You can find more information about the bill at OpenSenate.

Here's the "Statement of Support", which is basically summarizes the purpose of this bill:

The "freedom to marry" is, in the words of the United States Supreme Court, "one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free people ."1 In New York, however, certain couples who seek to exercise this freedom, and partake of its rights and responsibilities by mutual consent, may not do so solely because they are of the same sex. The bar against same-sex marriages exists regardless of how long the individuals have lived together, or whether they are raising children through legally recognized joint custody arrangements. This bill removes the barriers in New York law that deprive individuals of the equal right to marry the person of their
choice, by granting the same legal recognition to all civil marriages regardless of whether those who enter into them are of the same, or of a different, sex.

Partners unable to enter into a civil marriage - and their children - lack basic legal protections taken for granted by married couples. In such areas as property ownership, inheritance, health care, hospital visitation, taxation, insurance coverage, child custody, pension benefits and testimonial privileges, married couples receive important safeguards against the loss or injury of a spouse, and crucial assurances against legal intrusion into their marital privacy. As important, unions lacking the State's recognition are denoted, by force of law, as somehow not equal to other comparable relationships.

Civil marriage is the means by which the State defines a couple's
place in society. Those who are excluded from its rubric are told by the institutions of the State, in essence; that their solemn
commitment to one another has no legal weight.

Just as the right to marry confers important benefits on individuals, the institution of marriage produces incalculable benefits for society, by fostering stable familial relationships. Same-sex couples who wish to marry are not simply looking to obtain additional rights, they are seeking out substantial responsibilities as well: to undertake significant and binding obligations to one another, and to lives of "shared intimacy and mutual financial and emotional support."2 Granting legal recognition to these relationships can only strengthen New York's families, by extending the ability to participate in this crucial social institution to all New Yorkers.

The history of this country for more than two centuries has been the story of once excluded individuals and groups gaining gradual access to equal rights under law. New York State, in particular, has played a proud and honorable part in that history, from hosting the foundational women's rights convention at Seneca Falls in 1848, to breaking baseball's color barrier, to witnessing the seminal event of the modem gay rights movement in New York City four decades ago. New York legislators and other political leaders, of both parties and of all viewpoints, have had an important role in this process, and in the gradual extension of equal treatment to gays and lesbians in particular. In 1983, Governor Mario Cuomo first banned discrimination in state employment by Executive Order. In 2002, Governor Pataki
extended the same principle to the private sector by signing into law the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act. That year, the State gave its first legal recognition to same-sex relationships when the Legislature unanimously passed - and the Governor signed - a bill extending workers' compensation benefits to all those who lost a partner on 9/11. Yet the institution of marriage remains closed to loving same-sex couples who seek only to be able to show their mutual commitment as other individuals do. Passage of this bill would remedy that flaw, and represent yet another important and historic step in the process by which all citizens of New York State are granted full and equal rights.

Individuals on both sides of the questions raised by this bill hold
deep-seated views that arise from a host of ethical and religious
considerations. To ensure that the bill does not improperly intrude
into matters of conscience or religious belief, the bill affirms that no member of the clergy can be compelled to solemnize any marriage.

In short, this bill grants equal access to the government-created
legal institution of civil marriage, while leaving the religious
institution of marriage to its own separate, and fully autonomous,
sphere.

The whole bill after the jump.
###

S4401 Summary

Sponsor: DUANE

Same as: A7732 S51101 S66003 A40003

Co-sponsor(s): ADAMS  BRESLIN  DILAN  ESPADA  JOHNSON C  KLEIN  KRUEGER  MONTGOMERY  OPPENHEIMER  PARKER  PERKINS  SAVINO  SCHNEIDERMAN  SERRANO  SQUADRON  STAVISKY  STEWART-COUSINS  HASSELL-THOMPSON 

Committee: JUDICIARY

Law Section: Domestic Relations Law

Relates to individuals ability to marry.

BILL NUMBER: 
S4401

TITLE OF BILL : 
An act to amend the domestic relations law, in relation to the ability to marry

PURPOSE :
This bill provides same-sex couples the same opportunity to enter into
civil marriages as opposite-sex couples. The bill also provides that
no member of the clergy may be compelled to perform any marriage
ceremony.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Section 1 of the bill sets forth legislative intent.

