A brief in support of Kentucky's gay
marriage ban is so outrageous that some are questioning whether the state
is purposefully trying to lose the case.
The brief filed May 7 at the Sixth
Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati asserts that the ban is needed
to maintain Kentucky's “long-term economic stability through stable
birth rates.”
On February 26, U.S. District Judge
John G. Heyburn ordered the state to recognize the out-of-state
marriages of gay couples.
After Kentucky Attorney General Jack
Conway declined to defend the state's ban in court, Democratic
Governor Steve Beshear hired private lawyers to do the job.
The outlandish claims made in the brief
have led some lawyers to speculate that Beshear, who previously was
considered a gay rights ally, is attempting to throw the case.
Last year, Beshear vetoed a bill
opponents said could be used to challenge local laws which ban
discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Sam Marcossen, a constitutional law
professor at the University of Louisville, told the Courier-Journal
that the state's appeal is “preposterous.”
“Nothing in the Beshear brief
explains how allowing same-sex marriage will change how many
heterosexual couples get married and have babies, or how many babies
they have,” Marcossen said.
Ruthann Robson of the City University
of New York called the state's arguments “a rather unique twist.”
Evan Wolfson, a lawyer and founder of
Freedom to Marry, added: “The state doesn't show – because it
can't – that denying gay people the freedom to marry does anything
to promote anyone else's procreation.”
“Gay and non-gay couples marry for a
bunch of reasons not related to birthrates and procreation, including
love, commitment and proving a strong family setting in which to
build a life with a partner and, for many, raise kids,” Wolfson
said.