Trachtman Interviewed on California Marriage Case

Litigation Partner Jeffrey Trachtman was interviewed by June Grasso on Bloomberg Law about the recent California Supreme Court hearing on whether the state's statutory exclusion of same-sex couples from civil marriage violates the California Constitution. Trachtman, who was co-counsel with Lambda Legal in Hernandez v. Robles, the New York marriage rights case, said that the core issue in the California case is the fundamental right to marry, no matter who is exercising that right. He said that current domestic partnership laws and civil unions provide neither the same practical protections nor the full respect and dignity of inclusion in civil marriage. Trachtman further said that the powerful symbolic and emotional impact of being able to say one is "married" explains why both sides in the debate view the choice of the word as so important.