New York lawsuit against gay marriage thrown out

by Associated Press
Tuesday September 02, 2008

A Bronx judge has thrown out the first direct legal challenge to Gov. David Paterson's move to recognize out-of-state gay marriages.

In a ruling today, state Supreme Court Judge Lucy Billings said the policy is a "permissible, if not mandated, step toward the objective of equality" for gays. Her finding comes as thousands of gay New Yorkers are expected to take advantage of a new Massachusetts law letting them wed there.

Source

How Governor Set His Stance on Gay Rights

When David A. Paterson was growing up and his parents would go out of town, he and his little brother would stay in Harlem with family friends they called Uncle Stanley and Uncle Ronald.

Todd Heisler/The New York Times

By JEREMY W. PETERS and DANNY HAKIM
Published: May 30, 2008

Uncle Stanley and Uncle Ronald, he said, were a gay couple, though in the 1960s few people described them that way. They helped young David with his spelling, and read to him and played cards with him.

“Apparently, my parents never thought we were in any danger,” the governor recalled on Thursday in an interview. “I was raised in a culture that understood the different ways that people conduct their lives. And I feel very proud of it.” [source]