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Contact: Andrew
Rush
Director, Media Services & Public Affairs
arush@nysba.org
518/487-5530
June 5, 2008
STATEMENT FROM NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION
PRESIDENT BERNICE K. LEBER ON GOVERNOR PATERSON’S DIRECTIVE ON
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
In response to Governor Paterson’s directive
that orders state agencies to honor same-sex marriages performed in
other states, New York State Bar Association President Bernice K. Leber
(Arent Fox LLP) issued the following statement.
“Equal legal rights for same-sex couples have
long been a priority for the New York State Bar
Association. We applaud Governor
Paterson for his progressive and courageous directive. We now urge
the Legislature and the Governor to take the appropriate steps to enact
long overdue legislation this session that would address all the legal
inequities suffered by same-sex couples in New York.”
In 2005, the State Bar Association – based on a
report issued by its Special Committee to Review Issues Affecting
Same-Sex Couples – adopted a resolution calling for legislation
that would provide same-sex couples with the same comprehensive set of
rights and responsibilities that are available to opposite sex couples
including domestic partnerships, civil unions, or an amendment to the
statutory definition of marriage.
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