1981 – Department of Social Services issues a regulation saying that adoption could not be denied to a parent based solely on his or her homosexuality.
1989 – New York State Court of Appeals in Braschi v. Stahl Assocs. Co. expands the definition of family to include same-sex partners in terms of who could continue to inhabit a rent-controlled apartment after the tenant dies.
1991 – State Division of Housing and Community Renewal codifies the Braschi decision in a regulation that defines “family member” as any person residing with the tenant as a primary or principal residence “who can prove emotional and financial commitment and interdependence.”
1994 – Using Braschi as its basis, New York State agrees with the public employees union to offer health benefits to same-sex domestic partners of executive branch public employees. Other branches follow suit with the New York State Senate becoming the final branch of NY State government to offer domestic partner health benefits in January 2001.
1995 – New York State Court of Appeals in In re Jacob allows a domestic partner to legally adopt the biological child of her lesbian parent in a practice now knows as “second-parent adoption” which allows both same-sex partners to become the legal parents of a child.
|
September 11 Changes Everything
October 2001 – Governor Pataki issues an Executive Order making surviving domestic partners of 9/11 victims eligible for governmental relief through the state’s Crime Victims Board. He extended this Executive Order in October 2002 making it permanent for domestic partners of all crime victims, not just 9/11.
November 2001 – New York State’s World Trade Center Relief Fund explicitly treats domestic partners as the equivalent of surviving spouses in the application materials for the fund.
May 2002 -- "The September 11th Victims and Families Relief Act" is introduced by Governor Pataki, Attorney General Spitzer, Speaker Silver and Majority Leader Bruno and signed into law, including language in the legislative intent section of the bill specifying that it is the legislature's desire that domestic partners be eligible for federal fund awards. This provision was included to provide Special Master Kenneth Feinberg an additional basis in state law to award federal fund compensation to gay partners of 9/11 victims.
June 2002 -- Legislation amends the state's workers compensation law to provide domestic partners of 9/11 victims, which includes same-sex partners of 9/11 victims, the same death benefits that are provided to spouses under the state's workers compensation law.
June 2002 – Legislation makes domestic partners of 9/11 victims and their children eligible for the state's World Trade Center memorial scholarship program. | |
June 2002 – Legislation amends the state's insurance law to enable individuals to take out life insurance on their domestic partner.
June 2003 – Legislation enables the domestic partners, both same-sex and opposite-sex, of credit union members to also become members and have full access to banking services.
February 2004 – A permanent change in New York State Department of Labor policy provides unemployment benefits to same-sex partners in committed relationships who voluntarily leave a job to follow a partner to another locality. With this change in state policy, same-sex partners are now treated the same as married spouses in similar circumstances.
August 2004 – Legislation amends the state's racing, pari-mutual and breeding laws to explicitly give free racetrack passes, cards and badges to spouses, domestic partners and children of owners, trainers and jockeys.
October 2004 – Legislation guarantees domestic partners the same visitation rights as spouses and next-of-kin when taking care of loved ones in hospitals, nursing homes and health-care facilities.
October 2004 – Comptroller Alan Hevesi says New York State and Local Retirement System will treat the Canadian marriages of same-sex couples the same as an opposite-sex New York marriage, making them eligible for such things as an accidental death benefit and cost-of-living adjustment for surviving spouses.
February 2006 – Legislation gives surviving domestic partners legal authority to control a loved one’s bodily remains on the same basis as spouses. This marks the first time that domestic partners, like spouses, are given legal priority over other blood relatives like parents, children or siblings.