NY Sen. Carl Kruger Voted Against Gay Marriage. But Now He’ll Support Gay Rights (For the Dead)

Is New York State Sen. Carl Kruger taking a hint from Rhode Island? Kruger, the Democratic maybe-gay lawmaker who voted against legalizing gay marriage in December, now says he wants to give some rights to homosexual constituents. They just have to die first.

Kruger says he’ll back SB 6177A, sponsored by fellow Brooklyn Democrat Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, which “Provides that employers who provide funeral leave for family members of deceased shall not deny such leave for same-sex committed partners of the deceased.”

Why the sudden support for something pro-gay, even if it only amounts to providing rights upon death? The Village Voice points out a fear of a possible attack from Tim Gill’s PAC Fight Back New York. Or maybe Kruger, who’s getting on in his years, wants to make sure that upon his own death his partner (whoever that might be!) can take off work to bury him.