As same-sex weddings continue in N.Y., opponents sue to block marriage law

July 26, 2011|Associated Press

Forty-six same-sex couples exchanged marriage vows yesterday amid a light… (David Duprey/Associated…)

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. - Opponents of New York’s gay marriage law filed the first lawsuit challenging the measure, an anticipated salvo that came yesterday as dozens of same-sex couples exchanged vows in a group ceremony overlooking Niagara Falls a day after the first gay weddings.

A representative of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms and a rabbi said in a lawsuit filed in state court that New York’s Senate violated its own procedures and the state’s open meetings law when it approved the bill last month.

The lawsuit contends that the Senate prevented lawmakers who opposed the bill from speaking and that the Senate didn’t follow procedures that require a bill to go through appropriate committees before a full Senate vote.

Opponents of the gay marriage law had promised lawsuits.

“We should have an open and deliberative process,’’ said the Rev. Jason McGuire, executive director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms. “If truly the legislation can stand on its own merits then it should be able to withstand being deliberated publicly.’’

Spokesmen for Senate Republicans and the state’s attorney general declined to comment.

The New York bill was adopted the night of June 24, the last day of the legislative session, after days of closed-door negotiations involving Governor Andrew Cuomo and key lawmakers. The lawsuit says Cuomo improperly waived the three-day waiting period between a bill’s introduction and a vote. Such waivers are common in Albany for negotiated bills.

Hundreds of gay couples got married starting Sunday as New York became the sixth and largest state to legalize same-sex weddings.

Yesterday, a mass wedding in Niagara Falls saw 46 same-sex couples from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Arkansas exchange vows amid a light drizzle. A handful of opponents clasped hands in a circle and prayed quietly nearby. One hundred more couples were expected to marry en masse at Bethpage State Park on Long Island today.

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