New US state law gives gay couples all the legal benefits and responsibilities of married spouses

A Superior Court judge in Sacramento upheld a new state law Wednesday that is poised to give gay couples who register as domestic partners nearly all the legal benefits and responsibilities of married spouses.

Dismissing arguments of two groups that sued to have the law struck down before it takes effect Jan. 1, Judge Loren E. McMaster ruled that assigning privileges such as alimony and parental status to same-sex couples does not violate a voter-approved measure that holds California can recognize only marriages between a man and a woman.

 

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