Cemetery refused to bury same-sex spouse in family plot: lawsuit

A widower has filed a lawsuit accusing a cemetery on Long Island of refusing to allow the burial of his same-sex spouse in a family plot, The Independent reported on Wednesday.

The family of Mark Goldberg, a retired neurologist, "owns five burial plots at New Montefiore Cemetery, the middle two of which are presently unoccupied, according to a summons served late last month on the Jewish graveyard in Babylon, Long Island," reported Justin Rohrlich.

Per the lawsuit, after his 75-year-old husband, David, died last year, Mark sought for him to be buried in one of the vacant plots, but cemetery administrator Joy Margolis “refused to honor the family's contractual right to have David buried in his family's burial plot, seemingly because Mark and David were married.”

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This denial caused “both monetary and continual emotional damages” to Goldberg, according to the suit. He seeks compensation, legal fees, and for the court to order New Montefiore to allow David's burial.

The cemetery, according to the report, "lays out a number of rules and regulations that visitors must follow while on the property," including bans on liquor and food, tree-climbing, or the scattering of ashes. "And while only members of the Jewish faith are permitted to be buried there — notable occupants include former Ramones drummer Tommy Ramone, onetime New York City Mayor Abe Beame, and Lou Pearlman, the record producer who discovered N’Sync and the Backstreet Boys — New Montefiore does not list any proscriptions against accepting members of the LGBTQ+ community."

Margolis refused to answer questions from reporters, and other officials with the cemetery declined to comment.

A landmark Supreme Court decision in 2015 effectively legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

However, anti-LGBTQ discrimination remains widespread, particularly in the workplace. Nearly half of LGBTQ employees say they've experienced discrimination or harassment at work, including being fired, not hired, passed up for promotions, or verbally, physically, or sexually harassed. That includes Kentucky's 2022 "Teacher of the Year," who cited discrimination over his sexual orientation and lack of faculty support as to why he was leaving the profession.