Section 2 of the bill adds a new Section 10-a to the Domestic
Relations Law (DRL) providing that: (1) a marriage that is otherwise
valid shall be valid regardless of whether the parties to the marriage
are of the same or different sex; (2) no government treatment or legal
status, effect, right, benefit, privilege, protection or
responsibility relating to marriage shall differ based on the parties
to the marriage being or having been of the same sex rather than a
different sex; and (3) all relevant gender-specific language set forth
in' or referenced by New York law shall be construed in a
gender-neutral manner.

Section 3 of the bill amends DRL 13 to provide that no application
for a marriage license shall be denied on the ground that the parties
are of the same, or a different, sex.

Section 4 of the bill amends DRL 11(1) to make clear that no member
of the clergy acting in such capacity may be required to perform any
marriage.

Section 5 of the bill sets forth the effective date.

 EXISTING LAW :
Although the Domestic Relations Law contains no specific prohibition
against, or allowance for, marriages between individuals of the same
sex, the New York Court of Appeals has held that New York statutory
law limits marriage within New York State to opposite-sex couples.
 SEE HERNANDEZ V. ROBLES , 7 N.Y.3d 338 (2005).

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT :
The "freedom to marry" is, in the words of the United States Supreme
Court, "one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly
pursuit of happiness by free  people ."1 In New York, however, certain
couples who seek to exercise this freedom, and partake of its rights
and responsibilities by mutual consent, may not do so solely because
they are of the same sex. The bar against same-sex marriages exists
regardless of how long the individuals have lived together, or whether
they are raising children through legally recognized joint custody
arrangements. This bill removes the barriers in New York law that
deprive individuals of the equal right to marry the person of their
choice, by granting the same legal recognition to all civil marriages
regardless of whether those who enter into them are of the same, or of
a different, sex.

Partners unable to enter into a civil marriage - and their children -
lack basic legal protections taken for granted by married couples. In
such areas as property ownership, inheritance, health care, hospital
visitation, taxation, insurance coverage, child custody, pension
benefits and testimonial privileges, married couples receive important
safeguards against the loss or injury of a spouse, and crucial
assurances against legal intrusion into their marital privacy. As
important, unions lacking the State's recognition are denoted, by
force of law, as somehow not equal to other comparable relationships.
Civil marriage is the means by which the State defines a couple's
place in society. Those who are excluded from its rubric are told by
the institutions of the State, in essence; that their solemn
commitment to one another has no legal weight.

Just as the right to marry confers important benefits on individuals,
the institution of marriage produces incalculable benefits for
society, by fostering stable familial relationships. Same-sex couples
who wish to marry are not simply looking to obtain additional rights,
they are seeking out substantial responsibilities as well: to
undertake significant and binding obligations to one another, and to
lives of "shared intimacy and mutual financial and emotional
support."2 Granting legal recognition to these relationships can only
strengthen New York's families, by extending the ability to
participate in this crucial social institution to all New Yorkers.

The history of this country for more than two centuries has been the
story of once excluded individuals and groups gaining gradual access
to equal rights under law. New York State, in particular, has played a
proud and honorable part in that history, from hosting the
foundational women's rights convention at Seneca Falls in 1848, to
breaking baseball's color barrier, to witnessing the seminal event of
the modem gay rights movement in New York City four decades ago. New
York legislators and other political leaders, of both parties and of
all viewpoints, have had an important role in this process, and in the
gradual extension of equal treatment to gays and lesbians in
particular. In 1983, Governor Mario Cuomo first banned discrimination
in state employment by Executive Order. In 2002, Governor Pataki
extended the same principle to the private sector by signing into law
the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act. That year, the State
gave its first legal recognition to same-sex relationships when the
Legislature unanimously passed - and the Governor signed - a bill
extending workers' compensation benefits to all those who lost a
partner on 9/11. Yet the institution of marriage remains closed to
loving same-sex couples who seek only to be able to show their mutual
commitment as other individuals do. Passage of this bill would remedy
that flaw, and represent yet another important and historic step in
the process by which all citizens of New York State are granted full
and equal rights.

