New York court rules in favor of same-sex marriage
{{byline|date=February 4, 2005|location=[[W:New York, New York|New York, New York]]}} Five [[w:Same-sex marriage|same-sex couples]] won a major victory Friday as a New York State court ruled that [[w:homosexuality|gay]] couples must be allowed to marry.

Doris Ling-Cohan, a New York state [[w:New York Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] justice, said New York’s state constitution guarantees lesbian and gay people equal access to marriage rights that are violated when same-sex couples are not allowed to marry.

"This is a historic ruling that delivers the state Constitution's promise of equality to all New Yorkers," Susan Sommer, Supervising Attorney at [[w:Lambda Legal Defense Fund|Lambda Legal Defense Fund]], said in a statement to reporters.

In the New York State justice system, the Supreme Court is [[w:Trial court|court]] in which cases originate, and is not the highest court. Decisions from the Supreme Court may, with reason, be appealed to the Appellate Division, and possibly beyond that to the [[w:New York Court of Appeals|Court of Appeals]], the highest court in the New York State justice system.

Justice Ling-Cohan ordered the New York City Clerk's office to start issuing marriage licences to same-sex couple within 30 days. An appeal is expected.

==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/04/nyregion/04cnd-marriage.html |title=Judge Rejects New York Ban on Same-Sex Marriage|author=Sabrina Tavernese and Mark J. Prendergast|pub=New York Times|date=February 4, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7545696|title=NY Court Says Gay Couples Have Equal Right to Marry|author=Christine Kearney |pub=Reuters|date=February 4, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/02/020405nyMarr.htm|title=New York Court Rules Gays Must Be Allowed To Marry|author=Beth Shapiro|pub=365Gay.com|date=February 4, 2005}}

== External links ==
* [http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?co=0 New York State Constitution]
* [http://www.lambdalegal.org/binary-data/LAMBDA_PDF/pdf/378.pdf Decision: Hernandez v Robles (pdf)]

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[[Category:North America]]
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:LGBT]]
[[Category:Same-sex marriage]]
[[Category:Constitutions (unsorted)]]
Five same-sex couples won a major victory Friday as a New York State court ruled that gay couples must be allowed to marry.

Doris Ling-Cohan, a New York state Supreme Court justice, said New York’s state constitution guarantees lesbian and gay people equal access to marriage rights that are violated when same-sex couples are not allowed to marry.

"This is a historic ruling that delivers the state Constitution's promise of equality to all New Yorkers," Susan Sommer, Supervising Attorney at Lambda Legal Defense Fund, said in a statement to reporters.

In the New York State justice system, the Supreme Court is court in which cases originate, and is not the highest court. Decisions from the Supreme Court may, with reason, be appealed to the Appellate Division, and possibly beyond that to the Court of Appeals, the highest court in the New York State justice system.

Justice Ling-Cohan ordered the New York City Clerk's office to start issuing marriage licences to same-sex couple within 30 days. An appeal is expected.
North America United States politics and conflicts LGBT Same-sex marriage Constitutions (unsorted)