Responding to a decision by California's Supreme Court that upheld a state constitutional amendment that banned gay marriage there, thousands took to the streets in Manhattan to object to that ruling and demand that New York's State Senate pass a same-sex marriage bill this year.
"I have a message for our friends in the State Senate," said Scott Stringer, the Manhattan borough president, to loud applause and cheering at a May 26 rally held at Union Square. "The time has come to pass marriage equality in the Senate."
The rally and march was one of more than 100 held across the country on the day that California's highest court held in a 6-1 ruling that Proposition 8, an initiative approved by voters in that state last year, was constitutional (See Arthur S. Leonard's analysis of the ruling). That same court ruled in May of last year that a 2000 law passed by California voters that banned gay marriage was unconstitutional.
Between that ruling and the November 4 vote that reversed it, roughly 18,000 gay and lesbian couples married in California. In a perplexing portion of the recent ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that those marriages were still valid.
While the crushing Proposition 8 vote led to recriminations and charges that national gay groups and initiative opponents in that state had blown what should have been a win for the gay and lesbian community, the May 26 ruling was expected though still disappointing.
"The decision by the California Supreme Court today is heartbreaking," said Cathy Marino-Thomas, board president of Marriage Equality New York, one of the groups that organized the march and rally. "What happened to equal protection under the law?"
Since the Proposition 8 vote, three states -- Iowa, Vermont, and Maine -- have approved same-sex marriages, either through legislation or by court ruling, and New Hampshire is on the verge of adopting a marriage equality law as well.
In New York, the State Assembly passed a gay marriage bill on May 12 by a vote of 89-52, and activists have been pressing the Democratic-controlled Senate to approve the law. As of May 26, no vote was scheduled in the Senate and that body adjourns in 24 days. The bill was introduced by Governor David Paterson on April 17, so his approval is a lock.
Speaking at the rally, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, an out lesbian who represents Chelsea, called on the crowd to aggressively lobby their state senators. "Make it so the State Senate can do nothing else for the next 24 days," she told the crowd.
The rally followed a march from Christopher Park in the West Village, a small park on Christopher Street near the Stonewall Inn, where riots that came in the wake of a June 1969 police raid have come to be seen as the launch of the modern gay rights movement.
The crowd, which grew steadily larger along the route, went down Washington Street, headed up Sixth Avenue, and then went east on 14th Street to Union Square.
Gilbert Baker, the artist who popularized the use of the Rainbow Flag in the lesbian and gay community, made nine banners with varying messages for the march and he continually altered which banner led the march.
While the chants and signs clearly tied the ruling and the Proposition 8 vote to anti-gay bigotry, there were also indications that some in the community are growing impatient with President Barack Obama.
One of Baker's banners featured two images of Obama facing in opposite directions and the signature slogan from his presidential campaign "Yes we can" connected with "No you can't."
Two men in the crowd in the crowd held signs that read, "Yes we can" with an asterisk and then text below it, looking like a footnote, that read "But not if you're gay."
Corey Johnson, another march organizer, broadened that complaint to include the Democratic-controlled US House and Senate. He urged the crowd to join an October 10 march on Washington to seek a "fully inclusive civil rights bill" by the end of the year.
"We want that from this Democratic Congress, this Democratic president, and we want it before this year is out," Johnson said.
By: DUNCAN OSBORNE
05/26/2009
http://www.gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20321218&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6
May 29, 2009
Celebrities Champion State’s Same-Sex Marriage Bill
State Senator Shirley L. Huntley, a brassy, big-haired Democrat from Queens who opposes same-sex marriage, received a call on Wednesday that left her momentarily stunned.
Maya Angelou was on the line, and she wanted to know if the senator might reconsider her position. Ms. Huntley, hardly the type to be played for a fool, at first thought her staff might be pulling a fast one.
“I said, ‘What?’ ” Ms. Huntley recalled on Thursday, adding that she was not convinced that it was Ms. Angelou until she heard her deep timbre. “I heard the voice, and I said: ‘My God. It is her.’ And that was that.”
Ms. Angelou’s call — one of three the poet and author placed to state senators this week — was part of an effort by prominent supporters of gay rights to persuade reluctant senators to vote for the same-sex marriage bill before the Legislature. Cynthia Nixon, co-star of HBO’s “Sex and the City,” who is a lesbian, and Paul Tagliabue, the former commissioner of the National Football League, who has a gay son, are among the other high-profile people who have lent their celebrity to the cause.
The Assembly passed the bill, promoted by Gov. David A. Paterson, on May 12, but gay rights groups remain short of the support they need in the Senate. With just four weeks left before the Legislature adjourns, those groups have been increasing their efforts to reach out to senators.
Opponents of same-sex marriage say they do not plan any celebrity outreach of their own. So do not expect a Capitol appearance from Miss California USA, Carrie Prejean, who caused a stir telling judges for the national pageant that she believed marriage should be between a man and a woman.
“We think the most effective lobbyists on marriage are actual constituents, not Hollywood stars,” said Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage. “That’s the most effective thing we can do.”
Empire State Pride Agenda, the gay rights organization that arranged for Ms. Angelou to call state senators, is also helping Ms. Nixon and Mr. Tagliabue set up meetings with Democratic and Republican senators in Albany.
In a telephone interview, Ms. Angelou, who has a home in Harlem, said she felt compelled to speak out because she believes that legalizing same-sex marriage is a matter of social fairness — a subject that has been a theme of her writing.
“I would ask every man and every woman who’s had the blessing of having children, ‘Would you deny your son or your daughter the ecstasy of finding someone to love?’ ” she said.
Ms. Angelou said she believed that society made gay relationships hard enough without the added burden of making marriage illegal.
“To love someone takes a lot of courage,” she said. “So how much more is one challenged when the love is of the same sex and the laws say, ‘I forbid you from loving this person’?”
Her words did not convince Ms. Huntley. “I admire her, her poetry,” Ms. Huntley said. “I enjoy listening to it. And I told her that. But that does not change my mind.” She added, “If they gave me a million dollars, tax free, I just wouldn’t vote for it.”
Ms. Huntley said Ms. Angelou was gracious in response: “She said she understood.”
Supporters of same-sex marriage hope to make more progress with other senators.
“The majority of people who are undecided are catching up,” Ms. Nixon, who plans to visit Albany on Tuesday, said in a phone interview. “They’re just taking a little time to get there. But I think they’ll get there.”
By JEREMY W. PETERS
Published: May 28, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/nyregion/29celebrity.html?_r=1&em
Maya Angelou was on the line, and she wanted to know if the senator might reconsider her position. Ms. Huntley, hardly the type to be played for a fool, at first thought her staff might be pulling a fast one.
“I said, ‘What?’ ” Ms. Huntley recalled on Thursday, adding that she was not convinced that it was Ms. Angelou until she heard her deep timbre. “I heard the voice, and I said: ‘My God. It is her.’ And that was that.”
Ms. Angelou’s call — one of three the poet and author placed to state senators this week — was part of an effort by prominent supporters of gay rights to persuade reluctant senators to vote for the same-sex marriage bill before the Legislature. Cynthia Nixon, co-star of HBO’s “Sex and the City,” who is a lesbian, and Paul Tagliabue, the former commissioner of the National Football League, who has a gay son, are among the other high-profile people who have lent their celebrity to the cause.
The Assembly passed the bill, promoted by Gov. David A. Paterson, on May 12, but gay rights groups remain short of the support they need in the Senate. With just four weeks left before the Legislature adjourns, those groups have been increasing their efforts to reach out to senators.
Opponents of same-sex marriage say they do not plan any celebrity outreach of their own. So do not expect a Capitol appearance from Miss California USA, Carrie Prejean, who caused a stir telling judges for the national pageant that she believed marriage should be between a man and a woman.
“We think the most effective lobbyists on marriage are actual constituents, not Hollywood stars,” said Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage. “That’s the most effective thing we can do.”
Empire State Pride Agenda, the gay rights organization that arranged for Ms. Angelou to call state senators, is also helping Ms. Nixon and Mr. Tagliabue set up meetings with Democratic and Republican senators in Albany.
In a telephone interview, Ms. Angelou, who has a home in Harlem, said she felt compelled to speak out because she believes that legalizing same-sex marriage is a matter of social fairness — a subject that has been a theme of her writing.
“I would ask every man and every woman who’s had the blessing of having children, ‘Would you deny your son or your daughter the ecstasy of finding someone to love?’ ” she said.
Ms. Angelou said she believed that society made gay relationships hard enough without the added burden of making marriage illegal.
