It's Good to be Free

 
Today, in a landmark, 62 page opinion, New York City trial judge (called Justice in NY) Doris Ling-Cohan, has ruled that, New York's constitution is violated by denying marriage certificates and the right to marry to same-sex couples. Her remedy? The word spouse shall substitute for the words "husband," "wife," "groom" and "bride," and ordered the City Clerk not to deny a marriage license to any couple based soley on the ground that couple is of the same sex.

The case cannot be reviewed by the United States Supreme Court as it has no jurisdiction. You can bet the Clerk will seek appellate review. No one can tell you what the Court of Appeals of New York will ultimately do, but the facts of the case and the analysis follow the analysis of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts in the Goodridge case, which granted the same rights.