A New York trial court upheld Governor David Patterson's executive order directing state agencies to recognize the validity of same-sex marriages performed in other states or countries. Justice Lucy Billings rejected a challenge filed by legislators who argued that it was up to the legislature to decide which out-of-state marriages should be recognized in New York.

Justice Billings rejected the plaintiffs’ reasoning, finding that Mr. Paterson’s order was consistent with state laws that generally require officials to recognize marriages from other jurisdictions and are silent on whether same-sex marriages should be excluded from that recognition.

“Furthermore,” she wrote, “when partners manifest the commitment to their relationship and family, by solemnizing that commitment elsewhere, through one of life’s most significant events, and come to New York, whether returning home or setting down roots, to carry on that commitment, nothing is more antithetical to family stability than requiring them to abandon that solemnized commitment.”