“To love someone takes a lot of courage,” she said. “So how much more is one challenged when the love is of the same sex and the laws say, ‘I forbid you from loving this person’?”
Her words did not convince Ms. Huntley. “I admire her, her poetry,” Ms. Huntley said. “I enjoy listening to it. And I told her that. But that does not change my mind.” She added, “If they gave me a million dollars, tax free, I just wouldn’t vote for it.”
Ms. Huntley said Ms. Angelou was gracious in response: “She said she understood.”
Supporters of same-sex marriage hope to make more progress with other senators.
“The majority of people who are undecided are catching up,” Ms. Nixon, who plans to visit Albany on Tuesday, said in a phone interview. “They’re just taking a little time to get there. But I think they’ll get there.”
By JEREMY W. PETERS
Published: May 28, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/nyregion/29celebrity.html?_r=1&em
May 17, 2009
Big Assembly Win Sends Marriage Bill to Senate
After an emotional debate that ran more than three hours -- about as long as when the question was first taken up in 2007 -- the New York State Assembly passed Governor David Paterson's marriage equality bill on May 12, by an 89-52 vote.
In June 2007, the measure carried with an 85-61 margin, but was not considered by the State Senate, then controlled by Republicans. This year, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith of Queens, whose caucus has only a 32-30 edge, has pledged his support, though he has consistently said he would bring the measure to the floor only when he is confident it will carry. This year's session ends in June.
As the Assembly debate unfolded, however, Smith made his strongest statement on the prospects for the bill. "The momentum is shifting -- marriage equality will be a reality in New York and I welcome that day," Smith said in a press release, in which he added, "It is my goal to realize that... accomplishment in the Senate, and as a strong supporter of marriage equality legislation, I will continue to work until we have sufficient votes to pass it."
Three weeks ago, when introducing the marriage bill at a Manhattan press conference, the governor, who once served as minority leader in that chamber, called for a Senate vote whether or not passage was assured, arguing that some fence-sitters will only be smoked out that way. "Whenever the vote is taken, I believe you will see -- and it will be interesting to watch if this doesn't turn out to happen -- whether there aren't three or four members of the Senate who will vote for it when they had not said they would," Paterson told Gay City News in a follow-up interview. "The sooner the vote is taken, the sooner this will pass."
Thomas Duane, an out gay Chelsea Democrat who is the lead Senate sponsor of the marriage measure, released a statement after the Assembly vote saying flatly, "I am confident that this year my Senate will uphold this fundamental legal principle and vote for my right, our right, to be married this year."
Paterson, Duane, and advocates led by the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) all acknowledge that Republican votes will be needed -- Bronx Democrat Ruben Diaz, Sr., a Pentecostal minister, is an implacable foe of gay rights who will lead a rally in opposition in that borough on May 17, and other Democrats have voiced opposition, though in less than Shermanesque terms.
In the effort to build bipartisan momentum heading into the Senate, the Assembly vote offered reason for optimism. The number of GOP votes, from a caucus that numbers only 41 out of the 150 seats in total, rose from three to five.
In the far northern part of the state, Republicans Teresa Sayward of Willsboro and Deirdre Scozzafava of Gouverneur were joined by Janet Duprey of Plattsburgh. Joel Miller of Poughkeepsie voted for the bill again, and for the first time, GOP Assemblyman Fred Thiele of Sag Harbor cast an aye.
Last week, the Daily News' Liz Benjamin reported that ESPA had spent $100,000 on polling in key swing State Senate districts currently represented by Republicans and found that in four Long Island districts -- represented by GOP Senators Ken LaValle, Kemp Hannon, Charles Fuschillo, and John Flanagan -- voters approve of marriage equality by a 52-42 margin. The issue polls best among voters under 30, women, and Independents.
Some flips by Democratic assemblymembers to a pro-equality vote also offered hope that neighboring senators might be swayed. Sandra Galef from Ossining spoke out in favor of the bill this week, after voting no in 2007, and ESPA confirmed that her switch will be helpful in lobbying Senate Republican Vincent Leibell, who is from Patterson, in neighboring Putnam County.
Stepping up its efforts to move senators in key districts, ESPA on May 13 unveiled the first in a series of ads aimed at showing "how real New York families are hurt when same-sex couples aren't allowed to marry."
The first 30-second spot, set to run in Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany, features Barb and Don Crawford, who are parents of two daughters, one straight and one lesbian. The couple talk about both having met the "person that she loves," with younger daughter Jody married, but Amy, in a relationship for 12 years and the mother of their oldest grandchild, Olive, unable to do so. Saying that Olive has been the flower girl in two weddings, Barb says, "She wants to be the flower girl in her mom's wedding. It's time to pass the marriage equality bill."
As the lead Assembly sponsor, it fell to Daniel O'Donnell, an out gay Democrat from the Upper West Side, to respond to questions and criticisms from the bill's opponents. Those fighting the measure clearly had received talking points from the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), a recently formed group dedicated to spending millions in opposition to equality initiatives nationwide and the producer of the infamous "Gathering Storm" ad.
Republican Michael Fitzpatrick, from Smithtown on Long Island, informed that the measure specifically states that no religious institution can be compelled to officiate over a same-sex marriage, insisted that it would "force society" to accept such unions, warning of school assemblies held to celebrate gay marriage.
Dov Hikind of Brooklyn's Boro Park, elected on both the Democratic and Republican lines, said he understood discrimination and invoked the Nazi gas chambers, but then warned that Hasidic congregations would be compelled to rent out their halls for marriage celebrations by gay couples.
Michael Benjamin, a Bronx Democrat, itemized a litany of injustices that burdened African-Americans over the past 400 years against which he suggested anti-gay discrimination was minor, then pointed to a Methodist organization in New Jersey that lost a tax exemption for seaside boardwalk property it owned after refusing to make it available for a civil union ceremony. Benjamin failed to mention -- and likely did not know -- that the tax exemption in question was not related to religious freedom but rather the facility's availability as an open spaces public accommodation receiving favored tax treatment under New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection.
In the end, each of these three acknowledged a deeper-seated opposition to marriage equality that had nothing to do with the technical quibbles they raised. Fitzpatrick spoke of "a lifestyle I do not condone" and warned of "a coming day of collision" over marriage equality. Hikind said, "This legislation undermines the very foundations of traditional marriage." And Benjamin said he felt like a Roman centurion guarding against "the Huns and the Visigoths" and like Captain Picard battling the Borgs.
O'Donnell largely resisted the temptation to blast or belittle his opponents for their arcane and alarmist warnings, saving much of his firepower for emphasizing the evidence from New Jersey and Vermont that civil unions had failed same-sex couples -- most dramatically "in emergency situations," such as when hospital staff, concerned about running afoul of federal medical privacy provisions, deny civil union partners access to their sick or injured loved ones.
Republican James Tedicsco from Schenectady, who recently lost his bid to win Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's vacant House seat, badgered O'Donnell for being "intolerant of bisexuals" who, he said, might want to be married to both a man and a woman. Comically, Tedisco was followed in speaking by Manhattan Democrat Micah Kellner, who is openly bisexual and assured the Republican that his relationships have been sequential and not simultaneous.
O'Donnell offered moments of eloquence when talking about his partner of 28 years, John Banta, assuring his colleagues that all they wanted from them was "a piece of paper" any of the rest of them could get and the right to hear a marriage officiant conclude a ceremony with the words "by the power invested in me by the State of New York."
Some of O'Donnell's fellow marriage equality supporters also provided memorable moments.
Matt Titone, an out gay Democrat from Staten Island, talked about the trouble his partner of 16 years, Josh, had gaining access to the hospital room where Titone's mother lay dying.
Deborah Glick invoked the mentorship of African-American feminist Flo Kennedy and the memory of Bayard Rustin, a top aide to Martin Luther King, Jr., whose homosexuality at times became a lightning rod for civil rights opponents.
Hakeem Jeffries, a Brooklyn Democrat, meanwhile, spoke of his admiration for the late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, whom he termed "a paradigm for diversity," as a disabled African-American lesbian from Texas.
Jose Rivera, a veteran Democratic lawmaker from the Bronx, explicitly challenged religious leaders pushing to defeat the equality measure, saying, "I don't care what clothes you wear or what book you quote from. You're not going to intimidate me or shake me down."
Thiele, the Sag Harbor Republican, in explaining how he came to embrace a bill he voted against last time, admitted that, in 2007, "I took the path of least resistance," adding, "I never felt good about that vote."
