Appeals Court Says State Must Recognize Canadian Marriage of New York Lesbian Couple

http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/relationships/33894prs20080201.html
02/01/2008

The case, Martinez v. County of Monroe, was filed in 2005 in State Supreme Court on behalf of Patricia Martinez, an employee of Monroe Community College in Rochester, seeking health care benefits for her female partner whom she married in Canada in 2004.

Good ruling. If the state recognizes legal marriages performed elsewhere it seems like it must recognize all legal marriages perfomed elsewhere.

Nichole

States must recognize the legal actions of the other states - in reality, its a huge part of why the Civil War was fought.  This is called comity.

Quote from: tekla on February 02, 2008, 12:58:06 PM
States must recognize the legal actions of the other states - in reality, its a huge part of why the Civil War was fought.  This is called comity.

But DOMA violates that.

So did the Fugitive Slave Laws.  And we don't have a ruling from SCOUS yet on DOMA, it ought to be struck down on those very grounds, but given the people now sitting, who knows?

Quote from: Ashley Michelle on February 02, 2008, 02:35:06 PM

Quote from: tekla on February 02, 2008, 12:58:06 PM
States must recognize the legal actions of the other states - in reality, its a huge part of why the Civil War was fought.  This is called comity.

unless the states pass specific legislation stating that they wont.

At which point civil order breaks down.  What if a state decided not to recognize home sales closed in another state?  When states make this sort of decaration, they make themselves into foreign nations.  That's why the constitution specifically prohibits this behavior.

"Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof."
United States Constitution, Article IV, Section 1

Federal Law always trumps state law - always.  Ask all the people who've been busted by the DEA for medical pot while following state and local law.  The most recent attempts at Congress has given us a federal exemption for state laws regarding gay marriage, but they've passed other laws that more than likely unconstitutional when they get to the Court, it just takes years and years to make it that far, if the cowards will hear it.  But sooner or later they are going to have to, and its going to be on this exact issue.  Some state, say Kansas will deny the actions of NH or Mass. and those states will turn around and say "Well we no longer recognize the authority of Kansas to issue DLs, or corporate charters.  But the current Congress could not even figure a way to keep habeas corpus around, so I don't have much hope in them

Please do, other than the DoMA that the idiots passed.