New York governor signs same-sex marriage legislation
[JURIST] New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) [official website] on Friday signed legislation [A8354-2011 materials] allowing same-sex couples to marry in the state. The New York State Senate [official website] had passed the Marriage Equality Act 33-29 earlier that day following weeks of negotiations. The act eliminates any legal distinctions between opposite-sex and same-sex marriages [JURIST news archive] and specifies that no clergy member will be forced to perform a marriage ceremony and that any refusing clergy member will not…