A New York court on Tuesday backed Gov. David Paterson's directive to recognize same-sex "marriages" performed outside the state.
Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) sued in June to stop Paterson’s directive to state agencies to change up to 1,300 state policies and regulations to include same-sex couples. New York law assumes marriage is between one man and one woman.
Jim Campbell, ADF litigation counsel, said the court's decision enshrines the radical notion that the state should forfeit its autonomy to define marriage for itself.
"We believe that the trial court's ruling is incorrect and that the governor has, in fact, usurped his authority by overriding the people's decision to define marriage in New York as the union of one man and one woman," Campbell told Reuters.
