NEW YORK — A New York state judge dismissed a lawsuit Sept. 2 against Gov. David A. Paterson, ruling he acted within his power when he ordered state agencies to recognize gay “marriages” from outside the state.
Although the decision by Justice Lucy Billings is being appealed, it nevertheless is a victory for gay “marriage” supporters nationwide. If Paterson’s May directive stands, it will mean the nation’s first (California) and third most populous states will recognize gay “marriages” in one form or another. Unlike California, New York homosexual couples cannot get “married” within the state, but they are only a short drive from Massachusetts or Canada — both of which border New York — where gay “marriage” is legal and they can obtain a license.
The lawsuit against Paterson, a Democrat, was filed by the Alliance Defense Fund, a pro-family group, on behalf of 16 state taxpayers, including two state senators and three state assemblymen.
The suit stated the governor “does not have authority to declare which unions will be recognized as valid marriages in New York” and that such authority belongs to the legislature.
But Billings disagreed, saying gay “marriage” is not specifically banned in New York. She ruled that Paterson’s directive was a “permissible, if not mandated, step toward the objective of equality for a group for whom legal as well as practical barriers to equality persist.” (TAB)
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