New York May Delay Gay Marriage Initiatives

New York Democratic leaders promised voters this year that their party would work diligently to legalize same-sex marriage if they won control of the State Senate. Monies from gay rights supporters and groups poured in from across the country, and the Democrats secured a healthy victory.

But this change may not happen overnight, or even during the 2009 legislative session as some of the parties leaders are suggesting it may be a good idea to hold off until 2011 before presenting this issue. The reason for the delay…They are hoping the Democrats can pick up more Senate seats. Also, by 2001, Gov. David A. Paterson, a strong proponent of gay rights, would then be safely into a second term

According to Senator Liz Krueger;

“We want to get there, but we want to get there the right way or else we risk setting ourselves back another decade.”

The passage of California’s Proposition 8 in November, (the measure that reversed a court decision that gave gay and lesbian couples the right to marry) along with heavy spending by church groups and others opposed to same-sex marriage has the party feeling a bit reluctant to dive into the issue just yet.

Senator Krueger also stated;

“I think the California proposition and the recognition that entities with large amounts of money who oppose same-sex marriage have decided to be large players in this have a lot of people going back to the drawing board.”