Same-sex partners demand action
By Roger DuPuis II



ITHACA -- They're calling themselves "The Ithaca 50," and aided by four Ithaca attorneys, they're demanding that state courts acknowledge their constitutional right to get married.

Twenty-five same-sex couples on Wednesday hosted a press conference to announce that they had filed suit against the state health department, the City of Ithaca and City Clerk Julie Conley Holcomb for refusing to issue them marriage licenses.

"We are able to legally adopt each others' children, but we are not legally able to protect one another as a family," said plaintiff Lisa Bushlow. She and partner Nina Panzer have been together six years, and have a two-year-old son.

"The plaintiffs have not only been denied the right to make a legal commitment to one another, but they have been deprived the comprehensive legal structure that marriage provides," said Mariette Geldenhuys, an Ithaca lawyer who's representing about half of the plaintiffs. Attorneys Richard Stumbar and legal partner Elizabeth Bixler are representing the other couples.