THE INEVITABLE TIDE OF HISTORY: The Marriage Equality bill has just been passed 33-29 with bi partisan support, and religious protections via the New York State Senate.
EDITORS NOTE: Tears of Joy and lots of Cheers, and I couldn't be prouder, GREAT DAY as GAY PRIDE in NYC and all over the USA will be very special this year.
FROM NY SENATOR THOMAS DUANE: "There are only heroes in this chamber, not villains." ITP V.011 SAYS THANK YOU: NOH8, HRC (HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN),NY EQUAL MARRIAGE (MENY), NY STATE PRIDE AGENDA, HARVEY MILK (RIP), JASON WEST, THE TREVOR PROJECT, OTEP, ROB HALFORD, GAAHL. Of course, NEW YORK GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO, NYC MAYOR MIKE BLOOMBERG and the New York State Senate. This gay rights victory is for all those whom were bullied, discriminated and suffered as yes, IT GETS BETTER..
FROM NYC MAYOR MIKE BLOOMBERG:
Tonight New York has taken the next big step on our national journey toward a more perfect union FROM NEW YORK GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO:
Albany, NY (June 24, 2011)
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced passage of the Marriage Equality Act, granting same-sex couples the freedom to marry under the law, as well as hundreds of rights, benefits, and protections that have been limited to married couples of the opposite sex.
"New York has finally torn down the barrier that has prevented same-sex couples from exercising the freedom to marry and from receiving the fundamental protections that so many couples and families take for granted," Governor Cuomo said. "With the world watching, the Legislature, by a bipartisan vote, has said that all New Yorkers are equal under the law. With this vote, marriage equality will become a reality in our state, delivering long overdue fairness and legal security to thousands of New Yorkers."
"I commend Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Minority Leader John Sampson for their leadership and Senator Tom Duane for his lifetime commitment to fighting for equality for all New Yorkers," Governor Cuomo continued. "I also thank Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assemblyman Danny O’Donnell for ushering this measure through their chamber."
The Marriage Equality Act amends New York's Domestic Relations Law to state:
A marriage that is otherwise valid shall be valid regardless of whether the parties to the marriage are of the same or different sex
No government treatment or legal status, effect, right, benefit, privilege, protection or responsibility relating to marriage shall differ based on the parties to the marriage being the same sex or a different sex
No application for a marriage license shall be denied on the ground that the parties are of the same or a different sex
The Marriage Equality Act was amended to include protections for religious organizations. The Act states that no religious entity, benevolent organization or not-for-profit corporation that is operated, supervised or controlled by a religious entity, or their employees can be required to perform marriage ceremonies or provide their facilities for marriage ceremonies, consistent with their religious principles. In addition, religious entities will not be subject to any legal action for refusing marriage ceremonies. The Act will grant equal access to the government-created legal institution of civil marriage while leaving the religious institution of marriage to its own separate and fully autonomous sphere. Additionally, the Act was amended to include a clause that states that if any part is deemed invalid through the judicial process and after all appeals in the courts, the entire Act would be considered invalid.
The Act was made a reality thanks largely to New Yorkers United for Marriage, a coalition of leading New York LGBT rights organizations who have fought so that all couples in New York have the freedom to marry. The partners include Empire State Pride Agenda, Freedom to Marry, Human Rights Campaign, Marriage Equality New York, and Log Cabin Republicans.
FROM SHAMAYA OF OTEP:NY has broken this noble savage into tears of joy. I am so fucking proud right now!!!! #otep #marriage.I LOVE YOU NY!!!! #MARRIAGE #EQUALITY IS LAW!!!!!!
FROM LADY GAGA:
@ladygaga: I can't stop crying. We did it kids.
FROM NY EQUAL MARRIAGE (MENY): The vote pass 33-29 & NYS is the 6th state to have marriage equality. #ny4m Thank u to all of those with MENY & on to federal.
FROM YNN ALBANY: Now it's official, passes 33-29. @CapitatTonight, @YNNAlbany, @YNNHudsonValley live coverage continues. Cheers heard in the distance.
FROM HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN (HRC):
Thank you to all who wrote letters, called legislators, and encouraged your friends to be NYers for Marriage Equality!
In a history making, bipartisan vote, the New York Senate today passed a widely popular marriage equality bill after the most aggressive state legislative campaign in the history of the LGBT rights movement. With Governor Cuomo’s promised signature of the bill, New York will become the sixth state, plus the District of Columbia, where same-sex couples can legally marry.
