What Lewis v. Harris means to Princeton

Princeton undergraduates will soon choose whether or not to direct their student government to sign on to an amicus brief submitted by the Princeton Justice Project in the case of Lewis v. Harris on behalf of the plaintiffs, seven gay and lesbian couples seeking to marry in New Jersey.

Should the USG involve itself in the debate on gay marriage?

Lewis v. Harris is a local case of urgent relevance to Princeton undergraduates because currently, hundreds of Princeton students are unequal under the law of the State of New Jersey. If the USG is to fulfill its duty to work for the best interests of Princeton students, it must sign on to the PJP amicus brief.

In 850 ways, New Jersey state law denies Princeton's LGBT students equality with their heterosexual peers — 850 being the number of legal provisions pertaining to marriage in the state of New Jersey, an institution from which lesbian and gay couples are currently barred.

Among these 850 provisions are legal protections, rights and responsibilities that most heterosexual people do not even realize that we have, but ones that can be devastating in their absence. They range from the mundane, such as being able to file a joint tax return, to the essential, like being considered "next of kin" for purposes of hospital visitation and medical procedures. All are important. Imagine being shut out of a hospital in the dying moments of a lifelong partner because visitation rights are reserved only for those included in the state's definition of "family," and you can begin to understand the reasons why gay and lesbian couples seek this basic right.

Lewis v. Harris is a local case with direct implications for New Jersey residents, including Princeton students. LGBT students — our roommates, teammates and classmates — are denied access by New Jersey to our society's fundamental institution on the basis of their sexual orientation. The awful fact is that unless the plaintiffs succeed, New Jersey state law will continue to regard them as second-class citizens.

Chris Lloyd '06, who leads the PJP's Gay Family Rights Project, said to me that, "When I hear people say that this isn't something that affects Princeton students, it is like they spit in my face. How can anyone say that? This case directly affects every gay Princeton student."

The immediate impact of the outcome of Lewis v. Harris will be compounded by its future impacts on Princeton.

Because Lewis v. Harris so directly implicates the legal status of current and future LGBT students at Princeton, a negative outcome of the case could compromise the caliber of students Princeton attracts. The USG must do all that it can to support the plaintiffs in Lewis v. Harris because if the court rules against them, there is a very real chance that Princeton University will no longer be a top choice of talented LGBT students. Should the court rule against them, it is not unrealistic to think that these students might be attracted to a topflight institution in states which do not discriminate against them on the basis of their sexual orientation. Massachusetts (Harvard) is the one state in the union where LGBT students are equal under the law, and those in Connecticut (Yale) are not far behind — that state just passed the strongest civil unions bill in the country, virtually erasing the kinds of legal barriers which are still very present in New Jersey.

Though there is ample precedent for the USG taking stances on national issues — most recently, in 2003 the USG passed a resolution in support of the University's amicus brief on affirmative action in college admissions — some wonder what will happen to the USG if it takes a stance on Lewis v. Harris. With the stakes so high for so many Princeton students, this concern is beside the point — the critical question is not about what will happen to the USG if it signs on to Lewis vs. Harris. The critical question is, "What will happen to Princeton University's LGBT students if their student government fails to stand up for them?" Thomas Bohnett is president of the Princeton Justice Project and a Wilson School major from Princeton Junction. He can be reached at tbohnett@princeton.edu.