New York and Gay Marriage

In 2007, the New York State Assembly passed a bill to legalize gay marriage in the Empire State. The governor at the time, Eliot Spitzer, supported the bill. But the New York State Senate, then controlled by a slim majority of Republicans, refused to take the bill up, thus stifling the measure.

Four days ago, New York voters switched control of the Senate to Democrats. The new leader of the Senate, Sen. Malcolm Smith, supports gay marriage. And the current Governor, David Paterson, not only supports gay marriage, but issued an executive order earlier this year allowing New York to recognize out-of-state gay marriages (like those from neighboring Massachusetts, or Connecticut). Given the new leadership in the Senate, what are the chances that New York now becomes the third state (or fourth state, if you include California before Proposition 8) to recognize gay marriage?

Experts are mixed, but one thing is clear - with the New York State Senate switching parties, the chances for gay marriage legislation passing in New York have dramatically improved. AP reports today:

Even as voters in California banned same-sex marriage in a tight referendum, Tuesday's election opened the door for the same debate in New York.

The pending shift in state Senate control away from Republicans removes one clear obstacle to legalizing gay marriage in New York, though opponents aren't conceding anything yet and advocates say they have work to do...

"The only chance we had for meaningful debate or consideration of these issues in the state Senate was with a new Senate leadership," said Alan Van Capelle, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, New York's largest gay rights advocacy group. He added that no bills have passed in New York without some votes from members of both parties.

While this is potential good news for advocates of marriage equality, it's far from a done deal. There's no indication that the NY State Senate will take up the bill anytime soon, given the economic crisis. There's also concern that a few conservative Democrats might flex their muscle on this issue and jump ship to the GOP. But there's reason to be hopeful.

First, every member of New York State's Assembly that initially voted for gay marriage in 2007 won re-election. That's huge.

Second, according to the director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, New Yorkers are fairly liberal on this issue. A majority of the state supported Gov. Paterson's issue to recognize out-of-state marriages, and nearly a majority are saying that in-state same-sex couples should have the right to marry. In other words, that's fertile battleground for LGBT rights.

Empire State Pride Agenda, New York's largest gay rights advocacy group, has a number of resources available on the issue of marriage equality. For more information on what you can do to work for marriage equality in New York State, check out this page on their Web site.