“History was made today in New York. This victory sends a message that marriage equality across the country will be a certainty very soon,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese.
The successful vote today shows that marriage equality is a bipartisan, mainstream value that both chambers of the Legislature approved. HRC could not be more grateful to the decisive and model leadership of the Governor and bipartisan group of senators who listened to the supermajority of New Yorkers and got this done.
“Governor Cuomo has shown New York and the nation what leadership looks like,” added Brian Ellner, HRC’s senior strategist in the state. “The bipartisan nature of the vote is compelling proof that marriage equality is increasingly an issue that unites, not divides. Legislators listened to their constituents and did the right thing.”
The successful vote in the Senate comes after a strategic, coordinated and aggressive legislative advocacy effort by LGBT civil rights organizations. Working in close coordination with a tight-knit coalition, HRC’s National Field Director, Marty Rouse, led one of the largest legislative advocacy efforts in New York state history and the largest field campaign ever in support of state gay rights legislation. An unprecedented 30 full-time field organizers were employed by HRC across the state and generated over 150,000 constituent contacts to targeted legislators.
To reflect the deep and diverse support for marriage equality, HRC also created New Yorkers for Marriage Equality, a video campaign that eventually featured more than 40 iconic New Yorkers ranging from President Bush’s daughter Barbara Bush to Russell Simmons advocating for marriage equality (www.hrc.org/NY4marriage). HRC spent more than $1 million overall on the effort.
The successful vote in the Senate comes after a very strategic, coordinated and aggressive legislative advocacy effort by LGBT civil rights organizations. HRC was a founding member of New Yorkers United for Marriage, a coalition that included HRC, Empire State Pride Agenda, Freedom to Marry, Marriage Equality New York, and Log Cabin Republicans. The coalition raised $2 million that it used to advocate for marriage equality.
“There’s no doubt that this was the most unified marriage effort, ever,” said Solmonese. “Today’s victory is made even sweeter by the fact that organizations were able to rally around a common goal, work hard and deliver a huge win for civil and human rights.”
What happened in New York doesn’t stay in New York. The decisive leadership of Governor Cuomo combined with the strong bipartisan support in the legislature will likely influence other states—New Jersey, Maryland, Rhode Island–that are considering extending marriage equality to their residents.
In the past year, a number of national polls (Washington Post/ABC News, Gallup, and CNN) have shown, for the first time, that a majority of the country supports marriage equality. Support for marriage equality has increased by 19 percentage points since 1996, according to the Pew Research Center.
With New York being the third most populous state in the country, a lot more LGBT couples are going to marry. And the more who marry, the more people will see we’re no different than anybody else—wanting the best for our families, loved ones, and in many cases our kids. And it makes it harder to discriminate.
Congratulations to all involved in this huge victory!
FROM CNN.COM:
New York legislators cleared the last major hurdle to legalize same-sex marriage on Friday with a 33-to-29 vote, sending the bill to the governor's desk for his expected approval.
A vote on the measure, which the state Assembly passed June 15, has been stalled in the Senate. But it turned a corner Friday, according to Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, after lawmakers agreed on an amendment to protect religious groups from litigation that had been pushed by Republicans.
Earlier in the day, the Assembly passed a new version of the bill that included the amendment about religious institutions. The Friday night vote in the Senate means that the legislation's fate is now in the hands of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who proposed it in the first place.
Cuomo, a Democrat, says it would grant same-sex couples equal rights to marry "as well as hundreds of rights, benefits and protections that are currently limited to married couples of the opposite sex."
Currently, five states -- Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire -- and the District of Columbia grant same-sex marriage licenses.
Earlier this week, activists on both sides of the issue gathered in the state capitol, Albany. They chanted opposing slogans -- petitioning for either "marriage equality" or yelling "one man, one woman" in defense of the institution's traditional definition -- though they could also be seen occasionally mingling and even singing religious songs together.
Republicans, led by Skelos, had expressed concerns over the "unintended consequences" of a bill that redefines the legal parameters of marriage. The measure needed three Republicans' votes to pass the bill, which had the support of 31 Senators -- just one short of the number required for passage -- earlier this week
FROM AOL:
Gay couples and proponents of gay rights have a reason to celebrate tonight, as the New York State Senate has passed a bill that allows same sex marriage.
New York will be the sixth, and largest, state in the union to adopt gay marriage. The bill will take effect 30 days after governor Andrew Cuomo signs it into law.
