NY's same-sex marriage ban struck down
By AP from newsday.com from the Web, February 4, 2005
A Manhattan judge declared Friday that a section of law that forbids same-sex marriage violates the state constitution, a ruling which if upheld on appeal would allow gay couples to wed.
State Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan ruled that the words "husband," "wife," "groom" and "bride" in relevant sections of the Domestic Relations Law "shall be construed to mean 'spouse,' and all personal pronouns ... shall be construed to apply equally to either men or women."
Ling-Cohan, ruling for five same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses, also said the New York City clerk could not deny a marriage license to any couple solely on the ground that the two are of the same sex.
One couple, Mary Jo Kennedy and Jo-Ann Shain, said they were very happy about the ruling and believed it would offer their family increased legal protection.
They have been together 23 years and have a 15-year-old daughter who is Shain's biological child.
"We're just overjoyed," said Shain. "We didn't think it would ever happen.
Kennedy said she wants to marry Shain as soon as possible. "I can't wait," she said.
"We went to buy a (marriage) license in March 2004 and couldn't get it. That's what started this whole thing."
The city Law Department issued a statement saying only, "We are reviewing the decision thoroughly and considering our options."
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