Spitzer Offers Gay Marriage Bill Today -- Friday, April 27

By: PAUL SCHINDLER

Gay Ci ty News

A senior official in Eliot Spitzer's administration has confirmed to Gay City News that the governor will introduce his program bill enacting marriage equality for same-sex couples on Friday, April 27.

"The governor is fulfilling his promise to the community and a taking a courageous and historic step toward making equal civil marriage rights a reality in New York," the official said.

A lawyer from the office of the governor's counsel with deliver the bill and an accompanying memorandum, with a statement of support, to the offices of the Assembly speaker and the Senate majority leader. (Text from those documents will appear online at gaycitynews.com on Friday afternoon.) Also, on Friday, the state Department of Civil Service will order a policy change mandating that any entity participating in the state health plan - including hundreds of municipalities and local school districts - recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages for purposes of spousal and family benefits.

The governor's action comes just four days before a grassroots contingent of at least 1,000 LGBT advocates travel to Albany to lobby the Legislature to take up his challenge.