Eliot Spitzer, NY's attorney general and heir apparent to the state's governor's mansion, announced that state law
forbids same-sex marriage. And as AG, he is duty-bound to enforce state law.
However, he came out in favor of gay marriage, and said NY should recognize same-sex marriage licenses granted elsewhere.
"I know gays and lesbians want marriage and I respect their commitment to each other and I personally support their desire," Spitzer told a news conference.
Multnomah County, home of Portland, OR, is the latest place to
issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. And the action is completely legal under state law. So those licenses are not acts of civil disobedience.
Meanwhile, Chicago will not be joining the ranks of the enlightened just yet.
The Cook County clerk says he supports gay marriage but won't follow the lead of San Francisco and issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
David Orr says state laws bar gay couples from getting married. Orr says he thinks that law is unconstitutional and discriminatory. But he says can't go against it without widespread political and legal support.
However, in a bit of better news, an effort by Illinois Republicans to introduce an Illinois Hate Amendment
failed.