UPDATE 1 -- New York to become 6th U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage

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UPDATE 1 -- New York to become 6th U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage

2011-06-25 11:44:31 GMT+7 (ICT)

ALBANY (BNO NEWS) -- The New York Senate on late Friday evening passed the Marriage Equality Act which will make the nation's third-most populous state the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage. The bill passed 33-29 and was later signed by the governor.

The Marriage Equality Act amends New York's Domestic Relations Law to state that a marriage that is otherwise valid shall be valid regardless of whether the parties to the marriage are of the same or different sex. It also ensures that rights, benefits, and protections relating to marriage shall not be different based on the parties to the marriage being the same sex or a different sex.

Most importantly, the amended law will state that no application for a marriage license will be denied on the ground that the parties are of the same or different sex.

The Marriage Equality Act was amended at the last moment to include protections for religious organizations. The Act states that no religious entity, benevolent organization or not-for-profit corporation that is operated, supervised or controlled by a religious entity, or their employees can be required to perform marriage ceremonies or provide their facilities for marriage ceremonies, consistent with their religious principles.

In addition, religious entities will not be subject to any legal action for refusing marriage ceremonies. The Act will grant equal access to the government-created legal institution of civil marriage while leaving the religious institution of marriage to its own separate and fully autonomous sphere. Additionally, the Act was amended to include a clause that states that if any part is deemed invalid through the judicial process and after all appeals in the courts, the entire Act would be considered invalid.

"New York has finally torn down the barrier that has prevented same-sex couples from exercising the freedom to marry and from receiving the fundamental protections that so many couples and families take for granted," Governor Andrew Cuomo said. "With the world watching, the Legislature, by a bipartisan vote, has said that all New Yorkers are equal under the law. With this vote, marriage equality will become a reality in our state, delivering long overdue fairness and legal security to thousands of New Yorkers."

Cuomo said New York made a powerful statement to the rest of the United States, adding that the state has reached a 'new level of social justice.' "This was a period of historic progress," he said. Cuomo later signed the bill at 11.55 p.m. ET, meaning the first same-sex marriage can take place on Sunday, July 24.

New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver also welcomed the passage. "Passage of the Marriage Equality Act is a giant step forward in the march toward full civil rights for all New Yorkers and a historic turning point in the journey of our state and nation," he said.

The bill ends years of campaigning to legalize gay marriage, but also represents a major accomplishment for the gay-rights movement in the United States and the world as a whole. But it remains an extremely controversial issue.

"The passage by the Legislature of a bill to alter radically and forever humanity's historic understanding of marriage leaves us deeply disappointed and troubled," a statement from the Bishops of New York State said. "We strongly uphold the Catholic Church's clear teaching that we always treat our homosexual brothers and sisters with respect, dignity and love."

"But we just as strongly affirm that marriage is the joining of one man and one woman in a lifelong, loving union that is open to children, ordered for the good of those children and the spouses themselves," the Bishops added in their statement. "This definition cannot change, though we realize that our beliefs about the nature of marriage will continue to be ridiculed, and that some will even now attempt to enact government sanctions against churches and religious organizations that preach these timeless truths."

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), which is America's largest civil rights organization to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality, called Friday's vote historic and bipartisan. "History was made today in New York. This victory sends a message that marriage equality across the country will be a reality very soon," said Joe Solmonese, president of HRC.

Solmonese said the bipartisan nature of the vote is 'compelling proof' that marriage equality is increasingly an issue that unites, not divides. "Legislators listened to their constituents and did the right thing," he said.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg also called it an 'historic triumph' for equality and freedom. "New York has always been a leader in movements to extend freedom and equality to people who had been denied full membership in the American family," he said.

Bloomberg said he thinks that, in several decades, the United States will look back on Friday's vote as one of their finest and proudest moments. "The passage of this bill is the culmination of a decades-long struggle for equality by gay and lesbian New Yorkers," he said.

Now the bill has been passed and signed by Cuomo, New York will join Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Washington, D.C. and the Coquille Indian Tribe in Oregon which is not bound by the Oregon Constitution as they are a federally recognized sovereign nation. Several states also recognize, but not perform, same-sex marriage.

On April 1st of this year, the LGBT community marked the 10th anniversary of the first ever same-sex marriage in the world. The Netherlands was the first country in the world to officially recognize and allow same-sex marriages after Queen Beatrix signed the marriage bill into law on December 21, 2000. It went into law on April 1, 2001.

In addition to the Netherlands and parts of the United States, same-sex marriage is currently performed in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Sweden. In Mexico, same-sex marriage is only performed in Mexico City.

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