Sun 13 Mar 2011 In: International News View at Wayback View at NDHA
A gay New Yorker was excused jury service when he told the judge that his “second-class citizen” status meant he could not be impartial. Gay actor Jonathan Lovitz wrote on his Facebook page, “Just had an intense day at jury duty... we were asked who would not be impartial. I raised my hand...” ”I never intended to be an activist,” he later told MSNBC’s News Nation. ”I’m just a young gay man who saw some inequality in the state, in the country.” To the judge, Lovitz had cited his inability to marry a man or adopt a child in New York as the basis for his action, though a 365 Gay blogger has pointed out he’s wrong on the adoption point. Others have taken the same stand as Lovitz. WNYC reporter Beth Fertig says that at jury duty in Manhattan, she heard two similar statements to the judge by potential jurors who said they were gay and couldn’t be impartial because they were denied rights such as marriage. Both were excused from the case.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Sunday, 13th March 2011 - 10:23pm