Perhaps the most compelling testimony came from assemblymembers who believe, or once believed, that their vote was politically risky. Frank Skartados, an Ulster County Democrat first elected last fall, said he thought his constituents might not like his vote, but stated, "It is the right thing to do, not in the eyes of God, but in the eyes of a humble man like me. Even if I am a one-term assemblyman, it is the right thing to do."
Republican Sayward, whose son is gay, said that as she left the Assembly chamber in 2007 after a moving speech in favor of marriage equality, "A colleague came up to me and said, 'You will never be elected again in New York State.' I headed up the Adirondacks that night, head held high, assuming I would not be back here to vote for this again."
Her 2008 victory margin exceeded that of 2006.
Broadway Impact, an organization of theater and television professionals supporting marriage equality, is leading a rally on Sunday, May 17 from 5-7 p.m. at 45th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. Information at BroadwayImpact.com.
http://gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20314687&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6
By:PAUL SCHINDLER
05/13/2009
©GayCityNews 2009
In June 2007, the measure carried with an 85-61 margin, but was not considered by the State Senate, then controlled by Republicans. This year, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith of Queens, whose caucus has only a 32-30 edge, has pledged his support, though he has consistently said he would bring the measure to the floor only when he is confident it will carry. This year's session ends in June.
As the Assembly debate unfolded, however, Smith made his strongest statement on the prospects for the bill. "The momentum is shifting -- marriage equality will be a reality in New York and I welcome that day," Smith said in a press release, in which he added, "It is my goal to realize that... accomplishment in the Senate, and as a strong supporter of marriage equality legislation, I will continue to work until we have sufficient votes to pass it."
Three weeks ago, when introducing the marriage bill at a Manhattan press conference, the governor, who once served as minority leader in that chamber, called for a Senate vote whether or not passage was assured, arguing that some fence-sitters will only be smoked out that way. "Whenever the vote is taken, I believe you will see -- and it will be interesting to watch if this doesn't turn out to happen -- whether there aren't three or four members of the Senate who will vote for it when they had not said they would," Paterson told Gay City News in a follow-up interview. "The sooner the vote is taken, the sooner this will pass."
Thomas Duane, an out gay Chelsea Democrat who is the lead Senate sponsor of the marriage measure, released a statement after the Assembly vote saying flatly, "I am confident that this year my Senate will uphold this fundamental legal principle and vote for my right, our right, to be married this year."
Paterson, Duane, and advocates led by the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) all acknowledge that Republican votes will be needed -- Bronx Democrat Ruben Diaz, Sr., a Pentecostal minister, is an implacable foe of gay rights who will lead a rally in opposition in that borough on May 17, and other Democrats have voiced opposition, though in less than Shermanesque terms.
In the effort to build bipartisan momentum heading into the Senate, the Assembly vote offered reason for optimism. The number of GOP votes, from a caucus that numbers only 41 out of the 150 seats in total, rose from three to five.
In the far northern part of the state, Republicans Teresa Sayward of Willsboro and Deirdre Scozzafava of Gouverneur were joined by Janet Duprey of Plattsburgh. Joel Miller of Poughkeepsie voted for the bill again, and for the first time, GOP Assemblyman Fred Thiele of Sag Harbor cast an aye.
Last week, the Daily News' Liz Benjamin reported that ESPA had spent $100,000 on polling in key swing State Senate districts currently represented by Republicans and found that in four Long Island districts -- represented by GOP Senators Ken LaValle, Kemp Hannon, Charles Fuschillo, and John Flanagan -- voters approve of marriage equality by a 52-42 margin. The issue polls best among voters under 30, women, and Independents.
Some flips by Democratic assemblymembers to a pro-equality vote also offered hope that neighboring senators might be swayed. Sandra Galef from Ossining spoke out in favor of the bill this week, after voting no in 2007, and ESPA confirmed that her switch will be helpful in lobbying Senate Republican Vincent Leibell, who is from Patterson, in neighboring Putnam County.
Stepping up its efforts to move senators in key districts, ESPA on May 13 unveiled the first in a series of ads aimed at showing "how real New York families are hurt when same-sex couples aren't allowed to marry."
The first 30-second spot, set to run in Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany, features Barb and Don Crawford, who are parents of two daughters, one straight and one lesbian. The couple talk about both having met the "person that she loves," with younger daughter Jody married, but Amy, in a relationship for 12 years and the mother of their oldest grandchild, Olive, unable to do so. Saying that Olive has been the flower girl in two weddings, Barb says, "She wants to be the flower girl in her mom's wedding. It's time to pass the marriage equality bill."
As the lead Assembly sponsor, it fell to Daniel O'Donnell, an out gay Democrat from the Upper West Side, to respond to questions and criticisms from the bill's opponents. Those fighting the measure clearly had received talking points from the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), a recently formed group dedicated to spending millions in opposition to equality initiatives nationwide and the producer of the infamous "Gathering Storm" ad.
Republican Michael Fitzpatrick, from Smithtown on Long Island, informed that the measure specifically states that no religious institution can be compelled to officiate over a same-sex marriage, insisted that it would "force society" to accept such unions, warning of school assemblies held to celebrate gay marriage.
Dov Hikind of Brooklyn's Boro Park, elected on both the Democratic and Republican lines, said he understood discrimination and invoked the Nazi gas chambers, but then warned that Hasidic congregations would be compelled to rent out their halls for marriage celebrations by gay couples.
Michael Benjamin, a Bronx Democrat, itemized a litany of injustices that burdened African-Americans over the past 400 years against which he suggested anti-gay discrimination was minor, then pointed to a Methodist organization in New Jersey that lost a tax exemption for seaside boardwalk property it owned after refusing to make it available for a civil union ceremony. Benjamin failed to mention -- and likely did not know -- that the tax exemption in question was not related to religious freedom but rather the facility's availability as an open spaces public accommodation receiving favored tax treatment under New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection.
In the end, each of these three acknowledged a deeper-seated opposition to marriage equality that had nothing to do with the technical quibbles they raised. Fitzpatrick spoke of "a lifestyle I do not condone" and warned of "a coming day of collision" over marriage equality. Hikind said, "This legislation undermines the very foundations of traditional marriage." And Benjamin said he felt like a Roman centurion guarding against "the Huns and the Visigoths" and like Captain Picard battling the Borgs.
O'Donnell largely resisted the temptation to blast or belittle his opponents for their arcane and alarmist warnings, saving much of his firepower for emphasizing the evidence from New Jersey and Vermont that civil unions had failed same-sex couples -- most dramatically "in emergency situations," such as when hospital staff, concerned about running afoul of federal medical privacy provisions, deny civil union partners access to their sick or injured loved ones.
Republican James Tedicsco from Schenectady, who recently lost his bid to win Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's vacant House seat, badgered O'Donnell for being "intolerant of bisexuals" who, he said, might want to be married to both a man and a woman. Comically, Tedisco was followed in speaking by Manhattan Democrat Micah Kellner, who is openly bisexual and assured the Republican that his relationships have been sequential and not simultaneous.
O'Donnell offered moments of eloquence when talking about his partner of 28 years, John Banta, assuring his colleagues that all they wanted from them was "a piece of paper" any of the rest of them could get and the right to hear a marriage officiant conclude a ceremony with the words "by the power invested in me by the State of New York."
Some of O'Donnell's fellow marriage equality supporters also provided memorable moments.
Matt Titone, an out gay Democrat from Staten Island, talked about the trouble his partner of 16 years, Josh, had gaining access to the hospital room where Titone's mother lay dying.
Deborah Glick invoked the mentorship of African-American feminist Flo Kennedy and the memory of Bayard Rustin, a top aide to Martin Luther King, Jr., whose homosexuality at times became a lightning rod for civil rights opponents.
Hakeem Jeffries, a Brooklyn Democrat, meanwhile, spoke of his admiration for the late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, whom he termed "a paradigm for diversity," as a disabled African-American lesbian from Texas.
Jose Rivera, a veteran Democratic lawmaker from the Bronx, explicitly challenged religious leaders pushing to defeat the equality measure, saying, "I don't care what clothes you wear or what book you quote from. You're not going to intimidate me or shake me down."
Thiele, the Sag Harbor Republican, in explaining how he came to embrace a bill he voted against last time, admitted that, in 2007, "I took the path of least resistance," adding, "I never felt good about that vote."
Perhaps the most compelling testimony came from assemblymembers who believe, or once believed, that their vote was politically risky. Frank Skartados, an Ulster County Democrat first elected last fall, said he thought his constituents might not like his vote, but stated, "It is the right thing to do, not in the eyes of God, but in the eyes of a humble man like me. Even if I am a one-term assemblyman, it is the right thing to do."
