http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,359547,00.html
Gay Rights Advocates Score Wins in N.Y., Calif.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
NEW YORK — Gay rights advocates had reason to celebrate on both
coasts Thursday, with New York set to recognize same-*** marriages
performed elsewhere and California preparing to begin issuing marriage
licenses to gay couples on June 17.
Hours after California issued a directive Wednesday authorizing that
date, word came that New York Gov. David Paterson instructed state
agencies — including those governing insurance and health care — to
immediately change policies and regulations to recognize gay
marriages.
For years, gay rights advocates have sought recognition for same-***
marriages so couples could share family health care plans, receive tax
breaks by filing jointly, enjoy stronger adoption rights and inherit
property.
Many or all of those rights would now appear to be available to New
Yorkers who legally wed same-*** partners in other states and
countries, according to the memo sent earlier this month from the
governor's counsel. Agencies have until June 30 to re****t back to the
counsel on how, specifically, the directive will change existing state
benefits and services for gay couples.
"This is a milestone in the fight for fairness in New York," Donna
Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union,
said in a statement. "Couples in New York who have never known true
security for their families will be officially entitled to treatment
by our state government that respects their rights."
The Rev. Duane Motley, director of New Yorkers for Constitutional
Freedoms, which has lobbied against the legalization of gay marriage,
declined to comment on Paterson's directive. State Conservative Party
Chairman Michael Long didn't immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Massachusetts is currently the only U.S. state that recognizes
same-*** marriage, but its residency requirements would bar New
Yorkers from marrying there.
New York residents could instead flock to California, where gay
couples will be able to wed beginning June 17 — unless that state's
Supreme Court decides to stay its own ruling same-*** gay marriage.
Upon their return home, in the eyes of the state, their unions would
be no different from those of their hetero***ual neighbors.
Gay couples could also travel outside the country to marry in Canada
or one of the other nations where same-*** marriage is legal.
The move by Paterson's administration does not legalize same-***
marriage in New York. The state's highest court, the Court of Appeals,
has said it can only be legalized by the Legislature, which failed to
pass a proposed measure last year.
The memo, one of the strongest steps the state can take short of
action by the Legislature, cited a Feb. 1 ruling by a New York
Appellate Division court in a case involving a woman wed in Canada who
was denied benefits by her partner's employer.
The appellate judges determined that there is no legal impediment in
New York to the recognition of a same-*** marriage. The state
Legislature "may decide to prohibit the recognition of same-***
marriages solemnized abroad," the ruling said. "Until it does so,
however, such marriages are entitled to recognition in New York."
In a video shown Saturday at the Empire State Pride Agenda's spring
dinner, the governor said he directed the move as "a strong step
toward marriage equality right here in our state."
"We're aware that our advocacy is incomplete and we will keep trying
until people who love each other and want to get married, regardless
of who they are, have that op****tunity," Paterson said in the video,
which was posted on the gay rights organization's Web site.
Paterson spokeswoman Erin Duggan said the May 14 memo is intended to
guide the actions of state agencies. It states that agencies must
change policies and regulations to make sure "spouse," "husband" and
"wife" are clearly understood to include gay couples.
The memo says failure to include gay marriages in the dispensing of
state services such as health care benefits could violate state human
rights law. The agencies could face sanctions for any violations, it
warns.
The agency changes can be instituted through internal memos or changes
in regulations and would not require legislative action, Paterson
counsel David Nocenti said in the memo, first re****ted by The New York
Times.
Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Paterson, his running mate for
lieutenant governor, campaigned in 2006 on a platform that included
bringing equal rights to gays. Spitzer, however, said the state
constitution didn't sanction gay marriage.
Last year, a bill to legalize same-*** marriage in New York was
approved by the Democrat-led Assembly, but the Republican-led Senate
hasn't taken it up.
In California, a group opposed to gay marriage has asked the state
Supreme Court to grant a stay of its May 15 ruling until after the
November election, when voters are likely to face a ballot initiative
that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Passage of the initiative would overrule the Supreme Court.
Justices have until June 16 to rule on the stay request, according to
the memo sent Wednesday by e-mail to the state's 58 county clerks.
The guidelines from Janet McKee, chief of California's office of vital
records, contained copies of new marriage forms that include lines for
"Party A" and "Party B" instead of bride and groom. The gender-neutral
nomenclature was developed in consultation with county clerks,
according to the letter.
"Effective June 17, 2008, only the enclosed new forms may be issued
for the issuance of marriage licenses in California," the directive
reads.
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