Birth certificates to reflect NY gay-marriage move

[GodlessBiker]

NEW YORK – State officials will now let married same-sex couples list both their names on their children's birth certificates in a policy shift deeply important to many gays and lesbians.

The decision, which echoes similar provisions in states that allow gay marriages or civil unions, is one of many changes since Gov. David Paterson ordered state agencies in May to respect out-of-state gay marriages.

The state Health Department said Friday it had agreed to the change, which came after a lesbian couple who are expecting a baby filed a lawsuit. The change would apply statewide except in New York City, which is considering revamping its own birth certificate forms to accommodate same-sex couples.

Under state law, a woman's husband is automatically deemed a parent of a child the pair conceives through artificial insemination, whether or not he is the genetic father. Gay couples have complained about having to jump through legal hoops to secure equivalent parental rights.

Carolyn Trzeciak and Nina Sheldon Trzeciak of Ulster County, who got married in Canada in 2006, sued last month. Nina Sheldon Trzeciak is carrying their first child, conceived through in vitro fertilization.

The couple argued they both should be designated as parents under Paterson's directive. The governor told state agencies to make sure policies and regulations treat married same-sex couples equally, saying a recent court ruling suggests they would otherwise risk discrimination claims.

For more, go here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081213/ap_on_re_us/gay_marriage_birth

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This is a very good thing.

[Taverner]

1. I wonder if the Jeebus Creepers will protest this move

Since they seem so concerned with what people do in private...

[MineralMan]

2. Of course they will,

but they've long ago given up on NYS, anyhow. So...they may not make a big deal of it.

[peace frog]

3. Oh, they will make a big deal out of it

but they will loudly denounce it mostly among themselves. Nobody else in Americaland gives a flying fig.

[MineralMan]

4. Well, of course, you're absolutely right.

Nobody cares about their mewlings.