A day after winning a reversal of a court ruling that would have legalized same-sex marriage in New York City, mayor Michael Bloomberg said he will fight for the right of gay and lesbian couples to wed.

Bloomberg in a statement said that if the Court of Appeals - the highest state in New York - affirms Thursday's ruling he would urge the Legislature to change the law to permit gay marriage.

Bloomberg's statement was dismissed by LGBT rights groups who note that it is the mayor's office which is fighting the original ruling in Manhattan that would have allowed gay marriage. Lawyers for the mayor also will argue against gay marriage when the issue get to the Court of Appeals.

Thursday, the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division ruled 4-1 that New York City judge Doris Ling-Cohan erred in her ruling last February and then proceeded to wrap her knuckles for the way she did it.

"We find it even more troubling that the court, upon determining the statute to be unconstitutional, proceeded to rewrite it and purportedly create a new constitutional right," the four majority justices said.

In her ruling Ling-Cohan said the state's ban on gay marriage was not only unconstitutional but also that the New York City clerk may not deny a marriage license solely because a couple is of the same sex. Thursday's mid level appeals court ruling was the result of an appeal brought by Bloomberg.

The case was brought by 5 gay and lesbian couples from Manhattan. The were represented by Lambda Legal.

is one of three currently working their way up the legal system to New York State's highest court.

It is expected that all three cases eventually will reach New York's highest Court, the Court of Appeal. It is also expected that the three cases will be rolled together so that the justices can issue a single ruling on same-sex marriage.

via 365gay.com

A bit confusing. He is calling for gay marriage - though his lawyer's will be arguing against it. I also came across this interesting piece that I completely agree with...

New York City journalist and activist Andy Humm quickly moved to distribute a statement which challenges the story as reported. Here is Mr. Humm's statement:

Why would you repeat this Bloomberg spin?

Mike Bloomberg refused to support same-sex marriage until the day he went to court to appeal the decision that ordered him to provide licenses to gay couples--an action that Barney Frank among others called "terrible for us" because instead of reaching the high court in New York with thousands of legally married same-sex couples, we have none.

Bloomberg isn't seeking clarfication from the courts. His Law Department, a formidable powerhouse, is using all of its resources to keep gays from marrying, using arguments from the bible and putting forth the procreative nature of marriage to defend it from same-sex couples. He was under no legal obligation to appeal this decision, but did it in February because he faced a Republican primary challenge from a conservative at the time.

NY's Statewide gay rights group: Empire State Pride Agenda

This entry was posted on Friday, December 09, 2005 at 2:23 PM. Want to discuss? Leave a comment below.