A Victory for Same-Sex Marriage

Thanks to Jake Jacobson for passing this New York Times Editorial along to us:
February 5, 2008

n a decision at once common-sensical and profound, a New York State appeals court ruled Friday that same-sex marriages validly performed in other jurisdictions are entitled to recognition in New York. It was common sense because it simply accorded same-sex marriages the same legal status as other marriages. It was profound because of the way it could transform the lives of gay people.

The plaintiff in the case, Patricia Martinez, a word-processing supervisor at an upstate college, married her longtime partner, Lisa Ann Golden, in Canada in 2004. When Ms. Martinez applied for health care benefits for her spouse, the college denied the application on the grounds that New York did not recognize the marriage.

The court, by a 5-0 vote, declared that the college was wrong. Employers in the state must accord same-sex couples the same rights as other couples. To reach that result, it simply applied New York’s “marriage recognition rule.” Under this century-old common-law rule, marriages validly contracted out of state must be accorded respect in New York, and parties to such unions treated as spouses, regardless of whether the marriage would be allowed in New York.

The rule applies unless the Legislature explicitly prohibits recognition or recognition would be abhorrent to public policy. Unlike many states, New York has not passed a law denying recognition to same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. The court rightly decided that recognizing same-sex marriages would not be “abhorrent.”

The ruling is particularly welcome because it follows a regrettable decision two years ago by New York’s highest court. That decision said that prohibiting same-sex marriages from being performed in New York does not violate the State Constitution. Honoring same-sex marriages validly performed out of state is a wholly separate legal issue, a point that New York’s attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, usefully underscored in a friend-of-court brief.

The new decision still leaves considerable work to be done. New York’s ban on performing same-sex marriage remains in force. And there is a chance that the marriage-recognition decision will now be appealed.

Still, the ruling marks important progress toward changing laws and attitudes that deprive gay people of equal rights and deny the dignity of New York’s many gay families. They should be able to live, marry and raise children with the same respect and the same rights as anyone else.