Republican Sayward, whose son is gay, said that as she left the Assembly chamber in 2007 after a moving speech in favor of marriage equality, "A colleague came up to me and said, 'You will never be elected again in New York State.' I headed up the Adirondacks that night, head held high, assuming I would not be back here to vote for this again."
Her 2008 victory margin exceeded that of 2006.
Broadway Impact, an organization of theater and television professionals supporting marriage equality, is leading a rally on Sunday, May 17 from 5-7 p.m. at 45th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. Information at BroadwayImpact.com.
http://gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20314687&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6
By:PAUL SCHINDLER
05/13/2009
©GayCityNews 2009
NH Guv to Sign Amended Marriage Equality Law
Granite State Follows Quickly on Maine's Heels; DC Offers Recognition
Eight days of suspense in New Hampshire ended on May 14, when Democratic Governor John Lynch announced that he was prepared to sign a marriage equality bill already approved by the Legislature, so long as the bill is amended to broaden the rights of religious groups or individuals employed by religious groups to refuse to participate in any marriages or marriage celebrations they wish.
The Associated Press reported that leaders of the State Senate and House of Representatives quickly agreed to make the changes, and that the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition also said it could accept the new language.
In a written release about his proposed changes, Lynch wrote, "If the Legislature passes this language, I will sign the same-sex marriage bill into law. If the Legislature doesn't pass these provisions, I will veto it."
The governor took note of the fact that the legislation, as already approved, made a distinction between civil and religious marriage and explicitly stated that no religious body would be required to solemnize any weddings they did not wish to, but argued that "the role of marriage in many faiths extends beyond the actual marriage ceremony." Connecticut and Vermont, he pointed out, had more extensive language regarding religion, an approach New Hampshire should adopt.
Lynch's proposal would broadly allow religious groups to deny any services or accommodations, both to marriage ceremonies and any related celebrations. So, for example, if a church makes a practice of renting out a hall it owns for non-religious purposes to the general public, it could still deny access to that facility for a wedding reception of a same-sex couple. His language is prefaced with the words, "notwithstanding any other provision of law," though it is not clear how this potential carve-out from standard public accommodations law, which generally requires availability on an equal basis, would hold up in court. Politically, however, it seems to have allowed the governor and marriage equality advocates to find common ground.
Senate President Sylvia Larsen and House Speaker Terie Norelli both predicted the Legislature would move quickly, perhaps by next week, to approve Lynch's changes and forward the bill to him for signing. Representative Jim Splaine, the marriage measure's chief sponsor, also signaled his support, and Mo Baxley, executive director of the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition, said, "This is language we can support."
Lynch's statement made clear he continues to believe civil unions were the better alternative: "My personal views on the subject of marriage have been shaped by my own experience, tradition, and upbringing. But as governor of New Hampshire, I recognize that I have a responsibility to consider this issue through a broader lens." Existing law, he wrote, "gave same-sex couples in civil unions the same rights and protections as marriage," and the change from "'civil union' to 'civil marriage'... is a meaningful change."
At the same time, even though he understands that opponents of marriage equality "fear that this legislation would interfere with the ability of religious groups to freely practice their faiths," Lynch also "heard, and I understand, the very real feelings of same-sex couples that a separate system is not an equal system. That a civil law that differentiates between their committed relationships and those of heterosexual couples undermines both their dignity and the legitimacy of their families."
According to the AP, the inclusion of the words "any individual who is managed, directed, or supervised by" a religious body in Lynch's proposed language would allow an organist employed by a church that was going to officiate over a same-sex marriage to refuse to participate without fear of losing their job.
New Hampshire's Legislature had finished up work on the original bill on May 6, after the two houses reconciled differences between the versions each had passed earlier. During that process, Lynch had said he felt the state's civil union law already guaranteed parity under state law, and that the more pressing issue was to win federal recognition of those rights and the corresponding benefits, like Social Security parity, from Washington. That message was similar to the statement Vermont's Republican governor, Jim Douglas, made last month prior to vetoing marriage equality legislation there - that veto overruled by the Legislature.
Lynch had faced intense pressure from both proponents and opponents of the marriage bill as he considered his options, and was also struggling with a difficult budget process. New Hampshire Freedom to Marry put volunteers on the streets in cities across the state the weekend before the final legislative approval to urge voters to contact the governor in support.
Baxley said proponents made up to 300 calls a day to Lynch's office, and charged that out-of-state opponents were spearheading the drive to press Lynch to veto the legislation, saying, "We're having only New Hampshire people call. We thought it was a better way."
Brian Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), a group based in Princeton, New Jersey, that pledges to spend millions in opposition to marriage equality nationwide, called Baxley's charge "absurd," stating, "New Hampshire people are calling us saying, 'What can we do?' Residents of New Hampshire don't support same-sex marriage. Period. And they aren't being listened to by the House and the Senate."
Still, Brown acknowledged that NOM's advertising, which had been generic to that point, including the infamous"Gathering Storm" spot, was preparing an ad targeting Lynch, which has since appeared, and will work to defeat pro-marriage equality legislators in the next election.
In Maine, less than an hour after the Senate on May 6 gave final approval to a marriage equality bill, Democratic Governor John Balducci signed the legislation into law. The Maine House of Representatives on May 5 gave approval to the marriage equality measure, by a vote of 89-57, passed in preliminary form, by the Senate the previous week. The final Senate vote the following day was 21-13.
In a written statement, Balducci said, "In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions. I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage."
Betsy Smith, executive director of EqualityMaine, noted the significance of a massive public hearing held several weeks ago, at which thousands of citizens turned out, the clear majority of them in favor of same-sex marriage rights. "Since we began our campaign, tens of thousands of Mainers have raised their voices in support of fairness for gay and lesbian families," Smith said, in a written statement. "Today the Legislature and the governor listened to the people of Maine and made marriage equality the law of this state. Two weeks ago thousands of Mainers traveled from every corner of the state to testify to their hopes for their families, and the harm that they suffer from not being able to marry."
Baldacci became the first governor in the nation to sign a marriage equality law not mandated by a court. Earlier this year, Connecticut's Republican governor, Jodi Rell, signed a measure passed by the Legislature there to conform the state's laws to its high court marriage equality ruling last year.
Republican Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Jim Douglas of Vermont vetoed similar measures, though Douglas' action was overridden.
Democratic Governors David Paterson of New York and Jon Corzine of New Jersey have pledged to sign marriage equality measures if and when approved by their Legislatures, and Massachusetts' Democratic governor, Deval Patrick, was instrumental in helping block a referendum aiming to turn back the 2003 court victory there.
In Iowa, Democratic Governor Chet Culver, though not a marriage equality supporter, opposes any effort to put the recent court victory there before the voters.
The House vote on May 5 came shortly after the defeat of an amendment that would have forced the question onto a voter referendum in November. The amendment was defeated 85-62.
The Bangor Daily News described the House's three-hour debate as "emotional," but Representative James Martin, an out gay Orono Democrat, said, "I'm also glad we've moved beyond the contentious debate over the issue that's taken place over the past 25 years. It was a very civil debate today." Martin and his partner celebrated a commitment ceremony nine years ago and plan to marry if the law is enacted in Maine.
The Bangor newspaper reported that while the bill had more Democratic votes than Republican, it passed with bipartisan support.
Noting he would soon celebrate his 53rd wedding anniversary, Representative James J. Campbell Jr., a Newfield Republican, said, "They have been the best 53 years of my life. I don't want to stand here and say that two men and two women cannot have what I've had for the past 53 years with my wife."
But Representative Michael Thibodeau, a Winterport Republican, said, "Let's be honest. This isn't about civil rights. It's about a social agenda that tears at the very fabric of our society."
Opponents of the legislation vowed to collect the signatures necessary to force any marriage equality legislation to go before the voters in a referendum. They would have to gather 55,087 signatures, in a state with a population of just over 1.3 million. The marriage law takes effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns - probably in June - but if the signatures have been collected and certified by that date, its implementation will be delayed pending a referendum in November. Gay rights legislation has several times been forced onto the ballot in Maine.
Maine and New Hampshire become the fifth and sixth states with marriage equality on the books, not counting California, where the right to marry was taken away from same-sex couples by Proposition 8 less than six months after a State Supreme Court victory there. Three of the other four - Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Vermont - are in New England, and the other is Iowa. Rhode Island is the only New England holdout.
