Paterson Sidelined on Same-Sex Marriage
December 6, 2009 by Gay Agenda News Team · 1 Comment
In the days leading up to Wednesday’s State Senate vote on a bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage, a who’s who of New York politics worked the phones, trying to cajole senators to vote yes.
Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, Senator Charles E. Schumer and Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, coordinated with advocates of gay rights to reach out to nearly every senator considered a potential swing vote.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg also made calls and was prepared to fly at a moment’s notice to Albany, where two trucks with members of his security detail were waiting at the airport to whisk him to the Capitol.
But advocates of same-sex marriage were less enthusiastic for the help of one very high-profile state leader: Gov. David A. Paterson.
Few political leaders in New York have been as consistently outspoken in support of same-sex marriage as Mr. Paterson, and even fewer have made it such a legacy-building issue. Yet Mr. Paterson, who has low approval ratings and has recently become deeply unpopular with Senate Democrats after a bruising battle over cutting the state budget, found himself largely sidelined as the Senate vote approached.
Marriage Vote Today in NY – Watch Live Here!
December 2, 2009 by James Hipps · Leave a Comment
After weeks of back and forth contemplation over whether or not to vote on Gov. David Paterson’s same-sex marriage bill, the New York state Legislature has said it will vote today on $2.8 billion deficit reduction plan, the public employee pension reform, public authority reform and the same-sex marriage bill.
The session is being streamed live here at gayagenda.com! http://nysenate.gov.
Approve Gay Marriage
November 16, 2009 by Gay Agenda News Team · Leave a Comment
What the New York Legislature giveth, it is loathe to take away. Even when the state is in a $3.2 billion budget hole, and the tax-the-rich well has gone dry, lawmakers apparently cannot bring themselves to cut back on any of the annual entitlements they give to everything from public employees unions to local pork projects.
But there is a gift that members of the New York Senate could bestow upon many of their fellow citizens, one that has the rare political benefit of not costing their taxpayers, their interest groups — even their long-suffering constituents — a single thing.
The Senate should approve the bill to legalize same-sex marriage in New York. The Assembly already has passed it. Gov. David A. Paterson is primed to sign it. Justice demands it. And no single person in the state of New York will, despite what many fervently believe, be any the worse for it.
Advocates Optimistic About a Yes Vote on Same Sex Marriage in NY
November 16, 2009 by Gay Agenda News Team · Leave a Comment
Governor Paterson is calling the senators back to Albany today, and gay marriage is on the agenda. Many observers are convinced the bill will never reach the floor this session. But WNYC’s Ailsa Chang sat down with one gay rights activist who says this is the year gay marriage will not only come to a vote in the New York senate, it’s going to pass as well.
Gay Marriage Vote Expected Soon in NY
November 13, 2009 by Gay Agenda News Team · 2 Comments
Next Monday and Tuesday, a bill legalizing gay marriage will be on the agenda in Albany. The Governor promises it will come to a vote by the end of the year.
Governor David Paterson told reporters, “We’re talking about the civil rights of people.”
The bill will come to the floor at Paterson’s insistence. When the measure appeared dead, he said he took lawmakers into his chambers for a meeting to convince them to act on it.
The Assembly has already passed the bill, but the Senate has not brought it to the floor. That chamber remains split 32-30 as Democrats hold a slim majority.
And in an update from the NY Daily News:
Senate Democrats are shooting for next Tuesday to take another shot at bringing the gay marriage bill up for a vote following last week’s wheel-spinning session that culminated with Gov. David Paterson’s pledge that the bill would be debated before 2009 ends.
“I’m hopeful it’s Tuesday; We’re going to keep pushing for Tuesday to be the day,” Sen. Diane Savino told me yesterday after the Coney Island press conference at City Hall.
