Gay couple rights OK’d by state’s top court
ALBANY — In a case that mirrors a Rochester-area decision, the state’s top court on Thursday upheld the rights of Westchester County and the state to legally extend benefits to same-sex couples married in other states.
The state Court of Appeals rejected a Christian legal group’s claim that the extension of benefits, including health insurance, to gay couples was illegal based on current state law. But the court stopped short of declaring that same-sex marriages must be recognized in New York, saying the decision is left to the Legislature. The state Senate has yet to pass the measure.
“We end expressing our hope that the Legislature will address this controversy,” the ruling said.
Gay-rights groups praised the decision, saying it is one more important step toward marriage equality for all couples in New York.
“This victory ensures that important spousal health coverage that same-sex couples need to protect their families will continue,” said Susan Sommer, an attorney for Lambda Legal, which intervened in the cases on behalf of couples in Ulster and Westchester counties.
The Alliance Defense Fund of Scottsdale, Ariz., argued that since same-sex marriage is not legal in New York, governments should not extend equal benefits to gay couples. The group lost in lower courts, which ruled that extending health insurance and some other benefits does not conflict with current laws.
The group said it was disappointed the court didn’t address the larger issue of whether same-sex marriages in other states needs to be recognized in New York.
“In New York, the only relationship recognized as marriage is the committed union of a man and a woman,” the group’s counsel, Brian Raum, said in a statement. “State and local officials should not attempt to use marriage laws from outside jurisdictions to place their political agendas ahead of the law.”
In June 2006, Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano issued an executive order that the county would recognize out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples. In 2007, the state agreed to allow gay couples married out of state and employed by New York and some local governments to receive health benefits for their families.
While the Court of Appeals rejected the challenges by the Alliance Defense Fund, it was split on the reasons why, and in a 4-to-3 decision didn’t address whether New York as a whole should recognize same-sex marriage.
Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick warned that patchwork regulations by different state and local governments were unwieldy.
Ciparick’s opinion also went further than the court majority and determined that New York has historically recognized most legal marriages from other jurisdictions — such as common-law marriages— even if not allowed in New York. The exceptions have been incest or polygamy cases.
That determination was the same reached by a Rochester-based regional appellate court when it decided last year that Monroe Community College had to extend benefits to a same-sex partner of MCC employee Patricia Martinez because the couple had legally wed in Canada.
Jeffrey Wicks, the lawyer for Martinez, said Thursday that he wished the Court of Appeals had used the same rationale in its decision.
“The majority is correct, just not correct enough,” he said.
Includes reporting by Journal News staff writer Gerald McKinstry and staff writer Gary Craig.