ALBANY, N.Y. – New York’s City Hall won’t tear asunder same-sex marriages performed in Canada or Massachusetts, according to a new city directive that has gay activists cheering.
“Mayor Bloomberg has taken a big step in the right direction,” said Alan Van Capelle, executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda, the group that sought the City Hall opinion.
The policy stems from a legal opinion issued this week by Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s special counsel, Anthony Crowell. It makes the city the sixth community in the state to accept formally other jurisdictions’ same-sex marriages.
It means those spouses can make medical decisions for partners at city hospitals, gain spousal visiting privileges in jails and be entitled to a variety of benefits, including those for accidental death, Van Capelle said.
“The polls show the mayor’s in trouble, so the motivation is for him to try to garner as much of the gay vote as possible,” said state Conservative Party boss Mike Long.
The decision comes less than a month after the state Court of Appeals directed an appellate court to review several cases dealing with gay marriage, including a lower court decision that struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Bloomberg, who supports gays’ right to marry, nonetheless appealed the ruling, saying he wants it adjudicated as quickly as possible.
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