NY Court Says Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

by Mark Egan
Jun 10, 2004

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York state court on Thursday ruled in favor of same-sex marriage because denying gays the right to wed goes against equal protection measures in the state's constitution.

In the state's first such ruling, the Justice Court in New Paltz threw out charges that the town's mayor, Jason West, violated the law by marrying dozens of gay couples in February without licenses.

"None of the reasons stated in opposition to same-sex marriage is paramount to the equal protection guarantees enshrined in the state and federal constitutions," Judge Jonathan Katz said in his ruling.

"Even if the financial issues could be addressed in some comprehensive way short of allowing same-sex partners to marry, there would still be no emotional substitute for marriage," Katz wrote.

A spokeswoman for New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said, "We are reviewing the decision."

An official at the attorney general's office who asked not to be named said the ruling "could be viewed as a major decision."

Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams was not immediately available to comment on whether his office would appeal the decision.

West's attorney, Joshua Rosenkranz, said the court had ruled that denying same sex marriage was "irrational."

"This marks the first official step in the march toward full equality for gays and lesbians in New York state," Rosenkranz said. "It is the first time that any court in this state has declared that same-sex couples have the same rights, same status, and same dignity as every other citizen."

Massachusetts, which often leads American social change, in May became the first state to legalize gay marriage.

In February, officials in San Francisco began allowing more than 4,000 gay couples to wed in the famously liberal city. California's Supreme Court halted the weddings and is now considering the matter.

Gary Buseck of gay rights advocacy group Lambda Legal said the ruling was "another example of a judge doing the right thing and recognizing that there simply isn't any point in denying marriage rights to same-sex couples."

He said the issue ultimately would be decided by New York's highest court in a process that could take up to two years.

Rosenkranz said that West would have to fight two other gay-marriage charges filed by Ulster County before starting to officiate at weddings again.