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Divorce Law and the Same-Sex Marriage Debate

By ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |

As the debate over the legal status of same-sex relationships has percolated over the last several years ' fueled in part by a wave of recent judicial decisions and statutes extending comprehensive rights to lesbian and gay couples in Vermont, Connecticut, California, and Massachusetts, as well as abroad in England, Spain, Canada, South Africa, and elsewhere ' New York courts had several opportunities to consider the issues emanating from these relationships and have now decided that the state constitution does not compel recognition of marriages between members of the same sex.

The state's highest court ruled on July 6 in Hernandez v. Robles, 2006 NY Slip Op 5239, that the New York State Constitution does not compel recognition of marriages between members of the same sex. The court noted that whether such marriages should be recognized is a question to be addressed by the Legislature. (In February 2006, in Samuels v. New York State Dept of Health, 2006 N.Y. Slip Op. 01213, 2006 WL 346465 (3d Dept Feb. 16, 2006), the Third Department joined the First Department in holding that a ban on same-sex marriage does not violate the New York Constitution.) It is now up to the New York State Legislature to determine the future of same-sex marriages and correct the inequality that exists for these couples and their families. This two-part article discusses the many reasons supporting such action.

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