Action is still possible this year in both New York, which already recognizes legal out-of-state marriages by same-sex coupes, and New Jersey.
In Washington, DC, the City Council, by a vote of 12-1, approved a law, supported by Mayor Adrian Fenty, an African-American Democrat, recognizing legal same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions, but the one dissenter on the Council, former Mayor Marion Barry, warned, "All hell is going to break loose. We may have a civil war. The black community is just adamant against this."
Barry's fiery rhetoric led David Catania, an out gay Independent councilman, to charge that his words were "bigoted," according to the Washington Post. That in turn led a group of African-American clergymen to storm out of the Council chambers.
The US Congress, in accordance with Washington's Home Rule Charter, now has 30 days to review the legislation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a written statement after the Council action saying, "I have long believed that Congress should not interfere with internal decisions made by the District of Columbia's elected representatives - just as the Congress did not intervene in the State of New York's recognition of valid marriage contracts in other jurisdictions."
But, Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz, the ranking Republican on a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee, said, "Some things are worth fighting for, and this is one of them. It's not something I can let go softly into the night."
Eleanor Holmes, an African-American Democrat who is Washington's non-voting delegate in Congress, praised the Council's action, and said, "I do not believe that a serious attempt to overturn the Council bill will be made or will be successful."
Catania has pledged to introduce a marriage equality bill in the City Council later this year.
http://gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20315599&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6
By:PAUL SCHINDLER
05/14/2009
©GayCityNews 2009
Eight days of suspense in New Hampshire ended on May 14, when Democratic Governor John Lynch announced that he was prepared to sign a marriage equality bill already approved by the Legislature, so long as the bill is amended to broaden the rights of religious groups or individuals employed by religious groups to refuse to participate in any marriages or marriage celebrations they wish.
The Associated Press reported that leaders of the State Senate and House of Representatives quickly agreed to make the changes, and that the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition also said it could accept the new language.
In a written release about his proposed changes, Lynch wrote, "If the Legislature passes this language, I will sign the same-sex marriage bill into law. If the Legislature doesn't pass these provisions, I will veto it."
The governor took note of the fact that the legislation, as already approved, made a distinction between civil and religious marriage and explicitly stated that no religious body would be required to solemnize any weddings they did not wish to, but argued that "the role of marriage in many faiths extends beyond the actual marriage ceremony." Connecticut and Vermont, he pointed out, had more extensive language regarding religion, an approach New Hampshire should adopt.
Lynch's proposal would broadly allow religious groups to deny any services or accommodations, both to marriage ceremonies and any related celebrations. So, for example, if a church makes a practice of renting out a hall it owns for non-religious purposes to the general public, it could still deny access to that facility for a wedding reception of a same-sex couple. His language is prefaced with the words, "notwithstanding any other provision of law," though it is not clear how this potential carve-out from standard public accommodations law, which generally requires availability on an equal basis, would hold up in court. Politically, however, it seems to have allowed the governor and marriage equality advocates to find common ground.
Senate President Sylvia Larsen and House Speaker Terie Norelli both predicted the Legislature would move quickly, perhaps by next week, to approve Lynch's changes and forward the bill to him for signing. Representative Jim Splaine, the marriage measure's chief sponsor, also signaled his support, and Mo Baxley, executive director of the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition, said, "This is language we can support."
Lynch's statement made clear he continues to believe civil unions were the better alternative: "My personal views on the subject of marriage have been shaped by my own experience, tradition, and upbringing. But as governor of New Hampshire, I recognize that I have a responsibility to consider this issue through a broader lens." Existing law, he wrote, "gave same-sex couples in civil unions the same rights and protections as marriage," and the change from "'civil union' to 'civil marriage'... is a meaningful change."
At the same time, even though he understands that opponents of marriage equality "fear that this legislation would interfere with the ability of religious groups to freely practice their faiths," Lynch also "heard, and I understand, the very real feelings of same-sex couples that a separate system is not an equal system. That a civil law that differentiates between their committed relationships and those of heterosexual couples undermines both their dignity and the legitimacy of their families."
According to the AP, the inclusion of the words "any individual who is managed, directed, or supervised by" a religious body in Lynch's proposed language would allow an organist employed by a church that was going to officiate over a same-sex marriage to refuse to participate without fear of losing their job.
New Hampshire's Legislature had finished up work on the original bill on May 6, after the two houses reconciled differences between the versions each had passed earlier. During that process, Lynch had said he felt the state's civil union law already guaranteed parity under state law, and that the more pressing issue was to win federal recognition of those rights and the corresponding benefits, like Social Security parity, from Washington. That message was similar to the statement Vermont's Republican governor, Jim Douglas, made last month prior to vetoing marriage equality legislation there - that veto overruled by the Legislature.
Lynch had faced intense pressure from both proponents and opponents of the marriage bill as he considered his options, and was also struggling with a difficult budget process. New Hampshire Freedom to Marry put volunteers on the streets in cities across the state the weekend before the final legislative approval to urge voters to contact the governor in support.
Baxley said proponents made up to 300 calls a day to Lynch's office, and charged that out-of-state opponents were spearheading the drive to press Lynch to veto the legislation, saying, "We're having only New Hampshire people call. We thought it was a better way."
Brian Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), a group based in Princeton, New Jersey, that pledges to spend millions in opposition to marriage equality nationwide, called Baxley's charge "absurd," stating, "New Hampshire people are calling us saying, 'What can we do?' Residents of New Hampshire don't support same-sex marriage. Period. And they aren't being listened to by the House and the Senate."
Still, Brown acknowledged that NOM's advertising, which had been generic to that point, including the infamous"Gathering Storm" spot, was preparing an ad targeting Lynch, which has since appeared, and will work to defeat pro-marriage equality legislators in the next election.
In Maine, less than an hour after the Senate on May 6 gave final approval to a marriage equality bill, Democratic Governor John Balducci signed the legislation into law. The Maine House of Representatives on May 5 gave approval to the marriage equality measure, by a vote of 89-57, passed in preliminary form, by the Senate the previous week. The final Senate vote the following day was 21-13.
In a written statement, Balducci said, "In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions. I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage."
Betsy Smith, executive director of EqualityMaine, noted the significance of a massive public hearing held several weeks ago, at which thousands of citizens turned out, the clear majority of them in favor of same-sex marriage rights. "Since we began our campaign, tens of thousands of Mainers have raised their voices in support of fairness for gay and lesbian families," Smith said, in a written statement. "Today the Legislature and the governor listened to the people of Maine and made marriage equality the law of this state. Two weeks ago thousands of Mainers traveled from every corner of the state to testify to their hopes for their families, and the harm that they suffer from not being able to marry."
Baldacci became the first governor in the nation to sign a marriage equality law not mandated by a court. Earlier this year, Connecticut's Republican governor, Jodi Rell, signed a measure passed by the Legislature there to conform the state's laws to its high court marriage equality ruling last year.
Republican Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Jim Douglas of Vermont vetoed similar measures, though Douglas' action was overridden.
Democratic Governors David Paterson of New York and Jon Corzine of New Jersey have pledged to sign marriage equality measures if and when approved by their Legislatures, and Massachusetts' Democratic governor, Deval Patrick, was instrumental in helping block a referendum aiming to turn back the 2003 court victory there.
In Iowa, Democratic Governor Chet Culver, though not a marriage equality supporter, opposes any effort to put the recent court victory there before the voters.
The House vote on May 5 came shortly after the defeat of an amendment that would have forced the question onto a voter referendum in November. The amendment was defeated 85-62.
The Bangor Daily News described the House's three-hour debate as "emotional," but Representative James Martin, an out gay Orono Democrat, said, "I'm also glad we've moved beyond the contentious debate over the issue that's taken place over the past 25 years. It was a very civil debate today." Martin and his partner celebrated a commitment ceremony nine years ago and plan to marry if the law is enacted in Maine.
The Bangor newspaper reported that while the bill had more Democratic votes than Republican, it passed with bipartisan support.
Noting he would soon celebrate his 53rd wedding anniversary, Representative James J. Campbell Jr., a Newfield Republican, said, "They have been the best 53 years of my life. I don't want to stand here and say that two men and two women cannot have what I've had for the past 53 years with my wife."
But Representative Michael Thibodeau, a Winterport Republican, said, "Let's be honest. This isn't about civil rights. It's about a social agenda that tears at the very fabric of our society."