The decision, which passed 33-29, was the culmination of weeks of contentious debate and negotiations between Governor Cuomo and the GOP-controlled Senate. After the bill passed in the Assembly, it was unclear if the bill had secured enough votes to pass in the Senate. When a few notable undecideds joined the cause --including Republican Roy McDonald who famously defended his decision, saying "fuck it, I don't care what you think. I'm trying to do the right thing" -- the scale in favor of gay marriage seemed to tip.
Gay rights advocates are hoping the vote will galvanize the movement around the country and help it regain momentum after an almost identical bill was defeated here in 2009 and similar measures failed in 2010 in New Jersey and this year in Maryland and Rhode Island.
Though New York is a relative latecomer in allowing gay marriage, it is considered an important prize for advocates, given the state's size and New York City's international stature and its role as the birthplace of the gay rights movement, which is considered to have started with the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village in 1969.
The New York bill cleared the Republican-controlled state Senate on a 33-29 vote. The Democrat-led Assembly, which passed a different version last week, is expected to pass the new version with stronger religious exemptions and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who campaigned on the issue last year, has promised to sign it. Same-sex couples can begin marrying begin 30 days after that. The passage of New York's legislation was made possible in two Republican senators who had been undecided.
Sen. Stephen Saland voted against a similar bill in 2009, helping kill the measure and dealing a blow to the national gay rights movement.
"While I understand that my vote will disappoint many, I also know my vote is a vote of conscience," Saland said in a statement to The Associated Press before the vote. "I am doing the right thing in voting to support marriage equality."
Gay couples in gallery wept during Saland's speech.
Sen. Mark Grisanti, a GOP freshman from Buffalo, also said he would vote for the bill. Grisanti said he could not deny anyone what he called basic rights.
The effects of the law could be felt well beyond New York: Unlike Massachusetts, which pioneered gay marriage in 2004, New York has no residency requirement for obtaining a marriage license, meaning the state could become a magnet for gay couples across the country who want to have a wedding in Central Park, the Hamptons, the romantic Hudson Valley or that honeymoon hot spot of yore, Niagara Falls.
New York, the nation's third most populous state, will join Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington, D.C., in allowing same-sex couples to wed.
For five months in 2008, gay marriage was legal in California, the biggest state in population, and 18,000 same-sex couples rushed to tie the knot there before voters overturned the state Supreme Court ruling that allowed the practice. The constitutionality of California's ban is now before a federal appeals court.
While court challenges in New York are all but certain, the state — unlike California — makes it difficult for the voters to repeal laws at the ballot box. Changing the law would require a constitutional convention, a long, drawn-out process.
The sticking point over the past few days: Republican demands for stronger legal protections for religious groups that fear they will be hit with discrimination lawsuits if they refuse to allow their facilities to be used for gay weddings.
The climactic vote came after more than a week of stop-and-start negotiations, rumors, closed-door meetings and frustration on the part of advocates. Online discussions took on a nasty turn with insults and vulgarities peppering the screens of opponents and supporters alike and security was beefed up in the capitol to give senators easier passage to and from their conference room.
The night before, President Barack Obama encouraged lawmakers to support gay rights during a fundraiser with New York City's gay community. The vote also is sure to charge up annual gay pride events this weekend, culminating with parades Sunday in New York City, San Francisco and other cities.
FROM NOH8:
In a historic vote, the New York Senate has voted 33-29 to pass a state bill (Bill 5045) legalizing same-sex marriage. The bill contains critical protections for the rights of religious and not-for-profit institutions, which means that these institutions are free to perform or not perform ceremonies as they see fit. As we continue to fight against discrimination in pursuit of equal rights for all people, the NOH8 Campaign celebrates this victory for the LGBT Community!
Senator Mark Grisanti of Buffalo, NY, who had previously been reported as being undecided in his vote, gave an incredibly poignant speech before delivering his vote in favor of the bill. He spoke about how doing the research and reflecting on previous comments he'd made to the contrary, he had come to the conclusion there was absolutely no reason he could cite for him to be able to deny the same rights he shares with his wife to same-sex couples.
"A man can be wiser today than yesterday," Senator Grisanti said.
We celebrate with our friends and supporters in New York this evening, and hope this progress is a sign of many good things to come as this incredible year for LGBT rights continues.
Let us all continue the momentum -- BE HEARD!
