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Buffalo Recognizes Marriages of Same-Sex Couples
Albany (March 5, 2004) – Today the City of Buffalo and the Town of Brighton became the latest localities in New York State to recognize marriages of same-sex couples. These announcements follow Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s statement on Wednesday that marriages and civil unions of same-sex couples performed outside the state should be treated as valid marriages in New York State.
Empire State Pride Agenda praised Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello and Brighton Town Supervisor Sandra Frankel for their decisions to fully support all families in the same way.
"We praise Mayor Masiello and Supervisor Frankel for their desire to build communities where all families are treated equally by their government,” said Ross Levi, Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs for Empire State Pride Agenda. “Same-sex couples who live in Buffalo and Brighton and have been married in places like Canada and soon Massachusetts are now as legally married as a couple who got a license at city hall.”
Mayor Masiello said today in a prepared statement, “I will uphold the law, which includes the recognition of civil unions and same-sex marriages performed outside of New York State. I have always been an advocate for the advancement of human and civil rights for all people.”
Brighton Town Supervisor Sandra Frankel said today, “This is a town that has always promoted inclusion and valued diversity. The Town of Brighton will afford out-of-state legal unions and same-sex marriages with the same rights and be subject to the same legal obligations as all other marriages.”
Buffalo and Brighton join Nyack and Ithaca in recognizing marriages of same-sex couples and according them the same rights as all other marriages within their local jurisdictions.
The Pride Agenda worked with both localities to make today’s announcements.
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Founded in 1990, the Empire State Pride Agenda is New York's statewide civil rights organization committed to achieving full equality and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) New Yorkers and our families. The Pride Agenda fights for these objectives by: educating the public, elected officials and policymakers; building coalitions and mobilizing allies; and, organizing and empowering the LGBT community. Victories include the enactment of statewide sexual orientation non-discrimination and hate crimes laws, the repeal of the consensual sodomy statute, and winning more than $12.5 million in state funds for LGBT health and human services statewide. Other victories include the passage of local non-discrimination measures in Westchester County, Nassau County, Suffolk County, and Buffalo, the enactment of a transgender non-discrimination law in NYC, and the enactment of a series of state laws, regulations, and private relief initiatives that provided equal benefits to LGBT surviving partners of 9/11 victims. With thousands of supporters, the Pride Agenda has offices in NYC and Albany and is the largest statewide LGBT organization in the country.
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