BILL NUMBER:  S4401

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the domestic relations law, in relation to the ability
to marry


 PURPOSE :

This bill provides same-sex couples the same opportunity to enter into
civil marriages as opposite-sex couples. The bill also provides that
no member of the clergy may be compelled to perform any marriage
ceremony.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 of the bill sets forth legislative intent.

Section 2 of the bill adds a new Section 10-a to the Domestic
Relations Law (DRL) providing that: (1) a marriage that is otherwise
valid shall be valid regardless of whether the parties to the marriage
are of the same or different sex; (2) no government treatment or legal
status, effect, right, benefit, privilege, protection or
responsibility relating to marriage shall differ based on the parties
to the marriage being or having been of the same sex rather than a
              

different sex; and (3) all relevant gender-specific language set forth
in' or referenced by New York law shall be construed in a
gender-neutral manner.

Section 3 of the bill amends DRL § 13 to provide that no application
for a marriage license shall be denied on the ground that the parties
are of the same, or a different, sex.

Section 4 of the bill amends DRL § 11(1) to make clear that no member
of the clergy acting in such capacity may be required to perform any
marriage.

Section 5 of the bill sets forth the effective date.

 EXISTING LAW :

Although the Domestic Relations Law contains no specific prohibition
against, or allowance for, marriages between individuals of the same
sex, the New York Court of Appeals has held that New York statutory
law limits marriage within New York State to opposite-sex couples.
 SEE HERNANDEZ V. ROBLES , 7 N.Y.3d 338 (2005).

 STATEMENT IN SUPPORT :

The "freedom to marry" is, in the words of the United States Supreme
Court, "one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly
pursuit of happiness by free  people ."1 In New York, however, certain
couples who seek to exercise this freedom, and partake of its rights
and responsibilities by mutual consent, may not do so solely because
they are of the same sex. The bar against same-sex marriages exists
regardless of how long the individuals have lived together, or whether
they are raising children through legally recognized joint custody
arrangements. This bill removes the barriers in New York law that
deprive individuals of the equal right to marry the person of their
choice, by granting the same legal recognition to all civil marriages
regardless of whether those who enter into them are of the same, or of
a different, sex.

Partners unable to enter into a civil marriage - and their children -
lack basic legal protections taken for granted by married couples. In
such areas as property ownership, inheritance, health care, hospital
visitation, taxation, insurance coverage, child custody, pension
benefits and testimonial privileges, married couples receive important
safeguards against the loss or injury of a spouse, and crucial
assurances against legal intrusion into their marital privacy. As
important, unions lacking the State's recognition are denoted, by
force of law, as somehow not equal to other comparable relationships.
Civil marriage is the means by which the State defines a couple's
place in society. Those who are excluded from its rubric are told by
the institutions of the State, in essence; that their solemn
commitment to one another has no legal weight.

Just as the right to marry confers important benefits on individuals,
the institution of marriage produces incalculable benefits for
society, by fostering stable familial relationships. Same-sex couples
who wish to marry are not simply looking to obtain additional rights,
they are seeking out substantial responsibilities as well: to
undertake significant and binding obligations to one another, and to
lives of "shared intimacy and mutual financial and emotional
support."2 Granting legal recognition to these relationships can only
strengthen New York's families, by extending the ability to
participate in this crucial social institution to all New Yorkers.

The history of this country for more than two centuries has been the
story of once excluded individuals and groups gaining gradual access
to equal rights under law. New York State, in particular, has played a
proud and honorable part in that history, from hosting the
foundational women's rights convention at Seneca Falls in 1848, to
breaking baseball's color barrier, to witnessing the seminal event of
the modem gay rights movement in New York City four decades ago. New
York legislators and other political leaders, of both parties and of
all viewpoints, have had an important role in this process, and in the
gradual extension of equal treatment to gays and lesbians in
particular. In 1983, Governor Mario Cuomo first banned discrimination
in state employment by Executive Order. In 2002, Governor Pataki
extended the same principle to the private sector by signing into law
the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act. That year, the State
gave its first legal recognition to same-sex relationships when the
Legislature unanimously passed - and the Governor signed - a bill
extending workers' compensation benefits to all those who lost a
partner on 9/11. Yet the institution of marriage remains closed to
loving same-sex couples who seek only to be able to show their mutual
commitment as other individuals do. Passage of this bill would remedy
that flaw, and represent yet another important and historic step in
the process by which all citizens of New York State are granted full
and equal rights.

Individuals on both sides of the questions raised by this bill hold
deep-seated views that arise from a host of ethical and religious
considerations. To ensure that the bill does not improperly intrude
into matters of conscience or religious belief, the bill affirms that
no member of the clergy can be compelled to solemnize any marriage.
In short, this bill grants 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.

 BUDGET IMPLICATIONS :

The bill will require additional state expenditures for " spousal
benefits for those partners of state employees who are not eligible
for such benefits under current law, and who are married under this
legislation. At the same time, however, allowing same-sex marriage
would have numerous positive fiscal impacts. A 2007 report by the New
York City Comptroller detailed numerous sources of added revenue that
would result from enacting marriage equality in New York State,
including tax revenue from additional weddings, higher intake of
marital licensing fees and reduction of means-tested benefit payments
as a result of aggregated marital income. Moreover, any negative
budgetary impact from added benefit payments will be limited, as many
same-sex couples already enjoy such benefits through a variety of
administrative schemes, or as a result of out-of-state marriages.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This bill takes effect immediately.
1 Loving v. Virginia 388 U.S. (1967).
2 Hernandez v. Robles, 7 N.Y. 3d 338 (2005) (Kaye, C.J., dissenting).