FROM THE ADVOCATE:
Comments of celebration, and some inevitable criticism, began to flow late Friday night and into the Pride weekend worldwide as New York, the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement, became the sixth and most populous state, in addition to Washington, D.C., to give same-sex couples the right to civil marriages through a historic vote in the Republican-led state senate.
"New York has finally torn down the barrier that has prevented same-sex couples from exercising the freedom to marry and from receiving the fundamental protections that so many couples and families take for granted," said Governor Andrew Cuomo. "With the world watching, the legislature, by a bipartisan vote, has said that all New Yorkers are equal under the law. With this vote, marriage equality will become a reality in our state, delivering long overdue fairness and legal security to thousands of New Yorkers."
Cuomo signed the bill into law shortly before midnight. The law will take effect on July 24 with religious exemption language that helped secure the votes of two more Republicans, Stephen Saland and Mark Gristanti, during the senate floor debate. In all, four Republicans supported the bill, which passed the senate by a vote of 33 to 29 after winning approval in the Democratic-controlled assembly for the fourth time since 2007.
Although the state senate Republican conference made history with the vote, it issued no official statement. Majority leader Dean Skelos announced Friday that an up-or-down vote would be held after many hours of deliberation among his 32 members.
“As I have said many times, this is a very difficult issue and it will be a vote of conscience for every member of the Senate,” he said.
The Log Cabin Republicans, part of the bipartisan New Yorkers United for Marriage coalition of five LGBT advocacy organizations that worked with Cuomo to pass the bill, issued a statement that marked the historic occasion.
“This achievement marks the first time a Republican led chamber has enacted marriage equality, we look forward building on our successes in states across the country,” said R. Clarke Cooper, the group’s executive director. “Log Cabin will stand with the allies who stood with us today as part of a stronger, more inclusive Republican Party.”
The five organizations in the coalition, which raised $2 million in recent months, more than half from Republicans and affiliated donors, brought an unprecedented level of coordination and resources for communications, fieldwork and lobbying in the state campaign. In addition to Log Cabin, other partners included the Human Rights Campaign, Freedom To Marry, Marriage Equality New York, and the Empire State Pride Agenda.
New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent and major contributor to state senate Republicans, lobbied some members of the conference and contributed to the fund-raising. He also delivered a speech on marriage equality that positioned the issue as the latest in a series of freedom movements incubated in New York, including women’s rights, workers’ right, the abolition movement, and minority civil rights.
“In recent weeks, I have had many conversations with our state senators,” said Mayor Bloomberg in a statement. “I emphasized that not only is marriage equality consistent with bedrock American principles, but it is also consistent with bedrock Republican Party principles of liberty and freedom – and the Republicans who stood up today for those principles will long be remembered for their courage, foresight, and wisdom. In fact, 10 or 20 or 30 years from now, I believe they will look back at this vote as one of their finest, proudest moments.”
As Gov. Cuomo noted in his remarks after the vote, the four Republicans provided their support at greater political risk than the Democratic senators, all of whom supported the bill except the avowedly antigay Ruben Diaz. Sr. The Conservative Party of New York State, which threatened not to offer its influential endorsement to any Republican lawmaker who supported the bill, issued a statement calling the vote a “disaster.”
“We question how marriage will be defined in the future. Moreover, we question what will be the effect on society,” said the Conservative Party. “Passage of this legislation, in our view, will cause irreversible damage to our economy, educational system and the family.”
The New York State Catholic Conference, which represents the bishops including Archbishop Timothy Dolan who strongly opposed the bill, issued a statement before the vote on Friday that reiterated no kind of religious exemptions would make the bill acceptable.
“Marriage has always been, is now, and always will be the union of one man and one woman in a lifelong, life-giving union,” said the statement. “Government does not have the authority to change this most basic of truths."
The vote in the senate held special meaning for the chamber’s first and only openly gay member, Thomas K. Duane of Manhattan, who has carried the bill for years. He spoke during the floor vote about coming out to his Catholic parents, the gay rights journey since the 1970s, and his relationship with his partner, Louis Webre.
“It is true that today holds enormous historical significance and it must be proudly celebrated,” said Duane in a statement after the vote. “The paradoxical truth is that what already exists and will not change, but for true legal recognition, is the commitment and love that is already the reality in so many of New York’s families.”
Daniel O’Donnell, the openly gay Manhattan lawmaker who sponsored the bill in the Assembly, also spoke about the public and personal implications of the vote.
