US: New York Attorney General Mr Eliot Spitzer said yesterday the state's laws did not permit gay marriage, dealing a harsh blow to the growing battle in the United States for same-sex weddings.
Mr Spitzer told a news conference that he supports the desire of same-sex couples to marry but that he must uphold the state's laws.
"The language of the New York State Domestic Relations Law - which includes references to 'bride and groom' and 'husband and wife' - does not authorise the issuance of licences to same sex couples in New York," Mr Spitzer said in a written legal analysis of state law.
His comments were prompted by weddings last week in the upstate New York village of New Paltz, where about two dozen gay couples were married even though they did not have marriage licences.
"The opinion recommends that local officials in New York should not issue marriage licences to same-sex couples, and officiants should not solemnise same-sex wedding ceremonies," Mr Spitzer added.
Gay marriage has become a contentious election-year issue after more than 3,440 same-sex couples wed in recent weeks in San Francisco. A New Mexico county has also granted same-sex marriage licences recently, and Massachusetts' highest court has ordered lawmakers to allow gay marriages by mid-May.
US President George Bush last week called for a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage.
New Paltz Mayor Jason West - the state's first elected Green Party mayor - was due to appear in court yesterday charged with 19 counts of solemnising marriages without a licence and could face up to a year in prison if convicted. He married the couples last Friday and will plead his innocence on the ground that New York law promises equal protection for all.