Paterson Says Same-Sex Marriage Edict Follows State Law
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- May
- 29
Gov. David Paterson just finished talking to reporters in Manhattan and said his directive to state agencies to allow for same-sex marriage rights in New York is legal and upholds the state’s tradition of honoring marriages from other states.
“We as a state would be liable if we didn’t take this action,” Paterson said.
Paterson said he thinks gay marriage is “beautiful. I think it’s fine” but he said his decision is based on law, not his personal opinion.
He cited a Feb. 1 ruling by an appellate court in a case involving a Monroe County couple, one of whom sued Monroe Community College after the school refused to provide health insurance for her partner, whom she married in Canada where same-sex marriages are legal.
He said that case affirms the state’s responsibility to accept marriage licenses from same-sex couples who get married in other states and countries. Only Massachusetts, and soon California, have same-sex marriage laws.
If he didn’t allow for same-sex married couples to receive the same benefits as heterosexual couples, Paterson said “I would leave these state open to lawsuits. I would open the state to monetary damages. And I would be discriminating against individuals who come here from other jurisdictions.”
Some state legislators fired back at Paterson for the directive to state agencies, suggesting it’s an end around the Legislature, which has yet to adopt a same-sex marriage law. The Assembly passed the measure last year, but has not been taken up in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Paterson responded that the Legislature has every right to pass a same-sex marriage bill, just like he has the right to follow the law and allow for equal benefits to gay couples.
In one of his toughest cracks at the Legislature, he ended his press conference with if the Legislature isn’t happy, “maybe they should go in and work on something.”
This entry was posted
on Thursday, May 29th, 2008 at 1:37 pm by Joseph Spector.
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This “legal” mandate comes unilaterally from someone who never passed the bar exam.
I think this is an end-around not only of the Legislature, but also of the NYS Court of Appeals and of the residents of NY state, who have consistently opposed gay marriage. Paterson thinks he is being slick, but he isn’t.
Paterson has really put himself into hot water here. The state is about broke, but his action will cost the state a lot of money in benefits. This will be a big issue for Republicans and the many others opposed to gay marriage.
It seems to be consistant with NY State recognizing hetero marriages also performed out of state. If they recognize those, then why not gay marriages performed legally out of state? It still doesn’t permit gay marriages here, just recognizes ones performed elsewhere.
If we don’t recognize gay marriages, I think we might be leaving NYS open to lawsuits challenging our recognition of legal hetero marriages performed elsewhere, but not legal gay marriages.
My problem is, net-net, while yapping about a coming fiscal holocaust, he’s found yet another way to increase spending. He and Silver make a great pair. Silver is shrewd enough to make a personal fortune via his shenanigans; the gov seems to be just a well-meaning dolt.
Walt, you ask a fair question. I believe the answer is that because “marriage” is defined in state law, Paterson cannot unilaterally order something not recognized as a legal marriage to be so recognized. In other words, only the legislature can define what a “marriage” is, and if another state defines it differently, New York does not recognize it as such. There is really no danger of the state being sued (successfully) from somebody married outside the state because the power to set rules on things like marriages are reserved to the states under the Constitution, and homosexual marriage has not been recognized as a protected Constitutional right.
What Paterson has done is truly a raw abuse of power, and it is almost certain not to survive a legal challenge.
Marriage is a basic civil right that should be attainable by all Americans if they choose. For those who are uncomfortable with gay marriage check out our short produced to educate & defuse the controversy. It has a way of opening closed minds & provides some sanity on the issue: www.OUTTAKEonline.com
Actually, Sara, I found out today that the Paterson ruling was precipitated by a successful suit brought against Monroe County and the Community College up there, wherein the court ruled that the college had to extend medical benefits to the spouse of a lesbian married in Canada employed by the college.
Now, as to whether Paterson is overstepping the bounds of the executive branch, I have no opinion on that.
Paterson wasn’t even elected governor. He has gone way over the line, and there will be suits filed against him.
He has gone around the state legislature and the residents of NY, who have consistently said in polls they oppose gay marriage. Two years ago, the Court of Appeals ruled that it is NOT unconstiutional for NYS to ban gay marriage.
Paterson is not the emperor of NY. As I said, he wasn’t even elected governor. This guy is a loose cannon.
Wrong time. Wrong place. Right now, the budget is a mess. He should be focused on fixing that and then maybe he can look at discussing divisive social issues down the road. I can only suspect he is already looking towards shoring up support with his liberal base in case he gets a primary challenge from Andrew Cuomo in the next election.