Judge Rejects New York Ban on Same-Sex Marriage
In a victory for same-sex marriage advocates, a New York state judge in Manhattan ruled today that denying gay couples licenses to marry violates the State Constitution, and she ordered the city to begin issuing licenses in March unless a higher court intervened.
In a 62-page decision, the first in New York State to affirm the rights of gays to marry, Justice Doris Ling-Cohan of State Supreme Court wrote that New York State's Domestic Relations Law, which dates to the 19th century, is unconstitutional. The law, she wrote, violates gay couples' due process and their rights to equal protection under the law.
I'll remain optimistically hopeful till a full court ruling before running out and sizing up rings.
Posted by ronn at February 4, 2005 08:25 PM