With New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s promise to make same-sex marriage a priority, the state’s openly gay Sen. Thomas Duane plans to introduce a gay marriage bill “within weeks.” So what if the State Senate is once again controlled by Republicans, who worked with some power hungry Dems to shoot down the bill in 2009! Apparently the strategy in 2011 is to have cute gays parade through Albany while the state’s resident screaming homosexual legislator scares everyone into voting Yes.
Don't forget to share:
paulD
I have the utmost respect for Tom Duane. He has fought long and hard for us New Yorkers and our rights.
Andrew
Like Paul, I am also a New Yorker and am thankful to Sen. Duane for his contributions. But I fear that we may be moving a bit too fast.
Joann Prinzivalli
It may not be an easy lift to get marriage equality passed in New York, but it is definitely a possibility, yes, even with Republicans in charge of the State Senate. Factors:
1) The number of supporters in the Senate has gone up by three from last session.
2) Dean Skelos, the (Republican) majority leader, has already indicated that if his conference is willing, that the bill may be allowed to go for a vote.
3) There are several Republican senators who were on the whip count the last time the bill came up – but when the roll call vote was taken, one Democrat who was known to have been on the whip count voted “no” – and the Republicans were not going to vote for the bill knowing that it would be defeated.
4) Majority Leader Skelos is smart enough to know that passage at some point is inevitable – and that if it does pass in 2011 or 2012, it might actually be easier for the Republicans to continue to maintain a majority in 2012.
5) Fewer Republicans will be needed to get the bill passed.
Okay, on the down side:
a) don’t expect a vote until after the budget – this year, more than ever, the budget is going to be the centerpiece of the legislative mindset until April (and hopefully not beyond).
b) it’s still a heavy lift – advicates really have to work on nailing down the votes for the whip count (and the actual vote), including the Republicans willing to cast theor votes for marriage.
c) expect NOM, other right wing groups, and the Roman Catholic Church’s bishops, to lobby with a full-court press against the bill.
d) There is no guarantee that the republican conference will be nice enough to let the bill go to a vote if it *does* have enough votes.
Stefan
-I believe there are 2 additional confirmed Yes votes, not 3, unless someone flipped (I know Addabbo is likely to. I spoke directly to a member of his staff and she said everyone was genuinly shocked at his No vote).
-I do believe that Duane did have the votes to pass it at least early on last session, however many dropped off after the Scozzfava incident.
-Regardless of what happens this session, marriage equality is inevitable for the state in 2013. The Democrats are expected to gain a handful of seats soley due to population shifts from the more conservative upstate region to the more liberal downstate region. In addition, 2012 will be a better year for Democrats everywhere since it’s a presidential election year.
Neil
USE DISCOUNT code 1now5off, 2now5off on CUMS2CAM.C O M