Politics on the Hudson

The state’s top court today upheld the rights of Westchester County and the state to legally extend benefits to same-sex couples married in other states.

The state Court of Appeals rejected a Christian legal group’s claim that the extension of benefits to gay couples was illegal based on current state law.

But the court stopped short of declaring same-sex marriage in New York legal, saying that such a decision should be left to the state Legislature. The state Senate has yet to pass the measure.

“We end … expressing our hope that the Legislature will address this controversy,” the ruling found.

The Alliance Defense Fund of Scottsdale, Ariz. argued that since same-sex marriage is not legal in New York, state and local governments should not extend equal benefits to gay couples.

The group lost in lower courts, which ruled that extending the benefits does not conflict with current laws.

In June 2006, Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano issued an executive order that the county would recognize out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples. In 2007, the state agreed to allow gay couples married out of state and employed by New York and some local governments to receive health benefits for their families.

The Court of Appeals rejected the challenges by the Alliance Defense Fund, but was split on their
reasons why.

In a written opinion, Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick warned that the patchwork regulations by different state and local government are unwieldy.

“The effect of the majority’s rationale in affirming these orders,” she wrote, “will be to permit an unworkable pattern of conflicting executive and administrative directives promulgated pursuant to the individual discretion of each agency head.”

Marriage Ruling

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