live from our bureau here in New York to tell us what we may anticipate here.
Good morning.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. Well, Massachusetts highest court is said to either legalize marriages between same-sex couples or deny them the right to wed. That's on the table right now. This was a lawsuit brought by seven couples. One of them, the Goodriches, who have been together for 16 years, they took a clause in Massachusetts state constitution, which basically prohibits discrimination based on sex.
Now Vermont has sort of a similar law. They allow civil unions. However, they don't go so far to call it marriage. So if the court does give the thumb's up on this decision, then same-sex couples could legally marry. This does not mean it would be recognized by any religious institution, but they could go down to city hall and apply for a marriage license.
Now President Bush has said he would fight this. He has even suggested that he would go so far as to possibly try to amend any bill in order to prevent these marriages from happening. Again, religious institutions would not have to recognize it, but people would be able to get a marriage license -- Bill.
HEMMER: Deborah Feyerick, thanks here in New York, 24 minutes away from that ruling.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
