New York Gov. David Paterson says he has done everything he could do to get equal marriage in New York, he told Towleroad this weekend. Paterson scheduled a special session of the senate for Tuesday to take up issues – including marriage – but he does not have the power to force the legislature to take them up. The New York Assembly has passed the marriage bill; Paterson has said he would sign it should it cross his desk.Should the Senate take up the bill, Paterson said, ” I have a feeling if it got on the floor it would be voted up.” But he also said that if it should be voted down, it would not be a “colossal failure” but would give activists a chance to see who needed to be persuaded. At least then, he said, the legislators would be on record.
NYC City Council Speaker Quinn Urges Marriage Equality Vote
Openly gay NYC City Council speaker Christine Quinn was asked at a press conference this morning about the potential for a vote on marriage equality by the State Senate tomorrow."It's an incredibly important piece of legislation...If the bill is voted on and passed tomorrow, a week after a referendum passed in Maine that took rights away from the residents of Maine...if seven days after that the New York State Senate stands up and says all New York families are equal, what a message that sends about what we believe as a state."
On Deck, New York Marriage Equality Bill's Fate in Albany Uncertain
The NYT's take on marriage equality's chances this week: unclear.
"Advocates on both sides of the issue lobbied senators over the weekend, but it was still unclear on Sunday whether the measure could attract the 32 votes needed in the State Senate for approval. (The Assembly has already passed the bill.) Only three state legislatures nationwide have voted, without the intervention of the courts, to approve same- sex marriage. In New York, Democrats hold a shaky 32-to-30 majority in the Senate, and some senators oppose allowing the legislation to come to the floor for a vote. Those who favor the bill say they realize they are risking another significant defeat but are determined to get legislators on record on the issue. They also say that now may be the best time to push lawmakers to take up the bill, given that next year all 212 members of the Legislature will face re-election. Estimates vary, but supporters of the bill believe they can count on about 25 votes for the legislation at this time."
Michelangelo Signorile makes an interesting point with regard to the recent NY-23 election: "I was actually wondering how the Dede Scozzafava debacle would play out and I did think in fact it would scare Republicans in the Senate on marriage for gays. The Republican Party in New York has known for some time that state Republicans will be dinosaurs soon, as all the surrounding states have marriage equality and the Northeast Republican is heading for extinction and needs to make changes. However, those with sites on national office, certainly saw what happened to Scozzafava and took notice. If the local party is, perhaps, ready for the change, the national party is light years away."
700 Clergy and Lay Leaders Call on NY Senate to Pass Marriage Bill
"Advocates on both sides of the issue lobbied senators over the weekend, but it was still unclear on Sunday whether the measure could attract the 32 votes needed in the State Senate for approval. (The Assembly has already passed the bill.) Only three state legislatures nationwide have voted, without the intervention of the courts, to approve same- sex marriage. In New York, Democrats hold a shaky 32-to-30 majority in the Senate, and some senators oppose allowing the legislation to come to the floor for a vote. Those who favor the bill say they realize they are risking another significant defeat but are determined to get legislators on record on the issue. They also say that now may be the best time to push lawmakers to take up the bill, given that next year all 212 members of the Legislature will face re-election. Estimates vary, but supporters of the bill believe they can count on about 25 votes for the legislation at this time."
Michelangelo Signorile makes an interesting point with regard to the recent NY-23 election: "I was actually wondering how the Dede Scozzafava debacle would play out and I did think in fact it would scare Republicans in the Senate on marriage for gays. The Republican Party in New York has known for some time that state Republicans will be dinosaurs soon, as all the surrounding states have marriage equality and the Northeast Republican is heading for extinction and needs to make changes. However, those with sites on national office, certainly saw what happened to Scozzafava and took notice. If the local party is, perhaps, ready for the change, the national party is light years away."
700 Clergy and Lay Leaders Call on NY Senate to Pass Marriage Bill
The Empire State Pride Agenda today released a list of 700 clergy and lay leaders from across New York state who are in support of the legislature passing a marriage equality bill.
ESPA writes: "The geographic list of clergy and faith leaders in support of New York State allowing same-sex couples access to marriage includes a number of denominations including Lutheran, Episcopalian, Methodist, United Church of Christ, American Baptist, Reformed Church in America and Reform and Conservative movements of Judaism. It also includes influential leaders like Bishop Prince Singh of the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, Bishop Robert Rimbo of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, President of Union Theological Seminary."
Said executive director Alan van Capelle in a statement: "This list represents a diverse group of faith traditions and congregations from all corners of our state. The leaders of these religious institutions understand the spiritual value of respecting all members of their community, including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. These faith leaders—a number of which are not allowed to perform marriages of same-sex couples themselves because of their faith traditions—consider this to be an issue involving the rights and protections of civil marriage, not the traditions and ceremonies of a religious marriage. Their commitment at this important moment in New York demonstrates that there is no one group that owns the pulpit when it comes to whether the state should be treating all families equally by providing same-sex couples access to marriage and the many hundreds of rights and responsibilities New York provides with a marriage license.”
ESPA writes: "The geographic list of clergy and faith leaders in support of New York State allowing same-sex couples access to marriage includes a number of denominations including Lutheran, Episcopalian, Methodist, United Church of Christ, American Baptist, Reformed Church in America and Reform and Conservative movements of Judaism. It also includes influential leaders like Bishop Prince Singh of the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, Bishop Robert Rimbo of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, President of Union Theological Seminary."
Said executive director Alan van Capelle in a statement: "This list represents a diverse group of faith traditions and congregations from all corners of our state. The leaders of these religious institutions understand the spiritual value of respecting all members of their community, including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. These faith leaders—a number of which are not allowed to perform marriages of same-sex couples themselves because of their faith traditions—consider this to be an issue involving the rights and protections of civil marriage, not the traditions and ceremonies of a religious marriage. Their commitment at this important moment in New York demonstrates that there is no one group that owns the pulpit when it comes to whether the state should be treating all families equally by providing same-sex couples access to marriage and the many hundreds of rights and responsibilities New York provides with a marriage license.”
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