I recall reading a while ago about a proposed stance that New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer planned to take. That leads to a couple of questions:
It was my understanding that his view was that New York did not have mechanisms in place for the celebration of gay marriages or civil unions. But that the State Department of Law/Attorney General’s Office would regard as valid any such contracts entered into in Vermont or Massachusetts.
Is the second paragraph accurate?
What does this mean in terms of New York law? Does that mean the state itself is now bound to accept them?
Are there other jurisdictions taking similar stances officially? If so, what are they?
Except for the word “celebration,” for which I would substitute whatever legal word NY uses for “create and register with the state.” Probably “solemnize.”
No. It’s an opinion without the force of law. Couples seeking marital rights, however, will point (and are pointing) to the opinionong with the case law cited therein, as reinforcement for their own arguments. There has been at least one court case (at a lower court level) recognizing a Vermont civil union for purposes of standing for a surviving partner to sue a hospital for damages in the death of his partner but the case is under appeal by the hospital. I’m not sure how much the opinion ties the AG’s hands in the event of suits against the state itself for marital recognition by NY couples.