New York, NY — (AP) A New York court says it has no legal basis to issue a marriage license to a man who allegedly committed an act of domestic violence.
In a lawsuit filed Monday, the couple, both former high school athletes, argue that they have been denied the right to wed because of a New York law that requires that a married couple prove their relationship is permanent.
The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, argues that the New York State Attorney General’s Office and the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice are “instructed by the Attorney General to deny a marriage to an unmarried male based on a false, fanciful and fraudulent argument.”
“The plaintiff’s marriage is not a legal relationship and it is not valid,” the lawsuit states.
“The Plaintiff’s marriage cannot be a valid marriage because the Defendant cannot legally marry her because he is not legally married to her.”
In the lawsuit, the couples claim that the Attorney Department has sent letters to all New York state offices informing them of the legal requirements that the marriage be permanent and stating that the judge who signed the marriage license “is required to issue an ‘authorized marriage license.'”
“The Defendant has repeatedly told Plaintiff’s counsel that he has no authority to issue this marriage license, because Plaintiff’s relationship is not permanent, and therefore Plaintiff is not eligible for the legal benefits of a marriage,” the lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.
The couples are seeking $3.5 million in damages, as well as a restraining order that would prevent the Attorney Gen. from enforcing the marriage law in New York.
