Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said yesterday that she plans to sue the federal government over the Defense of Marriage Act if elected New York’s next attorney general.
District Attorney Rice said that she believes the federal law infringes upon the civil rights of New Yorkers and unconstitutionally deprives the state of its right to provide the full benefits of marriage to its citizens.
While New York State has not yet passed marriage equality legislation, the State recognizes same-sex marriages validly enacted elsewhere. To gain standing in the lawsuit, District Attorney Rice said that the state could represent New Yorkers afforded marital status by New York State, but denied federal marriage benefits by DOMA. You can read more about Rice’s stances on LGBT issues here.
Brava Ms. Rice!
Now what do the other candidates in the New York AG race think on this important constitutional issue? Their contact is listed below. Feel free to give them a call, email, or facebook post! We’ll have an official action up soon…
State Senator Eric Schneiderman (D): (212) 242-5301, friends@schneiderman.org
State Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (D): (914) 332-4940, campaign@richardbrodsky.com
Eric Dinallo (D): (212) 944-9640, info@ericdinallo.com
Sean Coffey (D): (212) 557-6100, seancoffey@coffey2010.com
Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan (R): (718) 876-6300, info@dandonovan.org
Tagged: Andrew Cuomo, Defense of Marriage Act, DOMA, Eric Dinallo, Eric Schneiderman, Gay Rights, Kathleen Rice, LGBT, Richard Brodsky, Sean Coffey
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