Opponents of the legislation vowed to collect the signatures necessary to force any marriage equality legislation to go before the voters in a referendum. They would have to gather 55,087 signatures, in a state with a population of just over 1.3 million. The marriage law takes effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns - probably in June - but if the signatures have been collected and certified by that date, its implementation will be delayed pending a referendum in November. Gay rights legislation has several times been forced onto the ballot in Maine.
Maine and New Hampshire become the fifth and sixth states with marriage equality on the books, not counting California, where the right to marry was taken away from same-sex couples by Proposition 8 less than six months after a State Supreme Court victory there. Three of the other four - Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Vermont - are in New England, and the other is Iowa. Rhode Island is the only New England holdout.
Action is still possible this year in both New York, which already recognizes legal out-of-state marriages by same-sex coupes, and New Jersey.
In Washington, DC, the City Council, by a vote of 12-1, approved a law, supported by Mayor Adrian Fenty, an African-American Democrat, recognizing legal same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions, but the one dissenter on the Council, former Mayor Marion Barry, warned, "All hell is going to break loose. We may have a civil war. The black community is just adamant against this."
Barry's fiery rhetoric led David Catania, an out gay Independent councilman, to charge that his words were "bigoted," according to the Washington Post. That in turn led a group of African-American clergymen to storm out of the Council chambers.
The US Congress, in accordance with Washington's Home Rule Charter, now has 30 days to review the legislation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a written statement after the Council action saying, "I have long believed that Congress should not interfere with internal decisions made by the District of Columbia's elected representatives - just as the Congress did not intervene in the State of New York's recognition of valid marriage contracts in other jurisdictions."
But, Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz, the ranking Republican on a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee, said, "Some things are worth fighting for, and this is one of them. It's not something I can let go softly into the night."
Eleanor Holmes, an African-American Democrat who is Washington's non-voting delegate in Congress, praised the Council's action, and said, "I do not believe that a serious attempt to overturn the Council bill will be made or will be successful."
Catania has pledged to introduce a marriage equality bill in the City Council later this year.
http://gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20315599&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6
By:PAUL SCHINDLER
05/14/2009
©GayCityNews 2009
May 09, 2009
New York Newspapers Overwhelmingly Support Marriage Equality
Extra, extra, read all about it: Most NY newspapers support marriage equality in the Empire State. Check out some of the best editorials below, covering the state from Syracuse to 42nd Street.
Syracuse Post Standard: "Legalizing gay marriage moreso than the halfway measure of civil unions would strengthen and affirm the long-term commitments same-sex couples make to each other. That doesn't weaken families; it bolsters them. The argument put forward by the National Organization for Marriage that gay marriage should remain outlawed because "children need a mother and a father" is also a red herring. Gay couples will continue to raise children whether they are allowed to marry or not. Wouldn't those children be better off if their gay parents solidified their relationship through marriage?"
The Press Republican: It is inconceivable at this juncture of human history that so many people remain so adamant against allowing two individuals to seek happiness together in the privacy of their own homes. How are the lives of those nay-sayers so denigrated by another couple's merger? How are they affected at all, in fact?
Albany Times Union: "The case for truly equal rights for same-sex couples won't weaken. The politically safer alternative of legal civil unions for gays doesn't go far enough. Mr. Paterson himself made that much clear Tuesday as he made his strongest push yet for equal marriage rights. There are all sorts of benefits — employment and employees' health insurance coverage, for instance — that same-sex couples who had engaged in civil unions would be deprived of, yet heterosexual married couples would continue to enjoy."
The Journal News: "Injustice prolonged is simply injustice. It remains well past time for the lawmakers to end the unequal treatment and extend this fundamental right to all its citizens."
El Diario: "Latinos have fought too hard and long for equal rights. This is why we must rally around a sector of our community that remains even more discriminated against--gays and lesbians."
New York Times: "Same-sex couples deserve full equality under the law, and that includes the right to marry."
Syracuse Post Standard: "Legalizing gay marriage moreso than the halfway measure of civil unions would strengthen and affirm the long-term commitments same-sex couples make to each other. That doesn't weaken families; it bolsters them. The argument put forward by the National Organization for Marriage that gay marriage should remain outlawed because "children need a mother and a father" is also a red herring. Gay couples will continue to raise children whether they are allowed to marry or not. Wouldn't those children be better off if their gay parents solidified their relationship through marriage?"
The Press Republican: It is inconceivable at this juncture of human history that so many people remain so adamant against allowing two individuals to seek happiness together in the privacy of their own homes. How are the lives of those nay-sayers so denigrated by another couple's merger? How are they affected at all, in fact?
Albany Times Union: "The case for truly equal rights for same-sex couples won't weaken. The politically safer alternative of legal civil unions for gays doesn't go far enough. Mr. Paterson himself made that much clear Tuesday as he made his strongest push yet for equal marriage rights. There are all sorts of benefits — employment and employees' health insurance coverage, for instance — that same-sex couples who had engaged in civil unions would be deprived of, yet heterosexual married couples would continue to enjoy."
The Journal News: "Injustice prolonged is simply injustice. It remains well past time for the lawmakers to end the unequal treatment and extend this fundamental right to all its citizens."
El Diario: "Latinos have fought too hard and long for equal rights. This is why we must rally around a sector of our community that remains even more discriminated against--gays and lesbians."
New York Times: "Same-sex couples deserve full equality under the law, and that includes the right to marry."
May 07, 2009
NH Legislature approves gay marriage bill
After several tries, New Hampshire's legislature says yes to gay marriage. Rep. Steve Vaillancourt (R, Manchester) says of the effort he supported, "we knew this would be a marathon. We never thought this was going to be easy, so the marathon is over."
The bill headed to the Governor's desk was amended last week in the Senate. It protects clergy, rabbis, and other officiates who don't want to preside over same sex marriage ceremonies based on their religious beliefs.
As Rep. Kris Roberts (D, Keene) says, "people's church and their religion is really important to them, and the government doesn't belong in the church, just like the government doesn't belong in the bedroom."
Opponents say they're disappointed, especially when they look at the narrow margin. House bill 436 passed by just eleven votes, 178 to 167.
House Minority Leader Rep. Sherman Packard (R, Londonderry) says, "I firmly believe this is not what the citizens of this state expected or wanted."
Rep Beverly Rodechin (R, Newport) vows to "really go after the Governor because the Governor has continually said he believes in marriage between a man or a woman. "
The Governor has never said what he would do should the gay marriage bill make it to his desk. "He could sign it, he could veto it, or he could let it become law without his signature," says political analyst Dean Spiliotes who doesn't see Lynch as an ideologue and doubts he'd exercise his high political capital to veto the bill. "He's in a very tough position. He draws a lot of his popularity from independents and moderates as well as democrats."
Lawmakers aren't the only ones wanting to know what Governor John Lynch plans to do next. Interest groups on both sides of this issue are spending money to put their message on his desk.
The New Hampshire based Cornerstone Policy Research - Action launched an ad Wednesday to encourage Lynch to veto the bill. The New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition also has an ad on area cable networks.
The governor's spokesman, Colin Manning, says Lynch has a lot to consider over the next week, "and like always he's going to listen to the people of New Hampshire, talk to lawmakers, and make his decision based on that."
Governor Lynch has five days from the time the bill reaches his desk to act on it, or it becomes law without his signature.
http://www.necn.com/Boston/Politics/2009/05/06/NH-Legislature-approves-gay/1241652968.html
NECN: Lauren Collins, Manchester, NH
The bill headed to the Governor's desk was amended last week in the Senate. It protects clergy, rabbis, and other officiates who don't want to preside over same sex marriage ceremonies based on their religious beliefs.
As Rep. Kris Roberts (D, Keene) says, "people's church and their religion is really important to them, and the government doesn't belong in the church, just like the government doesn't belong in the bedroom."
Opponents say they're disappointed, especially when they look at the narrow margin. House bill 436 passed by just eleven votes, 178 to 167.
House Minority Leader Rep. Sherman Packard (R, Londonderry) says, "I firmly believe this is not what the citizens of this state expected or wanted."
Rep Beverly Rodechin (R, Newport) vows to "really go after the Governor because the Governor has continually said he believes in marriage between a man or a woman. "
The Governor has never said what he would do should the gay marriage bill make it to his desk. "He could sign it, he could veto it, or he could let it become law without his signature," says political analyst Dean Spiliotes who doesn't see Lynch as an ideologue and doubts he'd exercise his high political capital to veto the bill. "He's in a very tough position. He draws a lot of his popularity from independents and moderates as well as democrats."
Lawmakers aren't the only ones wanting to know what Governor John Lynch plans to do next. Interest groups on both sides of this issue are spending money to put their message on his desk.
