Another step forward for marriage equality in New York State

NYTimes Albany Bureau reporter Jeremy Peters has just posted a story on Gov. David Paterson's order to all state agencies to revise their policies in order to recognize marriages of same-sex couples that have been legally performed out-of-state (in places like Canada and now California). The move is highly significant because, as the article says directly "short of an act by the Legislature, the directive ordered by Mr. Paterson is the one of the strongest statements a state can make in favor of gay unions."

Gov. Paterson announced his intention to do this at the Pride Agenda's Spring Dinner in Rochester on Sat., May 17. See the video of this announcement below:

Peters' story also mentions "as many as 1,300 statutes and regulations in New York governing everything from joint filing of income tax returns to transferring fishing licenses between spouses." This number was taken from a report that the Pride Agenda and the New York City Bar Association released last year cataloguing every single right, responsibility and statute that comes with a marriage license in New York State. It was the first (and is so far the only) catalogue of what a state can provide through a marriage license (which is separate from the rights and protections provided by the federal government).

Stay tuned from more from us on this.