Governor David Paterson has had a couple of months in office now and frankly, some of us were worried. The active, progressive State Senator from Harlem wasn't quite the same as head honcho in Albany. Campaign finance reform or lack there of is definitely one of my grievances against him. Yet as I scold the bad, I also praise the good and Paterson certainly deserves the praise for his efforts at helping New York achieve gender equality.
From The NY Times:
ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada.
In a directive issued on May 14, the governor’s legal counsel, David Nocenti, instructed the agencies that gay couples married elsewhere “should be afforded the same recognition as any other legally performed union.”The revisions are most likely to involve as many as 1,300 statutes and regulations in New York governing everything from joint filing of income tax returns to transferring fishing licenses between spouses.
In a videotaped message given to gay community leaders at a dinner on May 17, Mr. Paterson described the move as “a strong step toward marriage equality.” And people on both sides of the issue said it moved the state closer to fully legalizing same-sex unions in this state.
The directive may not have won the battle for true equality in the Empire State, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. Cheers to you Governor!
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