Subscribe to Breaking NewsWithers: Is Paterson pushing gay marriage to win an election?
New York Gov. David Paterson probably wonders what he needs to do to get a break. He gets the top gig as New York’s governor because his former boss played with a working girl. Spitzer quits and Paterson moves on up. There is a honeymoon, mainly because from all accounts Paterson is an affable fellow; however, he has to deal with a tattered state budget. That, and a few miscues (he bungled the process to replace Hilary Clinton), have given him an approval rating as pathetic as my credit score.
But Paterson is a wily pol, and he knows all it takes is a few good news cycles and those numbers begin to inch up. Looks like he is banking on gay marriage to pull him through. Sort of ironic, no? Look for the governor to introduce a gay marriage bill tomorrow. It seems though not many folk are happy with Paterson’s dice throw. And the unhappy ones want gay marriage in the Empire State.
“This is what I think: This isn’t Las Vegas, and I’m not willing to gamble with a new strategy on anyone’s civil rights,” said Tom Duane, a state senator from Manhattan, and the lone openly gay member of that chamber.
New York’s Assembly and Senate are controlled by the Democrats but the Senate is the place where a gay marriage bill would face stiff opposition. So the questions of the day are these: is Patterson being a principled pol by pushing for something he believes in or is he just playing a numbers game to win an election? Do these questions even matter?
@Rodney, Fed Up, Robert and all,
I also believe in the term marriage equality. But the web is a strange thing – and in order for people to find stories on equal marriage through Google, etc., we need to use “gay marriage.”
It’s what people search for, and how search engines find our stories.
Warmly,
Jay
Rodney, you’re absolutely right about that. 365Gay.com should know better. Its not a question of semantics either. Last time I checked same-sex civil marriage is no different to hetero civil marriage. Maybe in addition to marriage quality we should append “civil” to the terminology to reinforce the fact that we’re not demanding religious marriage. I’ve been to many civil marriage ceremonies, nowhere was there any reference to a deity.
@ Rodney Moore
Absolutely correct!
Marriage EQUALITY. people!
FOR LOVE OF ALMIGHT GOD, STOP SAYING “Gay Marriage” use the term Marriage Equality.
Every single goddamn*d time someone says gay marriage as opposed to MARRIAGE EQUALITY, we lose support. If you support marriage equality then call it marriage equality. If you want our side to continue to lose for another 100 years, then by all means keep refering to marriage equality as gay marriage.
When a candidate is asked “Do you support gay marriage?” it is easy for him/her to say NO, but I support “equal” rights. When you ask a candidate “do you support marriage equality” it makes it harder for them to weasel out and the mere use of the term “marriage equality” dispels myths in the minds of those who are convincible.
One POWERFUL myth that the anti-marriage equality forces have, is that “gay marriage” is opposed to traditional marriage. When we say “We want gay marriage” in their minds, it’s as if we’re saying down with traditional marriage. So, our solution is clear as a bell, if you are inteligent, and that is use the term marriage equality NOT gay marriage.
I do not believe David Paterson is using the issue for political gain. Only 40% of the New Yorkers support gay marriage rights. If it were over 50% then I’d wonder.
That and the fact that he has worked on gay rights issues before, and has repeatedly spoken out in favor of gay marriage. In fact, while a gay couple can’t get married in New York legally, gay marriage is already legal in New York. New York recognizes any gay marriage performed in any place where gay marriage is legal. Be it Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Iowa, Canada, etc…
Who do we have to thank for that? David Paterson. It was his executive order that made legal recognition of gay marriages performed out of state legal.
He is genuine as far as I’m concerned.
I like David Patterson and I think there is some genuine feelings he has for same-sex marriage. Having said that, this bill will not pass and if by a miracle it does I seriously doubt this will help his re-election chances.
Patterson’s poll numbers are lower than both Nixon and Bush, quite a feat even in a time of economic crisis. There is also a growing opposition to this bill both in the legislature and in communities across NY state.
Patterson does not have the political capital and the Democratic caucus with its slim majority doesn’t show much enthusiasm. This bill will only allow us to see who is for equal rights and those who oppose it.
There will never be a “right” time. “Right” is the time when it passes. I guess the Dems will check a rabbit’s entrails someday and determine the “right” time, which will be when there’s NO political risk. Push it and admit it might fail. Learn from the failure and try again.
As was stated elsewhere, almost every year is “not good” for marriage equality. There’s fundraising, there are elections, there’s the Presidency, there are “political considerations”…make enough people angry, and inaction based on self-preservation can mean the end of a political career. Patterson may be cunning, or he may really be balls-out, but he’s done more in three weeks than ANY of New York’s Congressional delegation in their combined years of service.
I see this vote as good thing. Hopefully it passes. If not, as least we’ve got people on the record, so we can start lobbying the ones who voted against us, or start running primary candidates against them.
Honestly, I am concerned with the battle as a whole, not just this legislative vote. If he gambles on gay marriage and gets re-elected on it, even if the bill does not pass that will make other politicians who are personally comfortable with gay marriage, but are afraid of political backlash reason to pause. It might even give politicians who aren’t completely comfortable with same sex marriage, but who care about their careers more reason to pause. If the bill gets passed then the message will be all the more powerful. I think while this may not be the best time for New York as a whole, it is a good time for our movement as a whole.
At the point in which a gay marriage bill is passed, I could care less how it happens… as long as it happens.