Ein Oso sent me this:
County executive orders recognition of gay marriages
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June 8, 2006, 12:56 PM EDT
end with other NY municipalities.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) _ County Executive Andrew Spano has issued an executive order that makes Westchester the first county in the state to recognize gay marriages.
Spano read the order Wednesday night at a meeting of gay groups and received a standing ovation. The effect of the order is to give married gay couples the same county privileges as heterosexual couples, such as the right to buy family passes to county parks and the right to seek emergency housing as a family.
"I don't see why people, just because they're the same sex, shouldn't have the same benefits," Spano said Thursday.
The order does not require towns and villages within the county to recognize the marriages and it does not help same-sex couples get state or federal privileges.
It applies only to couples who were married in a state or country where gay marriages are legally performed. Massachusetts is the only such state; Canada, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands have legalized same-sex marriages.
In his order, Spano said the New York case law "requires the recognition of a valid marriage entered into outside the State, regardless of whether the union would be permitted under New York law."
New York City and several other municipalities in the state already recognize legal gay marriages. Jordan Barowitz, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said the City Council passed legislation within the last two years.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Associated Press
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