New York’s highest court, The State Court of Appeals, is set to hear arguments in two cases that challenge New York’s recognition of same-sex marriages legally performed elsewhere. Lambda Legal is representing our side in both cases. From the New York Times:
Lower courts have already sided with two government entities that revised their policies to honor the marriages, but those decisions were appealed by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian group that is waging multiple legal battles in New York to stop state and local entities from recognizing marriages of same-sex couples who were wed in places, like Massachusetts and Canada, where the ceremony is legal.
Neither case involved Gov. David A. Paterson’s directive last May that ordered state agencies to recognize legal same-sex marriages performed outside New York State.
Susan Sommer, senior counsel from Lambda Legal, a gay rights group that is representing Westchester County and the civil service department, said she had hoped the court would decide not to hear the cases, but added that she was optimistic it would not rule against same-sex couples.
“I think the rulings in the lower courts were correct and consistent with all the other prevailing decisions in the state,” she said. “I’m looking forward to making the same arguments to the high court so we can ask it to affirm those same arguments that have prevailed in all other cases.”
Twitter Users: You can also leave a comment using your Twitter account by clicking the button below.