NY State Gay Marriage Foes Weigh Strategies

The surprise news that New York will recognize out-of-state gay marriages has traditionalists weighing public pressure and legal action, the New York Times reports. One Republican said a lawsuit charging Gov. David Paterson with overstepping his authority was possible; others compared the move to Eliot Spitzer’s foiled attempt to issue illegal immigrants driver's licenses.

“We had one governor that governed by fiat, and that didn’t work out too well for him,” said an opponent. Paterson is a longtime supporter of gay rights. He has called homosexual love “beautiful,” compared the fight to civil rights, and told rivals to “get better informed” about the protections state law already demands. (More gay marriage stories.)