"This day is a momentous one, not only for the thousands of same-sex couples across our state who find themselves suddenly on the cusp equality, now awaiting only one person's signature before being able to marry, but for all New Yorkers who have recognized and fought against legalized discrimination,” he said. “I have been with my partner John for over 30 years, and, at long last, the state where we were both born, raised, and have lived our adult lives has agreed that all New Yorkers deserve marriage equality in the eyes of the law."
The vote made global headlines as cities including New York City, Berlin and Paris prepared to celebrate Pride. It brought the state legislature in line with the stance of the statewide elected officials in New York, all of whom support marriage equality. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, one of four senators calling on President Barack Obama to support marriage equality, issued a statement in which she pledged to continue the effort to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.
“New York State has sent a powerful message to the rest of the nation,” said Gillibrand. “The right to get married and start a family is a basic, human right that must be shared by all Americans. Every loving, committed couple in America deserves this right. And no politician should stand in the way of this fact.”
President Obama, who also supports DOMA repeal, spoke to gay Democrats at a high-dollar fund-raiser in Manhattan on Thursday night and said he believed gay couples are entitled to all the same rights as other couples. However, the president stopped short of endorsing full marriage equality, where he responded to hecklers and positioned marriage as an issue of state’s rights. Obama said that the debate then still happening in New York represented “exactly what democracies are supposed to do.”
A White House spokesman repeated that position in a statement to the Washington Blade after the vote.
"The president has long believed that gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights and legal protections as straight couples," said Shin Inouye. "That's why he has called for repeal of the so-called 'Defense of Marriage Act' and determined that his administration would no longer defend the constitutionality of DOMA in the courts. The states should determine for themselves how best to uphold the rights of their own citizens. The process in New York worked just as it should."
Home of the nation's largest city and a population of nearly 20 million people, as many as Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, and Washington, D.C. combined, New York will double the number of Americans who live in a state or jurisdiction with a marriage equality law. The state, which has no initiative process to repeal the law, unlike Proposition 8 in California, is expected to inject new momentum into a marriage equality movement that stalled in legislatures in recent months. Federal courts cases are pending, and polls show that a slim majority of Americans now support marriage equality.
“We are beginning to see the dark walls of discrimination crumble,” said Chad Griffin, co-founder and board president of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which is sponsoring the federal lawsuit against Prop 8. “The American Foundation for Equal Rights will continue its work in the federal courts and will not stop until all Americans have the same rights, including the freedom to marry, as guaranteed by our Constitution.”
The victory in New York capped a year that also began with hope for passing marriage equality laws in Maryland and Rhode Island. The Maryland house voted to recommit the bill to committee in March after it passed the senate, and in Rhode Island, lawmakers decided instead to introduce a civil unions bill, which passed the house but has languished in the senate as the legislative session draws to a close.
Equality Maryland, the statewide advocacy group that moved the bill to a first-time vote and passage in the senate, issued a statement in response to the New York victory.
“Equality Maryland looks toward the future of marriage equality as New York becomes the sixth state, along with the District of Columbia, to recognize gay and lesbian couples as full and equal citizens,” said the statement. “It’s time that Maryland joins the ranks of states who favor marriage equality for all loving and committed gay and lesbian couples.”
New York also received congratulations from Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, which brought the lawsuit, Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, that made Massachusetts the first state in the nation with a marriage equality law in 2004.
“As a major cultural and population center for our nation and the world, the state of New York today has sent a powerful message of liberty and equality for all that will no doubt resonate far beyond the state’s borders,” said Gary Buseck, the acting executive director. “This is a momentous day for the marriage equality movement.”
New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the first openly gay person to hold the position, made a statement after the vote Friday that looked toward the significance for future generations.
“And what it does for me is important, but what it does for gay children is indescribable,” she said. “There are children who are watching this vote right now across the country in households where they are afraid to tell people that they believe that they are gay, and they just saw the legislature of the greatest state in the union say that they are equal and that they matter. That will keep children alive, it will give them hope, and it will tell them that it does get better and that they matter.”
VIDEO: NEW YORK SENATE PASSES MARRIAGE EQUALITY BILL: STONEWALL CELEBRATES GAY MARRIAGE:
FROM MENY (NYC): think of how you are feeling RIGHT NOW! Now let's work to bring this feeing to all 50 states! @NYEqualMarriage @freedomtomarry @dmcrawford
Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-GAY PRIDE-\m/ -l-
Posts
![[Valid RSS]](http://www.blogger.com/valid-rss-rogers.png "Validate my RSS feed")
