Judge Rejects Challenge to N.Y. Recognition of Gay Rites
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A Bronx judge has thrown out the first direct legal challenge to Governor Paterson’s move to recognize out-of-state gay marriages.
In a ruling today, a state Supreme Court Judge, Lucy Billings, said the policy is a “permissible, if not mandated, step toward the objective of equality” for gays. Her finding comes as thousands of gay New Yorkers are expected to take advantage of a new Massachusetts law letting them wed there.
Mr. Paterson’s counsel told state agencies in May that a recent appellate court ruling required them to recognize gay marriages legally performed elsewhere.
An Arizona-based Christian legal group, the Alliance Defense Fund, filed a lawsuit saying the issue should be decided by the state Legislature, not the governor.
The alliance and Mr. Paterson’s office had no immediate response to the ruling.
