One day after the Supreme Court for the State of New York (New York County) held that New York State's Domestic Relations Law was unconstitutional, under both the due process and equal protection clauses of the New York State Constitution, when it denied gay men and lesbians the right to marry the spouse of their choice because of that spouse being of the same gender, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the City of New York will appeal that decision. Bloomberg stated that:
"If the [appellate] court rules that gay marriages are legal, than that ends it. If the court rules that gay marriages are illegal--well, I guess it doesn't end it in either case, we always have the option to go to the legislature."
Friday's ruling applies only to marriage licenses issued within the City of New York. If the decision is upheld at the appellate level, New York will become the second state in the nation to acknowledge civil marriage rights for gay men and lesbians.
The New York Times notes that:
"In recent months, there have been three rulings by state justices finding that there is no right to gay marriage in New York. In each case, lawyers from state attorney general's office have argued that current New York law does not permit same-sex marriage."
