Read Full-Text Amicus Brief (PDF)

Brief Filed: 7/05
Court: New York Appellate Division, Second Department
Year of Decision: pending

Issue: Constitutional challenge to New York’s refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Index Topic: Sexual Orientation (discrimination; same-sex marriage)

Facts: Plaintiffs filed suit in Rockland County Supreme Court challenging the denial of marriage licenses as violated of the New York Constitution. The trial court ruled that
1) as a matter of New York statutory law, the town clerk is not authorized to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and 2) the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples does not violate the New York Constitution. The decision is on appeal and will be heard by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department.

APA's Position: This case poses fundamentally the same questions as the challenges to same-sex marriage statutes in other cases such as Lewis v. Harris, Li v. Oregon, and Andersen v. King County in which the APA filed amicus briefs. Although some details of the legal standards and specific arguments at issue in each of the cases may vary slightly, the psychological issues addressed by APA’s amicus brief are essentially the same.

Result: Pending