Individuals on both sides of the questions raised by this bill hold
deep-seated views that arise from a host of ethical and religious
considerations. To ensure that the bill does not improperly intrude
into matters of conscience or religious belief, the bill affirms that
no member of the clergy can be compelled to solemnize any marriage.
In short, this bill grants equal access to the government-created
legal institution of civil marriage, while leaving the religious
institution of marriage to its own separate, and fully autonomous,
sphere.

BUDGET IMPLICATIONS :
The bill will require additional state expenditures for " spousal
benefits for those partners of state employees who are not eligible
for such benefits under current law, and who are married under this
legislation. At the same time, however, allowing same-sex marriage
would have numerous positive fiscal impacts. A 2007 report by the New
York City Comptroller detailed numerous sources of added revenue that
would result from enacting marriage equality in New York State,
including tax revenue from additional weddings, higher intake of
marital licensing fees and reduction of means-tested benefit payments
as a result of aggregated marital income. Moreover, any negative
budgetary impact from added benefit payments will be limited, as many
same-sex couples already enjoy such benefits through a variety of
administrative schemes, or as a result of out-of-state marriages.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This bill takes effect immediately.
1 Loving v. Virginia 388 U.S. (1967).
2 Hernandez v. Robles, 7 N.Y. 3d 338 (2005) (Kaye, C.J., dissenting).

