Lawsuit Challenges Gay Marriage in New York

A day after gay couples across the state were married under the Marriage Equality Act that was passed June 24, a lawsuit has emerged that aims to kill the law and render gay marriages null in New York. The complaint, filed by the (Jerry Falwell affiliated) Liberty Counsel on behalf of New Yorkers for Constituional Freedom (NYCF), puts the word "marriage" in quotation marks when referencing same-sex unions and alleges that the process in which the marriage bill was passed in the State Senate was illegal and "corrupt."

The plaintiffs include the "pro-life" and "pro-family" NYCF, that group's executive director and senior lobbyist, and the executive director of Torah Jews for Decency, an Orthodox Jewish "advocacy organization." Like Senator Ruben Diaz, the lawsuit cobbles together a coalition of both super fundamentalist Christians and Jews.

The complaint reads:

In seeking declaratory and injunctive relief the Plaintiffs in this case seek to preserve not only marriage as the union of one woman to one man, but also our constitutional liberties by acting as a check on an out-of-control political process that was willing to pass a bill regardless of how many laws and rules it violated.

Language in the complaint mimics rhetoric from the Let the People Vote rally yesterday, including the allegations that Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave financial contributions to Republicans who supported the act.

All that said, a lawsuit of this kind is wholly predictable, and Governor Andrew Cuomo doesn't seem to be taking it very seriously. A spokesoman for Cuomo told The New York Times that the suit was without merit, adding: "The plaintiffs lack a basic understanding of the laws of the state of New York."

Read the full text of the complaint:
Complaint

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