The New Hampshire based Cornerstone Policy Research - Action launched an ad Wednesday to encourage Lynch to veto the bill. The New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition also has an ad on area cable networks.
The governor's spokesman, Colin Manning, says Lynch has a lot to consider over the next week, "and like always he's going to listen to the people of New Hampshire, talk to lawmakers, and make his decision based on that."
Governor Lynch has five days from the time the bill reaches his desk to act on it, or it becomes law without his signature.
http://www.necn.com/Boston/Politics/2009/05/06/NH-Legislature-approves-gay/1241652968.html
NECN: Lauren Collins, Manchester, NH
May 06, 2009
Maine becomes 5th state to approve gay marriage
Maine’s Democratic governor, John Baldacci, has signed a recently passed bill approving gay marriage, making it the fifth state to approve the practice, the Associated Press reports.
New Hampshire legislators are also poised to send a gay marriage bill to their governor, who hasn’t indicated whether he’ll sign it. If he does, Rhode Island would be New England's sole holdout, the AP notes.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/05/maine-become-5th-state-to-approve-gay-marriage.html
Posted by Doug Stanglin at 01:24 PM/ET, May 06, 2009 in Current Affairs, Human interest, Local news, Nation, Politics, Washington | Permalink
New Hampshire legislators are also poised to send a gay marriage bill to their governor, who hasn’t indicated whether he’ll sign it. If he does, Rhode Island would be New England's sole holdout, the AP notes.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/05/maine-become-5th-state-to-approve-gay-marriage.html
Posted by Doug Stanglin at 01:24 PM/ET, May 06, 2009 in Current Affairs, Human interest, Local news, Nation, Politics, Washington | Permalink
Maine Marriage Becomes Reality: Governor Signs Bill Into Law
Governor John E. Baldacci today signed into law LD 1020, An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom.
"I have followed closely the debate on this issue. I have listened to both sides, as they have presented their arguments during the public hearing and on the floor of the Maine Senate and the House of Representatives. I have read many of the notes and letters sent to my office, and I have weighed my decision carefully," Baldacci said in a statement. "I did not come to this decision lightly or in haste."
"I appreciate the tone brought to this debate by both sides of the issue," he cointinued. "This is an emotional issue that touches deeply many of our most important ideals and traditions. There are good, earnest and honest people on both sides of the question."
The governor’s signature came barely an hour after the measure won a final 31-8 vote in favor in the Maine Senate.
Debate was brief. The Associated Press reported that Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, turned the gavel over to openly gay Sen. Lawrence Bliss to preside over the final vote. Republican Sen. Debra Plowman of Hampden argued that the bill was being passed "at the expense of the people of faith. You are making a decision that is not well-founded," warned Plowman.
But Senate Majority Leader Philip Bartlett II said the bill does not compel religious institutions to recognize gay marriage. "We respect religious liberties," said Bartlett. "This is long overdue."
Like other, similar laws in the four other states that allow gay marriage, there is a religious "carve out" that allows clergy the freedom not to perform such marriages. "This new law does not force any religion to recognize a marriage that falls outside of its beliefs," the governor emphasized.
"It does not require the church to perform any ceremony with which it disagrees. Instead, it reaffirms the separation of Church and State," he continued. "It guarantees that Maine citizens will be treated equally under Maine’s civil marriage laws, and that is the responsibility of government."
In the past, the Democratic governor opposed gay marriage while supporting civil unions. "I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law," he said on Wednesday, May 6. "A civil union is not equal to civil marriage."
The governor cited Article I in the Maine Constitution, which states "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor be denied the equal protection of the laws, nor be denied the enjoyment of that person’s civil rights or be discriminated against.’"
The issue now goes to the voters. Maine’s anti-marriage forces, headed by the Maine Marriage Alliance and the Catholic Church, will undoubtedly get the 55,000 signatures on a petition to put gay marriage on the ballot as a referendum in the next election.
The tide, however, seems to be swinging toward gay marriage in New England. Maine now becomes the fourth state in the region to legalize such unions. Massachusetts was the first, followed by Connecticut.
Vermont became the first state to have the issue decided by the Legislature rather than a state’s highest court, as happened in the above-two states and Iowa. New Hampshire’s bill goes to its governor, who, although a Republican, may simply not sign or veto the bill, allowing it to become law without her signature.
Rhode Island’s legislature is expected to consider such a bill favorably once the governor’s office changes hands--very likely to the out-gay mayor of Providence. And marriage is being fast-tracked in the state that borders New England, New York, where a bill is expected to sail through the State Assembly.
The governor there strongly supports gay marriage; the State Senate, however, is divided.
The plebiscite in Maine will mean that Downeasters can expect to see a barrage of ads and media blanketing their sparsely populated state. After the debacle in California, where voters narrowly overturned gay marriage by voting in Proposition 8, the gay-marriage forces are looking at Maine as a line in the sand.
EDGE Editor-in-Chief Steve Weinstein has been a regular correspondent for the International Herald Tribune, the Advocate, the Village Voice and Out. He has been covering the AIDS crisis since the early ’80s, when he began his career. He is the author of "The Q Guide to Fire Island" (Alyson, 2007).
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=90788
by Steve Weinstein
EDGE Editor-In-Chief
Wednesday May 6, 2009
"I have followed closely the debate on this issue. I have listened to both sides, as they have presented their arguments during the public hearing and on the floor of the Maine Senate and the House of Representatives. I have read many of the notes and letters sent to my office, and I have weighed my decision carefully," Baldacci said in a statement. "I did not come to this decision lightly or in haste."
"I appreciate the tone brought to this debate by both sides of the issue," he cointinued. "This is an emotional issue that touches deeply many of our most important ideals and traditions. There are good, earnest and honest people on both sides of the question."
The governor’s signature came barely an hour after the measure won a final 31-8 vote in favor in the Maine Senate.
Debate was brief. The Associated Press reported that Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, turned the gavel over to openly gay Sen. Lawrence Bliss to preside over the final vote. Republican Sen. Debra Plowman of Hampden argued that the bill was being passed "at the expense of the people of faith. You are making a decision that is not well-founded," warned Plowman.
But Senate Majority Leader Philip Bartlett II said the bill does not compel religious institutions to recognize gay marriage. "We respect religious liberties," said Bartlett. "This is long overdue."
Like other, similar laws in the four other states that allow gay marriage, there is a religious "carve out" that allows clergy the freedom not to perform such marriages. "This new law does not force any religion to recognize a marriage that falls outside of its beliefs," the governor emphasized.
"It does not require the church to perform any ceremony with which it disagrees. Instead, it reaffirms the separation of Church and State," he continued. "It guarantees that Maine citizens will be treated equally under Maine’s civil marriage laws, and that is the responsibility of government."
In the past, the Democratic governor opposed gay marriage while supporting civil unions. "I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law," he said on Wednesday, May 6. "A civil union is not equal to civil marriage."
The governor cited Article I in the Maine Constitution, which states "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor be denied the equal protection of the laws, nor be denied the enjoyment of that person’s civil rights or be discriminated against.’"
The issue now goes to the voters. Maine’s anti-marriage forces, headed by the Maine Marriage Alliance and the Catholic Church, will undoubtedly get the 55,000 signatures on a petition to put gay marriage on the ballot as a referendum in the next election.
The tide, however, seems to be swinging toward gay marriage in New England. Maine now becomes the fourth state in the region to legalize such unions. Massachusetts was the first, followed by Connecticut.
Vermont became the first state to have the issue decided by the Legislature rather than a state’s highest court, as happened in the above-two states and Iowa. New Hampshire’s bill goes to its governor, who, although a Republican, may simply not sign or veto the bill, allowing it to become law without her signature.
Rhode Island’s legislature is expected to consider such a bill favorably once the governor’s office changes hands--very likely to the out-gay mayor of Providence. And marriage is being fast-tracked in the state that borders New England, New York, where a bill is expected to sail through the State Assembly.
The governor there strongly supports gay marriage; the State Senate, however, is divided.
The plebiscite in Maine will mean that Downeasters can expect to see a barrage of ads and media blanketing their sparsely populated state. After the debacle in California, where voters narrowly overturned gay marriage by voting in Proposition 8, the gay-marriage forces are looking at Maine as a line in the sand.
EDGE Editor-in-Chief Steve Weinstein has been a regular correspondent for the International Herald Tribune, the Advocate, the Village Voice and Out. He has been covering the AIDS crisis since the early ’80s, when he began his career. He is the author of "The Q Guide to Fire Island" (Alyson, 2007).
