New York's Laws Said to Support Some Gay Unions | NYT

[Ediacara]

New York's Laws Said to Support Some Gay Unions
By MARC SANTORA

Published: March 4, 2004

ALBANY, March 3 — Attorney General Eliot Spitzer of New York declared on Wednesday that he believes that New York law is clear that the state should recognize same-sex marriages lawfully performed in other jurisdictions. He also said the state's marriage laws raise "serious constitutional concerns" in that they recognize only unions between a man and a woman.

But while he seemed to open the door to gay marriages, Mr. Spitzer also sent a strong message that New York's laws prohibit the state's mayors and town leaders from performing marriage ceremonies between people of the same sex.

He said his opinion that the state was legally sound in withholding marriage licenses was intended to try to halt the growing press by those who are seeking to change the law by performing same-sex marriages. "One of the messages I was trying to send was: Don't do it," said Mr. Spitzer, a Democrat who is widely discussed as a possible candidate for governor in 2006.

More at the New York Times

[SoDesuKa]

1. Spitzer is Straddling the Fence

Spitzer is trying to sound reasonable, but he's failing. He has big time ambitions and a few endorsements already. It will be for naught if he gets overly identified with an unpopular issue.