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NY Gov. Paterson's same-sex marriage legislation
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| NY Gov. Paterson's same-sex marriage legislation | ||
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by Shaun Knittel -
SGN Staff Writer How does a summer wedding in upstate New York sound? If New York Gov. David Paterson can get the state senate to pass a proposed same-sex marriage bill, you and your partner might just be able to ask each other that question. Gov. Paterson announced at 10 a.m. April 16 from his Midtown Manhattan office that he plans to introduce legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in New York. Patterson said New York should make a statement that it is committed to treating same-sex couples the same way it treats opposite-sex couples. Many Gay activists agree the timing is right, due in part to the momentum generated by other states that have recently allowed same-sex couples to wed. In Vermont, lawmakers last week voted to override the governor's veto of a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry. The week before, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that marriage couldn't be restricted to unions between a man and a woman. Same-sex marriage is also legal in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Patterson is determined to make New York number five on that list of states where same-sex couples can wed. "The timing was always right. It's just who is willing to take the step, and I am," Patterson said. "I think it is, as other states are showing, the only ethical way to treat people who want to live together in peace under civil law." He said his feeling about the issue is the right ethical decision and will inevitably be the right political decision. Introducing a bill, however, does not mean that action in the Legislature is imminent. It could take months before the bill makes its way through the appropriate channels and onto the floor for debate by the Senate and the Assembly. The legislation is the same bill that died in the senate in 2007, when it was proposed by then New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer. The Democratic controlled Assembly passed the bill 85-61, but a Republican majority Senate kept it from going to vote. Last year, the balance of power shifted when the Democrats gained a 32-30 majority in the November elections. Senate Majority leader Malcolm Smith supports the measure but still doesn't think there are enough votes to pass it, he said through a spokesman. Still, Gov. Patterson says the measure is necessary citing that Gays and Lesbians in civil unions - not marriage - are denied 1,200 to 1,350 civil protections such as health care and pension rights because they are not legally married. |
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