More NY Couples Sue for Right to Marry

June 1, 2004

Twenty-five same-sex couples, with the support of the city of Ithaca, are suing the State of New York for the right to marry.

In March, Ithaca Mayor Carolyn Peterson announced that the city in upstate New York would begin accepting applications for marriage licenses from same sex couples, but would then pass them on to the state for approval.

The move opened the door for gay and lesbian couples to sue the state when the licenses were not approved. Peterson said the city would join in any court battle on behalf of same-sex couples, although legally, the suit must also name the city as a defendant.

Known locally as The Ithaca 50, the group's lawyers said Wednesday they plan to argue that the Department of Health and the city are denying gay couples equal protection under the law.

By refusing to issue marriage licenses to these plaintiffs, the City and State have unconstitutionally interfered with the plaintiffs' privacy rights, andhave denied them equal protection of the laws by making impermissible distinctions based ongender and sexual orientation, said Ithaca attorney Richard Stumbar.

Mariette Geldenhuys, the second lawyer in the case said that the couples have been excluded from a broad array of statutory protections and benefits afforded by New York's marriage law, as well as denied benefits and protections offered by employers and other private entities which rely on the State's definition of marriage.

Three other lawsuits also are challenging New York state's ban on same-sex marriage.