1324 Reasons for Marriage Equality in New York State 
A joint publication of the Empire State Pride Agenda Foundation & New York City Bar Association
This report seeks to catalog all of the legal rights and duties that New York statutes and regulations confer on married individuals. As the report demonstrates, the panoply of rights and responsibilities that accompany marriage is vast and far-reaching, and ranges from the profound to the mundane.
Many of the 1,324 statutes and regulations documented here involve literally life and death matters, or give special privileges to help couples support each other and their children. Other benefits and duties, although seemingly trivial, nevertheless serve to underscore the extraordinary breadth of marriage-related law in New York, and how minutely interwoven this body of law is – and how diversely it impacts – people’s everyday lives.
To search for a word or phrase within the report, use the search button found on the Adobe Reader toolbar.
Marriage Equality & Religion: The Massachusetts Experience
A joint publication of the Empire State Pride Agenda Foundation & MassEquality Education Fund
One of the most dominant myths used by forces opposed to marriage equality is that allowing same-sex couples to marry would somehow negatively affect religious institutions or apply restrictions to their freedom to worship as they choose.
Although this myth is patently false, that has not stopped some opponents from using the claim to lead people to believe their religious freedom is in danger. Fortunately, in New York, we do not need to speculate on how religious institutions, spiritual life and the freedom to worship will be affected if the state passes a law allowing same-sex couples to marry. New York needs only to look to our neighbor to the east, Massachusetts—where marriages for same-sex couples have been legal since 2004—to see that the worries about such a law negatively impacting people of faith have been unfounded.
The report profiles seven religious leaders from a number of different faiths—some which marry same-sex couples and some which do not —and clearly shows that religious life in Massachusetts in the five years since the legalization of marriage for same-sex couples has continued just as it did before.
Williams Institute Census Snapshot of New York City
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this report provides demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in New York City.
Poll Results on Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
Review the results of statewide polls commissioned by the Pride Agenda asking New Yorkers where they stand on marriage for same-sex couples and related questions.
- March 2006 Poll Results, PDF
- March 2005 Poll Results, PDF
- March 2004 Poll Results, PDF
Economic Benefits of Marriage Equality for New York State
Read the 2007 report put out by the New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. (June 5, 2007), PDF
Read the press release put out by the Office of the NYC Comptroller on the report (June 5, 2007), PDF
New York State Court Decisions on Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
Read the decision by the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, finding no Constitutional mandate to provide same-sex couples access to marriage. Also review the two Briefs the Pride Agenda played a lead role in assembling and writing.
- New York State Court of Appeals Decision, July 6, 2006, PDF
- Friend of the Court Brief of Religious Organizations, May 1, 2006, PDF
- Friend of the Court Brief of the Empire State Pride Agenda, May 1, 2006, PDF
Read the victorious lower court decision from the State Supreme Court of New York in New York County, often referred to as the Ling-Cohan Decision.
- Hernandez v. Robles, New York State Supreme Court Decision, February 4, 2005, PDF
To review additional Briefs, other lower and intermediate decisions that resulted in the court’s final ruling on July 6, 2006, visit Lambda Legal’s website at www.lambdalegal.org and the LGBT Project section of the American Civil Liberties Union’s website at www.ACLU.org.
Legal Recognition of Marriages Between Same-Sex Couples
Read New York State Attorney General Elliot Spitzer’s 2004 argument for recognizing marriages of same-sex couples lawfully conducted elsewhere. Read the press release for an summarized account of the document.
- Attorney General Spitzer’s Legal Memo, March 3, 2004 PDF
- Press Release, March 3, 2004 PDF
Read New York State Appellate Court's February 2008 decision to recognize out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples.
- Martinez v. County of Monroe, New York Supreme Court Decision, Appellate Division, February 1, 2008 PDF
Read New York State Governor David A. Paterson’s May 2008 directive ordering all State agencies to recognize marriages of same-sex couples lawfully conducted elsewhere.
- Memo Advisory by New York State Governor Paterson’s Legal Counsel David Nocenti, May 14, 2008 PDF
Read the Pride Agenda's Q&A on getting married out of state following Governor Paterson's May 2008 memo.
Read the marriage recognition update report released by the Pride Agenda, Lambda Legal, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union.
- Your Government Respects Your Marriage: Developments in New York State Agency Recognition of Same-Sex Couples’ Out-of-State Marriages, PDF
GAO Report on Federal Marriage Rights and Responsibilities
Read the 2004 U.S. Government Accounting Office Report detailing the additional federal marriage rights and responsibilities that have been enacted since the 1997 Report, now bringing the total number to 1,138 (January 23, 2004), PDF
Read the 1997 U.S. Government Accounting Office Report detailing the 1,049 federal marriage rights and responsibilities denied to same-sex couples (January 31, 1997), PDF
Registering a Domestic Partnership in New York State
While there is currently no statewide domestic partner registry in New York, a number of localities across the state have established their own registries. Following are localities that provide domestic partner registration information online:
Information on Civil Unions
Read Lambda Legal’s publication on civil unions that provides couples thinking about entering into a civil union with information they need to know.
Civil Unions for Same-Sex Couples – What’s Next!
Get information on civil unions in these states: