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发帖数: 4174 | 1 Posted on Advocate.com June 17, 2011 10:15:00 AM ET
Marriage Equality Gridlock in New York
By Julie Bolcer
NEW YORK STATE SENATE 20110617 X390 (GETTY) | ADVOCATE.COM
New York senate Republicans will meet Friday for the third day in a day row
to discuss whether to vote on the marriage equality bill, which has remained
one vote shy of passage since Tuesday.
Republican senators in New York plan to meet in conference Friday morning
for the third day in a row as they deliberate whether to bring the marriage
equality bill for a vote before the scheduled end of session this Monday.
The bill currently has support from 31 senators, including two Republicans,
putting it one vote shy of passage, with one more Republican senator needed
to vote yes.
On Thursday, Republican senators emerged from their private meeting in
Albany with no decision following a visit from New York City mayor Michael
Bloomberg, a major donor to the conference who also has contributed $350,000
to marriage equality advocates this session. In remarks afterward, the
mayor said that based on his conversations with senators including John
Flanagan, Mark Grisanti and Andrew Lanza, all of whom he named, he believed
the bill would pass with more than a “bare majority” if it comes to the
floor for a vote, but he did not announce any new commitments.
Bloomberg indicated that the bill would pass with more than the required 32
votes, something insiders have suggested is needed to provide political
cover and prevent any one Republican from being identified as the decisive
vote. Political calculations run high for Republican senators, who hold a
slight 32 to 30 majority heading into the 2012 elections. The Conservative
Party of New York State, which endorses Republican candidates on its
influential line, has vowed to withhold support from any lawmakers who vote
for the marriage equality, but a series of polls show that a majority of New
York voters support the issue at historic percentages.
Senators Lanza, Kemp Hannon and Stephen Saland met Thursday evening with Gov
. Andrew Cuomo, according to the Associated Press, in order to discuss
issues including the religious exemptions. The governor submitted the
Marriage Equality Act on Tuesday, which the assembly passed Wednesday,
specifying exemptions for religious institutions and clergy members that do
not want to marry same-sex couples or allow their private facilities to be
used for the purpose. While the language parallels that of the state’s
existing human rights law, Republican senators seem to want stronger
exemptions that may extend beyond what is constitutional.
One senator, Greg Ball, has expressed concerns about the denial of state
funding for religious agencies that refuse to comply with the marriage
equality law in services such as adoption and foster care. He also has
raised concerns about challenges to the tax-exempt status of religious
entities that refuse to allow their facilities to be used for same-sex
wedding celebrations, as occurred with the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting
Association, a Methodist organization in New Jersey.
Cuomo has indicated no willingness to negotiate in public statements, and
the New York State Catholic Conference, which is lobbying hard against the
bill along with conservative Jewish leaders, confirmed it would not support
the measure under any circumstances.
“We will always oppose the bill even with stronger religious exemption
language,” said Dennis Poust, spokesman for the Catholic Conference, in a
note to The Advocate on Thursday. “However, were the bill to pass, stronger
language would prevent scenarios like we've seen in other states where
Catholic ministries have had to shut down (Catholic Charities adoptions and
foster care in Boston, DC, Illinois) or not-for-profit status was revoked (
Ocean Grove Methodist Camp Association),” he wrote.
Thursday night, at the annual New York City Council Pride celebration,
Speaker Christine Quinn, an out lesbian who has lobbied for the bill
numerous times in Albany, credited the leadership of Cuomo for bringing New
York to the “threshold of marriage equality passing.” She said a
successful vote could take place “in the next couple of days, if not
tomorrow.”
“This is finally our moment,” she said.
Quinn said that Cuomo was using “every power of his office” to secure the
one vote needed from a Republican. In the final days of the session, which
could be extended into next week beyond the Monday deadline, other items
remain on the agenda including a property tax cap and rent regulations.
“He was in meetings today, to get us over the hump, to get us the vote that
we need,” said Quinn of the governor.
The speaker also credited the audience members including constituents of
three Democratic state senators who voted no in 2009 but announced their
support this week. The votes from Joseph Addabbo, Shirley Huntley and Carl
Kruger put every Democrat except for the avowedly antigay Ruben Diaz Sr. in
the yes column and shifted the pressure to pass the bill to the Republicans.
“Make clear note, that when those 29 Democratic state senators stood up,
they knew exactly how many telephone calls they had gotten,” said Quinn. “
They knew exactly how how many emails. They knew how many letters.”
Senator Addabbo refused to reveal his personal position on marriage equality
and said repeatedly that his vote depended on input from his constituents.
He reportedly has received thousands of messages in support this year.
Republicans James Alesi and Roy McDonald followed the Democrats in
announcing their support this week. The vote tally has stood at 31 since
Tuesday.
Late on Thursday, Lady Gaga tweeted to her nearly 11 million followers,
asking them to call New York state senators and tell them to vote yes on the
marriage equality bill. The pop star had been singled out this week during
the assembly debate when Dov Hikind, a Brooklyn lawmaker opposed to the
marriage equality bill, held up her photo and criticized advocates for using
celebrities to promote the issue.
In her series of tweets, Gaga mentioned Senator Grisanti, an undecided
Republican she had called out earlier this year at a concert in Buffalo.
“Today we are on the Edge of Glory and 1 vote away for marriage equality
passing in New York State,” said one of the Gaga tweets with a reference to
her new music video. “Go to www.newyorkersunitedformarriage.org,” she
added.
Katy Perry also endorsed the move, tweeting “GO GAGA GO!” |
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