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Loading ...Feuding Dems may blow bid for NYS Senate control
12.12.2008 8:38am EST
(Albany, New York) Weeks after winning a majority of seats in the New York State Senate, Democratic infighting is threatening to hand control back to Republicans.
Democrats won 32 of the 62 Senate seats in November to capture the majority for the first time since 1965. But three conservative Democrats have been threatening to vote with Republicans, and upset the balance of power.A majority in the Senate would consist of 32. If the three dissidents sat with Republicans the GOP would hold 33 seats.
As 365gay.com reported on Nov. 10, Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Queens), conceded to the dissidents that he would not introduce a same-sex marriage bill in 2009. That landed Smith in hot water with LGBT rights groups who had fought hard and provided large amounts of cash during the election to secure a Democratic majority in Albany.
Now Smith says the trio is demanding more concessions and he has had second thoughts about putting the marriage bill on hold. Smith has called off negotiations with three dissidents.
“Reform cannot and should not ever include limiting civil rights of any New Yorkers,” Smith said at a news conference. “Those issues must be part of the legislative process.”
Smith’s epiphany won praise from the state’s largest LGBT rights group.
“We applaud Senator Malcolm Smith’s ongoing efforts to lead the new Senate Majority that voters chose during the recent elections. By stating that reform in the Senate cannot include bargaining away civil rights, Senator Smith has once again demonstrated his commitment to standing up for all New Yorkers,” said Empire State Pride Agenda executive director Alan Van Capelle in a statement.
Van Capelle also said Pride Agenda will work with legislative leaders – Democrats and Republicans – to bring the marriage equality bill to the floor of the Senate for passage.
The three conservative Democrats accuse Smith of posturing but they will not say if they will sit with Republicans.
And Smith continues to hedge on whether he would bring in the marriage bill if Democrats form the majority. If Republicans are the majority the bill would be dead.
In 2006, the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, ruled that same-sex couples do not have a constitutional right to marry. It said that the issue, however, could be taken up by the legislature.
A bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry in New York passed the Democrat-controlled Assembly last year, but Republicans who then controlled the Senate refused to consider the legislation.
A Quinnipiac poll in June showed New Yorkers split over gay marriage, with 42 percent saying same-sex couples should be allowed to legally marry, 31 percent saying they should be allowed to form civil unions but not marry, and 21 percent saying there should be no legal recognition of same-sex unions.
However, 53 percent of voters supported Paterson’s order to state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside New York, while 40 percent disapproved.
“Feuding Dems may blow bid for NYS Senate control” is a VERY misleading headline. Let’s be clear: three konservative nut-cases, led by the senile and homophobic Sen. “The Rev’d” (NOT!) Ruben Diaz Sr. (to distinguish from his son, who is under investigation for graft and corruption) are seeking to control the NY State Senate. They care nothing for Party loyalty or ethics. They just want to feather their own befouled nests. It’s not about marriage equality; it’s about pure naked POWER … and THEY want it. They should be IMPEACHED, *not* KOW-TOWED to.
Bud Burgoon-Clark
San Diego CA USA
I have been to several gay marriage rallies in Boston Massachusetts, during very intense days where it uncertain for a while whether gay marriage would survive or not, carried protest signs and was seen with others on the front page of the Boston Globe newspaper with a gay-marriage sign.
I met a man in Provincetown who said he and his partner was the 1,000th gay couple to get married in MA. During Provinncetown Gay Pride one year, he had a sign that IDed him and his as the 1,000th couple. I asked him about it and he say gay ouuple number 999 was announced and he and his partner rushed into the clerk’s office to be number 1,000.
I have said many times before especially during the Prop 8 fight, that people need to realize the power they have in numbers in such a huge blue state as California with such a large GLBT population.
I will be at gay marriage rally in Maryland next year and to meet with my legislators if need be. Fortunately all the legislators from my area are gay-friendly, some are gay and partnered themselves and all of my reps from are my are on board with MD gay marriage as is one several others. My rep in the US Congress is for gay rights and may be for gay marriage.
I have contacted my Senators in Congress to vote for a repeal of the Federal DOMA should that come up for a vote.
I intend to go to the closest state to me that has a National DOMA Protest Day rally. There is to be one in Boston, MA on January 10th, 2009.
From what I can gather reading the NYT, same-sex marriage isn’t the only issue here. Otherwise, they would’ve thrown us under the bus already. But once the Democrats gave into these traitors on that single issue, they started making all sorts of wild demands. No votes on pro-choice legislation, more pork barrel spending for their churches, and such. This is clearly unacceptable to the party. You cannot have backbenchers holding the leadership hostage.
The Democrats should boot the three rebels from their caucus and continue to sit in the opposition benches until the next election. Better have these DINOs run for re-election as Republicans in 2012 – in heavily Democratic districts – than give into their “demands” (which would require the Democrats to poach more three seats from GOPers on Long Island or Upstate to get anything done).
Rodney is very much on point. I think that there is a strong complacency amongst the Gay Community that all we need to win equality is Democrat majorities in government. It is not that simple.
These people supposedly represent their constituents. So gay voters should be communicating with them, regardless of party, to make their case.
Also, at the party level, remember that in most cases these people run twice. First in party primaries, and then in the real election. If, for example, gays want to stop Democrats from “taking us for granted”, then we need to care more about the primaries and who the party’s candidates are going to be. Just because someone is a Democrat does not mean they’re a liberal.
Morgan is right(never thought I would say it, but it’s true).
Every single gay New Yorker needs to call their representatives and Senators in the Assembly and annoy the living hell out of them. YES!!
I am a VERY left of center person, I am much further left on social and economic issues than even the vast majority of “Liberal” and Progressive Democrats. I have little to NOTHING in common with the GOP. With all of this said, there are plenty of unlikely allies in New York’s GOP. New York, along with California and Massachusetts has a proud and historic tradition of having (capital L)Liberal Republicans and even Progressive Republicans. Theodore Roosevelt, my one and only favorite Republican President, is the archetypal Liberal Republican and he is as New York as the Statue of Liberty. So, this means gay and lesbian New Yorkers, regardless of partisan or ideological background need to pressure each and every assembly member on marriage equality, NOW.
Support and opposition to marriage equality in New York does NOT abide by party lines. There are Republicans who support us and there are plenty of Democrats who oppose us. So this is one of the few states, in which we don’t need to wait until Democrats have a comfortable majority to push for change. The time for change is NOW.
Also, I cringe each and every time someone uses the term “gay marriage”. Not that I am some Uber-PC nut, but when one uses the term “marriage equality” instead of “gay marriage” it makes it clear that we’re not supporting gay marriage over straight marriage. Also, in the 1990s and early 2000s, “gay marriage” as a term was used to describe all manner of semi-marital institutions such as domestic partnership and civil unions. Using the term marriage equality instead of gay marriage, takes steam out of the argument that “gay people want to destroy traditional marriage and replace it with gay marriage”. Also, when we ask a politician if they support marriage equality or not, it gives them little to no leeway in weaseling out of the question.
In Massachusetts and Canada, places where the marriage equality fight were successful, they used “marriage equality” almost exclusively in their phraseology and terminology. If the Rest of gay America wants to be succesful and make clear and concise arguments which will convince the convinceable, stop using the term “gay marriage” and replace it with “marriage equality”.
it’s up to gay New York residents to push and push and push some more their legislators to show some backbnne and to push for a gay marriage bill.
This is their future, they need to call and ring the phones off the hook at their state assmebly for NY State gay marriage.