Same-sex marriage in New York

Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in New York since July 24, 2011, under the Marriage Equality Act, which was passed by the New York State Legislature on June 24, 2011 and signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on the same day. The Marriage Equality Act does not have a residency restriction, as some other states do, and allows religious organizations to decline to officiate same-sex wedding ceremonies.

In 2006, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the New York state constitution does not require same-sex marriage rights and left the question of recognition to the legislature. Following the 2006 Court decision, the New York State Assembly passed same-sex marriage legislation in 2007, 2009, and 2011. However, the New York Senate rejected same-sex marriage legislation in a 38–24 vote on December 2, 2009. After negotiations between Republican members of the Senate and Governor Andrew Cuomo, regarding protections against discrimination lawsuits for religious groups and non-profit organizations, the bill passed the State Senate by a vote of 33–29. The law took effect on July 24, 2011.

New York became the seventh U.S. state, after New Hampshire, and the eighth jurisdiction after the District of Columbia, to license same-sex marriages.

On February 27, 2004, New Paltz Mayor Jason West married 25 same-sex couples before a cheering crowd in front of the New Paltz Village Hall. Not long thereafter, the Ulster County District Attorney charged West with nineteen misdemeanors in connection with these marriages. A court later dismissed the charges against West, a ruling which the state appealed. Ulster County Court Judge J. Michael Bruhn ruled in favor of the state, reinstating the charges against West, arguing that this criminal case did not concern whether the state constitution mandates same-sex marriage, but rather whether West violated his oath of office in performing illegal marriages. The May 2005 charges against West were reinstated; these were dropped by the prosecutor on July 12. After Liberty Counsel filed a civil lawsuit challenging the validity of the marriages, a state court judge issued a permanent injunction barring West from solemnizing same-sex marriages.

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