(RNS) A conservative Christian legal group filed suit against New York Gov. David Paterson after he issued a directive permitting the recognition of same-sex marriages from other states.
The Alliance Defense Fund filed the complaint June 3 on behalf of New York taxpayers and lawmakers who seek a halt to the directive's action.
“The future of marriage should be decided by the legislature, not executives who take matters into their own hands,” said Brian Raum, a senior legal counsel with the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based legal alliance.
In late May, Paterson said his May 14 directive follows other situations where New York has recognized out-of-state marriages.
“We would extend to people who were married in other states, whether of opposite sex or of the same sex, the same equal opportunities in New York as we have granted those marriages traditionally that existed in other states by law,” he said.
His directive took on added importance after the California Supreme Court rejected petitions to stay its ruling until after the November elections, when a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage will be on the ballot.
That means same-sex couples can start getting married in California on June 17. Because California has no residency requirement for marriage, out-of-state gay couples could marry in California and then ask for those marriages to be recognized in their home states.
A new USA Today/Gallup Poll shows that 63 percent of adults surveyed view marriages between two people of the same sex as solely “a private decision.”