New York City Rejects Gay Couples Seeking Marriage Licenses

[rodbarnett]

NEW YORK (AP) - Dozens of same-sex couples lined up outside the city clerk's office to obtain marriage licenses Thursday morning but were turned away with a letter explaining that gay marriages are illegal in the state.
On Wednesday, the city's top lawyer ruled that local law prohibits gay marriage, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg vowed to enforce the law. New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer also said Wednesday that gay weddings are illegal, though one small-town mayor has conducted gay marriages and another plans to try to obtain license.

Mara Gottlieb, 33, and Camille Gonzalez, 38, were first in line at the New York City clerk's office.

"We're disappointed, but we think it's important for people to come here," Gottlieb said. "We want the politicians to know that this isn't going away."

Spitzer's legal opinion said current state law prohibits same-sex weddings, but the attorney general said he would leave it to the courts to decide if the law is constitutional.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGARJZ6XERD.html

[SoDesuKa]

1. Spitzer Chickens Out

Spitzer's early stance on the issue was promising, but he weakened when he saw that it would cost him support in his run for Governor. Now, he talks one way and acts another.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

3. It's called "the rule of law".

As a judge, Spitzer is bound by oath to uphold the laws of the land, regardless of whether or not he agrees with them.

He originally said that he's in favour of gay marriage, then he said it's illegal; the two are not mutually exclusive, but the latter supercedes the former. As it should.

And before somebody overreacts to that last sentence, I don't mean gay marriage should be illegal. I mean a judge should respect the law over anyone's personal feelings, including his own. If Spitzer decided to only support the laws that happened to coincide with his own beliefs and those of his supporters, he'd be no better than Roy Moore or Antonin Scalia.

[Beetwasher]

5. Utter Bullshit

Spitzer merely said that according to current NY law the marriages aren't legal. However, he said he thinks it's wrong and as AG he won't pursue the issue and try to prosecute anyone for gay marriage because he's certain that he would lose the case AND he thinks the law is unconstitutional and SHOULD be overturned. He said it will have to be decided in the courts, but he's not going to pursue it.

[Festivito]

2. Same here in Detroit.

Knowing that they wouldn't be successful, several couples went to apply and got a paper that said it's illegal in Michigan.

[Occulus]

4. Keep it going.

Now's the time to turn the screws on this. They need to be lined up all the way down the block, every day. Choke off the clerk's offices and make 'em pay people to basically do nothing. Waste their time.

A few years back, there was a local protest ay a Cracker Barrel restaurant over their policies regarding gays (if you're gay, or act or look it, you're fired immediately). Since CB had free coffee refills at the time, on one day the protesters- all gay themselves- went in, filled the entire store, and ordered coffee and nothing else. All day long. And the store couldn't throw them out because free refills were their policy and they would be opening themselves to a massive lawsuit if they didn't let it happen.

Well, I know there are far more gay individuals in NYC than all the clerk's offices could handle if they all, en masse, decided now would be a good time to confirm the denial of nuptials with their own eyes and get themselves their own, personal copy of the letter.

Wouldn't that be a sight?