The law specifically exempts religious institutions and benevolent societies from solemnizing or hosting same-sex marriages, though Senate majority leader Dean Skelos (R) on Monday cited continuing concerns over the language of this part of the bill. He suggested the bill was being amended.
The bill shields churches, synagogues, and groups such as the Knights of Columbus from civil lawsuits should they deny gay couples the right to use their facilities for marriage ceremonies, advocates say. The stronger protections sought by Republicans are not necessary, they say.
“Clergy have never been forced to marry couples that they don’t want to marry,” says Sarah Warbelow, state legislative director for the Human Rights Campaign, a major proponent of the gay marriage law. The exemption, she says, is “just a restatement, so there are no questions and it’s 100 percent clear.”
