News

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

NEW YORK, January 23, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In the latest instance of a court decision imposing recognition of same-sex “marriage” without enacted legislation by an elected government, an appellate court ruled today that the “marriages” of homosexual couples that took place outside of New York must be recognized by the state.

The decision was made in the case of Lewis v. Department of Civil Service and involved taxpayers who sued the state Department of Civil Service (DCS) for recognizing same-sex spouses of state employees “married” out of state for purposes of health insurance benefits.

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a legal non-profit organization, filed the suit on behalf of New York taxpayers, and challenged DCS’s authority to grant health insurance benefits to “married” homosexual couples without legislation in place permitting them to do so.

The appellate court based its decision on a previous court decision, the case of Martinez v. County of Monroe, which ruled that since the “New York Legislature has not enacted legislation to prohibit the recognition of same-sex marriages,” Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY, was required to extend health benefits to college employee Patricia Martinez, who was “married” to her homosexual partner in Canada.

The homosexual activist group Lambda Legal praised the appellate court decision and said it was an implementation of NY Governor Paterson’s May 2008 “directive” instructing all state agencies to respect out–of–state “marriages” of same–sex couples.

Governor Paterson’s “recognition of same-sex marriage” directive was challenged in the New York Supreme Court in September 2008 but the suit was subsequently dismissed.

Read related LSN articles:

Homosexual “Marriage” Trickling Down to New York as Judge Recognizes Same-Sex Divorce
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/oct/08102711.html

New York Judge Permits Lesbian Divorce Despite State’s Non-Recognition of Same-sex “Marriage”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/feb/08022801.html