Late Friday evening, the New York Senate voted in favor of gay marriage. The governor signed the bill that will go into effect 30 days from its signing. It was a long time coming. New York is the 6th state to legalize gay marriage. In all honesty, I was surprised that New York didn’t legalize gay marriage sooner than it did. Go figure. At least its legislators finally did the right thing.
Although not everyone agrees. (Can you guess who the opponents are?)
I am hoping that lesbian and gay couples from other states won’t flock to New York and get married without considering the ramifications of that decision. Marriage is right for some people and not right for others. Please remember that most states have residency requirements and if you live in a state that does not recognize gay marriage — and you later want to divorce — you’re going to find yourself in quite a dilemma. (See my earlier posts here and here and here on out-of-state couples marrying in Connecticut and later wanting a divorce).
For those who are ready to enter into marriage in New York, I offer my sincerest congratulations!
Kudos to New York for finally achieving marriage equality.
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copyright 2011 Irene C. Olszewski
Connecticut Lesbian and Gay Law 