Posted on 08/03/2005 2:29:12 PM PDT by kingattax
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. -- The debate over same-sex marriage shifted Tuesday to a Cherokee Nation courthouse, where justices heard arguments in the case of a lesbian couple who want the tribe to recognize their union.
Dawn McKinley, 33, and Kathy Reynolds, 28, have asked the tribe's highest court to throw out a lawsuit that halted their effort to file their tribe-issued marriage certificate.
They contend that Todd Hembree, the tribe member and attorney who brought the complaint, had no standing to do so because he hasn't been harmed by their attempt to be recognized as a married couple.
''It doesn't affect him,'' McKinley said on the courthouse steps after the justices heard arguments Tuesday.
''No more than his marriage affects us,'' Reynolds added.
Defining the terms
It's not clear when the Judicial Appeals Tribunal will rule. Hembree said the tribunal typically takes about 10 days to issue decisions.
Because of tribal sovereignty, Cherokee Nation marriage certificates are recognized just like Oklahoma marriage licenses.
The Owasso couple, both members of the tribe, exchanged vows in Cherokee in May 2004 after the tribe gave them the certificate without protest. But Hembree's lawsuit brought the injunction that kept it from being filed.
Hembree, counsel to the tribe's legislative body, believes that tribal law at the time clearly prohibited same-sex marriage.
''My interest in this case is to make sure our laws are followed,'' he said.
Hembree said tribal laws previously used gender-specific terms such as ''husband'' and ''wife'' to define marriage. McKinley and Reynolds contend those terms are not gender specific.
bttt
"Hembree said tribal laws previously used gender-specific terms such as ''husband'' and ''wife'' to define marriage. McKinley and Reynolds contend those terms are not gender specific."
I have a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary that I could loan to you half-witted twits who soil the whole of the Cherokee Nation with your behaviour.
Ne Zot. Just when you think Indian politics couldn't get weirder ...
My brain wants to asplode.
Perhaps they will make the Tribe adopt the terms Dom. (not the best word) and Bitch since those aren't gender specific.
Jeepers I am Cherokee (1/8) and from Okla.
Husband and wife need new definition huh?
Almost as weird as the time I looked up "couple" and it said Two or THREE .... Gives Married COUPLE a whole new definition.... LOL
"contend those terms are not gender specific."
didn't clinton say something like that?(grin)
Homosexual couples ape heterosexual married couples by having one partner in the dominant, "husband" role and the other as the submissive "wife". It would make for some interesting litigation to see who gets to be whom in the eyes of the courts.
How funny! I'm always telling my husband to get "a couple" of things. And he always replies, "how many?" and I always say, "A couple means TWO". Maybe I'll have to rethink my answer now..NOT! LOL
Indian Reservation
( Paul Revere and the Raiders )
They took the whole Cherokee Nation
And put us on this reservation
Took away our ways of life
The tomahawk and the bow and knife
They took away our native tongue
And taught their English to our young
And all the beads we made by hand
Are nowadays made in Japan
Cherokee people, Cherokee tribe
So proud to live, so proud to die
They took the whole Indian Nation
And locked us on this reservation
And though I wear a shirt and tie
I’m still a red man deep inside
Cherokee people, Cherokee tribe
So proud to live, so proud to die
But maybe someday when they learn
Cherokee Nation will return
Will return
Will return
Will return
Will return
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.