NY Gay Marriages Declared Legit by Massachusetts Judge

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Over 170 gay and lesbian couples from New York who married in Massachusetts, where gay marriage is lawful, won a legal victory on Wednesday when a judge declared their unions legally binding. The couples had wed in Massachusetts before a 2006 New York state law specifically prohibited marriage for anyone other than "a man and a woman."

In May of 2004, when Massachusetts legalized gay marriage, hundreds of gay and lesbian couples flocked to the state to become legally married. However, according to a Massachusetts state law passed in March of 2006, only couples whose marriages would not be expressly banned in their home states would be allowed to marry there. This left in limbo the hundreds of partners who had wed in the state between May 2004 and March 2006.

The Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders group had requested a clarification on the status of those who had married in between the passing of the two laws.

The decision was handed down by Suffolk Superior Court judge Thomas Connolly, who stated that the unions were legal and binding, in Massachusetts as well as New York. A spokesperson from New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office confirmed the legality of the marriages. "Since 2004, it ahs been the position of the attorney general’s office that New York law presumptively requires the recognitions of marriages validly performed in other jurisdictions."

Gay rights’advocates see this decision as a major victory. Michael Adams, who lives in New York and wed his partner Fred Davie, in Massachusetts in 2004, told The Chicago Tribune, "We’ve been in limbo. To learn that the marriage we cherish so much is legal, and recognized in Massachusetts and New York – well, we can’t wait to get together to pop open a bottle of champagne."

Other groups did not share Adams’ sunny outlook on the ruling. Michael Long, the leader of the Conservative Party in New York, told the press, "It’s wishful thinking by some homosexual couples that the interpretation of a particular judge will change their status. The law in the state of New York is very clear – marriage is between a man and a woman."

A senior consultant for a gay rights group in New York, Lambda Legal, told reporters, "Not everybody along the way has agreed. There’s been some litigation around it. But the clear direction is one of growing respect and recognition."