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The New York Times
Opinion
A Victory for
Same-Sex Marriage
EDITORIAL,
nytimes.com on the Web, February 5, 2008
In a decision at once common-sensical
and profound, a New York State appeals court ruled Friday that same-sex
marriages validly performed in other jurisdictions are entitled to recognition
in New York. It was common sense because it simply accorded same-sex
marriages the same legal status as other marriages. It was profound
because of the way it could transform the lives of gay people.
The plaintiff in the case, Patricia Martinez, a word-processing supervisor at an
upstate college, married her longtime partner, Lisa Ann Golden, in Canada in
2004. When Ms. Martinez applied for health care benefits for her spouse,
the college denied the application on the grounds that New York did not
recognize the marriage.
The court, by a 5-0 vote, declared that the college was wrong. Employers
in the state must accord same-sex couples the same rights as other couples.
To reach that result, it simply applied New York’s “marriage recognition rule.”
Under this century-old common-law rule, marriages validly contracted out of
state must be accorded respect in New York, and parties to such unions treated
as spouses, regardless of whether the marriage would be allowed in New York.
The rule applies unless the Legislature explicitly prohibits recognition or
recognition would be abhorrent to public policy. Unlike many states, New
York has not passed a law denying recognition to same-sex marriages performed
elsewhere. The court rightly decided that recognizing same-sex marriages
would not be “abhorrent.”
The ruling is particularly welcome because it follows a regrettable decision two
years ago by New York’s highest court. That decision said that prohibiting
same-sex marriages from being performed in New York does not violate the State
Constitution. Honoring same-sex marriages validly performed out of state
is a wholly separate legal issue, a point that New York’s attorney general,
Andrew Cuomo, usefully underscored in a friend-of-court brief.
The new decision still leaves considerable work to be done. New York’s ban
on performing same-sex marriage remains in force. And there is a chance
that the marriage-recognition decision will now be appealed.
Still, the ruling marks important progress toward changing laws and attitudes
that deprive gay people of equal rights and deny the dignity of New York’s many
gay families. They should be able to live, marry and raise children with
the same respect and the same rights as anyone else.
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