Gay marriage and Westchester Senate Race

10/26/2006
Gay Marriage and a Westchester NY Senate Race
By: ANDY HUMM


Nick Spano, a Westchester Republican, became the first member of the New York State Senate majority to declare his support for same-sex marriage. "Civil unions are fine, but that doesn't answer the equality issue," he said in response to a question from the New York Blade's Kerry Eleveld. "I'm for marriage equality."

Spano's Democratic opponent, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who lost by 18 votes in the 2004 election, has yet to declare explicitly for marriage equality. She told Gay City News in a statement, "Nick Spano will clearly say anything to get elected. Although he supports gay marriage, he will not ask Joe Bruno to bring a marriage bill to the floor." Ted Lazarus, a Stewart-Cousins spokesman, offered a nuanced follow-up on his candidate's failure to endorse marriage quality, writing in an e-mail, "She will support any legislation guaranteeing equal rights for gay or lesbian couples that comes up for a vote, whether it is civil unions or civil marriage."Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, a Troy Republican, is strongly opposed to marriage equality. The new Democratic leader, Malcolm Smith of Queens, recently declared his support for it. Bruno controls the agenda by refusing to bring measures his Republican majority does not support to a floor vote. That strategy held up the hate crimes law until 2000 and the gay nondiscrimination measure until 2002.