###

S4401 Text

                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K<br />       ________________________________________________________________________<br /><br />                                         4401<br /><br />                              2009-2010 Regular Sessions<br /><br />                                   I N  S E N A T E<br /><br />                                    April 22, 2009<br />                                      ___________<br /><br />       Introduced  by  Sens.  DUANE, ADAMS, BRESLIN, DILAN, ESPADA, C. JOHNSON,<br />         KLEIN, KRUEGER,  MONTGOMERY,  OPPENHEIMER,  PARKER,  PERKINS,  SAVINO,<br />         SCHNEIDERMAN,  SERRANO,  SQUADRON, STAVISKY, STEWART-COUSINS, THOMPSON<br />         -- (at request of the Governor) -- read twice and ordered printed, and<br />         when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary<br /><br />       AN ACT to amend the domestic relations law, in relation to  the  ability<br />         to marry<br /><br />         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-<br />       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:<br /><br />    1    Section 1. Legislative intent. Marriage is a fundamental human  right.<br />    2  Same-sex  couples  and  their  children  should  have the same access as<br />    3  others to the protections, responsibilities,  rights,  obligations,  and<br />    4  benefits  of  civil  marriage.  Stable family relationships help build a<br />    5  stronger society. For the welfare of the community and  in  fairness  to<br />    6  all  New Yorkers, this act formally recognizes otherwise-valid marriages<br />    7  without regard to whether the parties are of the same or different sex.<br />    8    It is the intent of the legislature that the marriages of same-sex and<br />    9  different-sex couples be treated equally in all respects under the  law.<br />   10  The  omission  from this act of changes to other provisions of law shall<br />   11  not  be  construed  as  a  legislative  intent  to  preserve  any  legal<br />   12  distinction  between  same-sex  couples  and  different-sex couples with<br />   13  respect to marriage. The legislature intends that all provisions of  law<br />   14  which  utilize  gender-specific  terms  in reference to the parties to a<br />   15  marriage, or which in any other way may be inconsistent with  this  act,<br />   16  be  construed  in  a  gender-neutral  manner  or in any way necessary to<br />   17  effectuate the intent of this act.<br />   18    S 2. The domestic relations law is amended by  adding  a  new  section<br />   19  10-a to read as follows:<br />   20    S 10-A. SEX OF PARTIES. 1. A MARRIAGE THAT IS OTHERWISE VALID SHALL BE<br />   21  VALID  REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE PARTIES TO THE MARRIAGE ARE OF THE SAME<br />   22  OR DIFFERENT SEX.<br /><br />        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets<br />                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.<br />                                                                  LBD12040-01-9<br /><br />       S. 4401                             2<br /><br />    1    2. NO GOVERNMENT TREATMENT OR LEGAL STATUS,  EFFECT,  RIGHT,  BENEFIT,<br />    2  PRIVILEGE,  PROTECTION  OR  RESPONSIBILITY RELATING TO MARRIAGE, WHETHER<br />    3  DERIVING FROM STATUTE, ADMINISTRATIVE  OR  COURT  RULE,  PUBLIC  POLICY,<br />    4  COMMON LAW OR ANY OTHER SOURCE OF LAW, SHALL DIFFER BASED ON THE PARTIES<br />    5  TO  THE  MARRIAGE  BEING  OR  HAVING  BEEN OF THE SAME SEX RATHER THAN A<br />    6  DIFFERENT SEX. WHEN NECESSARY TO IMPLEMENT THE RIGHTS  AND  RESPONSIBIL-<br />    7  ITIES  OF  SPOUSES  UNDER THE LAW, ALL GENDER-SPECIFIC LANGUAGE OR TERMS<br />    8  SHALL BE CONSTRUED IN A GENDER-NEUTRAL MANNER IN  ALL  SUCH  SOURCES  OF<br />    9  LAW.<br />   10    S  3.  Section 13 of the domestic relations law, as amended by chapter<br />   11  720 of the laws of 1957, is amended to read as follows:<br />   12    S 13.   Marriage licenses.   It shall be  necessary  for  all  persons<br />   13  intended  to  be  married in New York state to obtain a marriage license<br />   14  from a town or city clerk in New York state and to deliver said license,<br />   15  within sixty days, to the clergyman or magistrate who  is  to  officiate<br />   16  before  the  marriage  ceremony may be performed.  In case of a marriage<br />   17  contracted pursuant to subdivision four of section eleven of this  chap-<br />   18  ter, such license shall be delivered to the judge of the court of record<br />   19  before  whom  the acknowledgment is to be taken.  If either party to the<br />   20  marriage resides upon an island located not less than twenty-five  miles<br />   21  from the office or residence of the town clerk of the town of which such<br />   22  island  is a part, and if such office or residence is not on such island<br />   23  such license may be obtained from any justice of the peace  residing  on<br />   24  such  island, and such justice, in respect to powers and duties relating<br />   25  to marriage licenses, shall be subject to the provisions of this article<br />   26  governing town clerks  and  shall  file  all  statements  or  affidavits<br />   27  received  by  him while acting under the provisions of this section with<br />   28  the town clerk of such town. NO APPLICATION FOR A MARRIAGE LICENSE SHALL<br />   29  BE DENIED ON THE GROUND THAT THE PARTIES ARE OF THE SAME, OR  A  DIFFER-<br />   30  ENT, SEX.<br />   31    S  4.  Subdivision  1  of section 11 of the domestic relations law, as<br />   32  amended by chapter 319 of the laws  of  1959,  is  amended  to  read  as<br />   33  follows:<br />   34    1.  A  clergyman or minister of any religion, or by the senior leader,<br />   35  or any of the other leaders, of The Society for Ethical Culture  in  the<br />   36  city  of New York, having its principal office in the borough of Manhat-<br />   37  tan, or by the leader of  The  Brooklyn  Society  for  Ethical  Culture,<br />   38  having  its  principal  office in the borough of Brooklyn of the city of<br />   39  New York, or of the Westchester Ethical Society,  having  its  principal<br />   40  office  in Westchester county, or of the Ethical Culture Society of Long<br />   41  Island, having its principal office in Nassau county, or of  the  River-<br />   42  dale-Yonkers  Ethical Society having its principal office in Bronx coun-<br />   43  ty, or by the leader of any other  Ethical  Culture  Society  affiliated<br />   44  with the American Ethical Union; PROVIDED THAT NO CLERGYMAN, MINISTER OR<br />   45  SOCIETY  FOR  ETHICAL  CULTURE LEADER SHALL BE REQUIRED TO SOLEMNIZE ANY<br />   46  MARRIAGE WHEN ACTING IN HIS OR HER CAPACITY UNDER THIS SUBDIVISION.<br />   47    S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.<br />