Ruling says same-sex couple can"t be denied equal rights
MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 2:54 p.m. ET Feb. 4, 2005
NEW YORK - A judge declared Friday that a law banning same-sex marriage violated the state constitution, a ruling that would allow gay couples to wed if it was upheld on appeal.
The judge, Justice Doris Ling-Cohan of the state Supreme Court, ruled in favor of five gay couples who were denied marriage licenses last year. She stayed the ruling for 30 days to allow time for appeals.
"Similar to opposite-sex couples, same-sex couples are entitled to the same fundamental right to follow their hearts and publicly commit to a lifetime partnership with the person of their choosing," she said in her ruling.
"The recognition that this fundamental right applies equally to same-sex couples cannot legitimately be said to harm anyone."
Susan Sommer, a lawyer for the Lambda Legal Defense Fund who presented the case for five couples who brought the lawsuit, said Ling-Cohan "recognized that unless gay people can marry, they are not being treated equally under the law."
"Same-sex couples need the protections and security marriage provides, and this ruling says they"re entitled to get them the same way straight couples do," she said.
The ruling could put New York in conflict with federal rulings after a judge in Tampa, Fla., upheld the federal law Wednesday that allows states to ban same-sex marriages.
Gay-rights activists celebrate
Lambda Legal, meanwhile, was jubilant.
"Today we won a historic victory in our New York marriage case!" the group said in a statement.
One of the couples, Mary Jo Kennedy and Jo-Ann Shain, said they were thrilled by the ruling and believed that it would offer their family increased legal protection. They have been together 23 years and have a 15-year-old daughter.
"We"re just overjoyed," Shain said. "We didn"t think it would ever happen."
Kennedy said she wanted to marry Shain as soon as possible. "I can"t wait," she said. "We went to buy a [marriage] license in March 2004 and couldn"t get it. That"s what started this whole thing."
The city Law Department issued a statement saying only, "We are reviewing the decision thoroughly and considering our options."
The judge, Justice Doris Ling-Cohan of the state Supreme Court, ruled in favor of five gay couples who were denied marriage licenses last year. She stayed the ruling for 30 days to allow time for appeals.
"Similar to opposite-sex couples, same-sex couples are entitled to the same fundamental right to follow their hearts and publicly commit to a lifetime partnership with the person of their choosing," she said in her ruling.
That's BS! You don't have to be married in order to spend the rest of your life with someone. If we all have a fundamental right to marriage, why do we need to obtain a license first?
These people are still trying to get judges to legislate rather than accepting the laws enacted by the public's representatives. I don't see any reason why gays shouldn't be able to have civil unions, but if the people don't want it, tough luck.
Doris Ling-Cohan has dedicated her career to helping immigrants and the disadvantaged negotiate the intricacies of the legal system. Elected to the New York State Supreme Court in 2002, she is the first Asian American woman to serve on that bench.
Ling-Cohan was born in New York's Chinatown, the daughter of hardworking Chinese immigrants-her mother was a seamstress and her father worked in a laundry. As a twelve-year-old, she accompanied her mother to a hearing for a man accused of assaulting her mother. That she and her mother had no idea how to find their way around the courthouse and that there seemed to be no information available to those who did not speak English left a lasting impression on her.
In high school, Ling-Cohan worked part time as a seamstress and a threadcutter in the sewing factories of Chinatown. Supporting herself, she studied psychology at Brooklyn College and received her degree summa cum laude in 1976. She went on to New York University School of Law on a full scholarship, graduating in 1979.
Ling-Cohan began her legal career as an attorney for various New York Legal Services agencies representing indigent people, after which she joined the New York State Attorney General's consumer fraud protection unit. She also has taught classes in law and Asian American studies at CUNY Law School, New York University, City College, and Queens College. In 1995 Judge Ling-Cohan was elected to the Civil Court of the City of New York from the Second Municipal Court District.
Ling-Cohan is a founding member of the Asian American Bar Association; the Jade Council, an organization for court employees of Asian descent; and the New York Asian Women's Center, the first organization to focus on preventing domestic violence in New York City's Asian communities.
In recognition of her service to New York City and her vigorous advocacy of the legal rights of immigrants and non-English speakers, Brooklyn College honors Doris Ling-Cohan with the Distinguished Alumna Award.
she studied psychology at Brooklyn College and received her degree summa cum laude in 1976
A psychology degree is about as difficult to get as taking out the garbage.
And as for her admittance to NYU law school -- we didn't see any preference there did we?
How about her "hubby" Cohen, no favoritism or strings pulled there...
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In recognition of her service to New York City and her vigorous advocacy of the legal rights of immigrants and non-English speakers
N.Y. judge strikes down gay marriage ban