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=90788
by Steve Weinstein
EDGE Editor-In-Chief
Wednesday May 6, 2009
May 04, 2009
Gay marriage battle becomes all-out war as gays press state officials Read more: "Gay marriage battle becomes all-out war as gays press state officia
Gay-marriage proponents are stepping up their fight to get same-sex nuptials legalized in New York with the help of more than $100,000 worth of polling - and the support of Mayor Bloomberg.
"Anybody who thinks we're not serious about winning this in 2009 better throw cold water on themselves and wake up," said Alan Van Capelle, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda.
"We are absolutely serious."
Over the past several months, the group commissioned polls from Boston-based Kiley & Co. in the districts of at least 10 GOP state senators.
The group plans to use the results to convince reluctant state lawmakers that voting "yes" on gay marriage is not political suicide.
The polling from four Long Island districts obtained by the Daily News shows voters support granting the right to marry to same-sex couples, 52-42%.
Support is strongest among women, voters younger than 30 and independents - a key constituency that can make or break tight races.
Long Island is expected to again be a battleground in the 2010 fight for control of the state Senate, in which Republicans will try to regain the majority and Democrats hope to grow their slim, two-seat grip on the chamber.
The four Republican Long Island senators targeted in the agenda's polls were: Ken LaValle, Kemp Hannon, Charles Fuschillo and John Flanagan.
Six Democratic senators have said they won't vote for the gay marriage bill, so advocates are looking to the Republicans to make up the difference.
Despite Gov. Paterson's call for an up-or-down vote on the marriage bill he introduced, Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) says he won't let it onto the floor until he's sure it has at least the 32 votes necessary to pass.
Gay marriage advocates spent more than $1 million on the 2008 elections in New York.
Much of that went to flip the Senate into Democratic hands and to protect four Assembly Republicans who voted "yes" on a marriage bill that passed, 85 to 61, in June 2007.
Advocates are making it clear there will be consequences in 2010 if gay marriage doesn't pass this year, and are promising to back Republicans who side with them in this fight.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg, who is trying to woo gay voters as he seeks a third term, issued a memo in support of Paterson's bill and urged its "earliest possible favorable consideration" by the Legislature.
In addition, two principals at a consulting firm that counts Bloomberg as one of its biggest clients, Knickerbocker SKD, have agreed to work pro bono to produce a TV ad for the the agenda's marriage campaign.
Josh Isay and Jennifer Cunningham will begin work on the ad this week, Cunningham confirmed.
The mayor's memo argued that granting marriage rights to all couples regardless of their sexual orientation "strengthens New York's families and advances the fundamental ideal of equal treatment under the law."
The memo was distributed last week to members of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, who voted to move Paterson's bill onto the floor.
The bill was supposed to come up for a vote in the Assembly this week, but has been delayed by ongoing MTA stalemate and the funeral today of the late Sen. John Marchi.
The bill is likely be brought to the floor of the Assembly next week, sources said. It is expected to pass in the Assembly again.
by Elizabeth Benjamin
ebenjamin@nydailynews.com
Monday, May 4th 2009, 4:00 AM
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/05/04/2009-05-04_its_allout_war_as_gays_press_state_to_ok_nups.html
"Anybody who thinks we're not serious about winning this in 2009 better throw cold water on themselves and wake up," said Alan Van Capelle, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda.
"We are absolutely serious."
Over the past several months, the group commissioned polls from Boston-based Kiley & Co. in the districts of at least 10 GOP state senators.
The group plans to use the results to convince reluctant state lawmakers that voting "yes" on gay marriage is not political suicide.
The polling from four Long Island districts obtained by the Daily News shows voters support granting the right to marry to same-sex couples, 52-42%.
Support is strongest among women, voters younger than 30 and independents - a key constituency that can make or break tight races.
Long Island is expected to again be a battleground in the 2010 fight for control of the state Senate, in which Republicans will try to regain the majority and Democrats hope to grow their slim, two-seat grip on the chamber.
The four Republican Long Island senators targeted in the agenda's polls were: Ken LaValle, Kemp Hannon, Charles Fuschillo and John Flanagan.
Six Democratic senators have said they won't vote for the gay marriage bill, so advocates are looking to the Republicans to make up the difference.
Despite Gov. Paterson's call for an up-or-down vote on the marriage bill he introduced, Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) says he won't let it onto the floor until he's sure it has at least the 32 votes necessary to pass.
Gay marriage advocates spent more than $1 million on the 2008 elections in New York.
Much of that went to flip the Senate into Democratic hands and to protect four Assembly Republicans who voted "yes" on a marriage bill that passed, 85 to 61, in June 2007.
Advocates are making it clear there will be consequences in 2010 if gay marriage doesn't pass this year, and are promising to back Republicans who side with them in this fight.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg, who is trying to woo gay voters as he seeks a third term, issued a memo in support of Paterson's bill and urged its "earliest possible favorable consideration" by the Legislature.
In addition, two principals at a consulting firm that counts Bloomberg as one of its biggest clients, Knickerbocker SKD, have agreed to work pro bono to produce a TV ad for the the agenda's marriage campaign.
Josh Isay and Jennifer Cunningham will begin work on the ad this week, Cunningham confirmed.
The mayor's memo argued that granting marriage rights to all couples regardless of their sexual orientation "strengthens New York's families and advances the fundamental ideal of equal treatment under the law."
The memo was distributed last week to members of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, who voted to move Paterson's bill onto the floor.
The bill was supposed to come up for a vote in the Assembly this week, but has been delayed by ongoing MTA stalemate and the funeral today of the late Sen. John Marchi.
The bill is likely be brought to the floor of the Assembly next week, sources said. It is expected to pass in the Assembly again.
by Elizabeth Benjamin
ebenjamin@nydailynews.com
Monday, May 4th 2009, 4:00 AM
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/05/04/2009-05-04_its_allout_war_as_gays_press_state_to_ok_nups.html
May 01, 2009
Musician Rob Thomas supports gay marriage
Musician Rob Thomas supports gay marriage on Twitter, engages his fans on the Miss California debacle
Over on his Twitter page Rob Thomas took a stand on Miss California's (aka Carrie Prejean) being in a new ad against gay marriage, calling her views (as expressed at the Miss USA pageant) bigoted and expressing frustration at the praise she was receiving from conservatives:
This gets more interesting to me, however, when Thomas gets come critical responses from the people following his feed and he decides to engage with them. Here are a few sample exchanges:
Thomas, for example, shows that Freedom of Speech does not include freedom from having your speech criticized.
He also points out that being against gay marriage isn't standing up for your beliefs but insisting that your beliefs should control other people's lives.
And he nicely articulates what marriage means:
While I thought it was great to see Thomas voice his support for gay marriage and his opposition to Miss California's stance, I was even more pleased to see him engage in a discussion on the topic and show a pretty good understanding of the issue. Thomas has nearly 33,000 people following his tweets and it's certainly helpful to have an advocate who can speak for our rights so well to a large audience. (Editor's Note: You mean, without calling her a "dumb bitch"? I agree! - BJ)
Thanks to Rômulo for the tip!
by Lyle Masaki
http://www.afterelton.com/blog/lylemasaki/rob-thomas-expresses-support-for-gay-marriage-on-his-twitter-feed-calls-miss-california-a-bigot
Over on his Twitter page Rob Thomas took a stand on Miss California's (aka Carrie Prejean) being in a new ad against gay marriage, calling her views (as expressed at the Miss USA pageant) bigoted and expressing frustration at the praise she was receiving from conservatives:
This gets more interesting to me, however, when Thomas gets come critical responses from the people following his feed and he decides to engage with them. Here are a few sample exchanges:
Thomas, for example, shows that Freedom of Speech does not include freedom from having your speech criticized.
He also points out that being against gay marriage isn't standing up for your beliefs but insisting that your beliefs should control other people's lives.
And he nicely articulates what marriage means:
While I thought it was great to see Thomas voice his support for gay marriage and his opposition to Miss California's stance, I was even more pleased to see him engage in a discussion on the topic and show a pretty good understanding of the issue. Thomas has nearly 33,000 people following his tweets and it's certainly helpful to have an advocate who can speak for our rights so well to a large audience. (Editor's Note: You mean, without calling her a "dumb bitch"? I agree! - BJ)
Thanks to Rômulo for the tip!
by Lyle Masaki
http://www.afterelton.com/blog/lylemasaki/rob-thomas-expresses-support-for-gay-marriage-on-his-twitter-feed-calls-miss-california-a-bigot
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