Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed New York’s gay marriage bill, starting what is expected to be a crush of gay weddings starting in 30 days – couples can start marrying on July 24th.
Tonight, the number of Americans who currently have access to marriage equality in their home states or districts more than doubled.
The Democratic governor signed the measure shortly before midnight Friday, following up on a promise to put his name on the legislation as soon as he received it rather than wait the usual 10 days to sign it for it to become law.
New York lawmakers voted 33-29 to legalize same-sex marriage, handing activists a breakthrough victory in the state where the gay rights movement was born.
New York will become the sixth state where gay couples can wed and the biggest by far.
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. They are frequently cited as the first instance in American history when people in the homosexual community fought back against a government-sponsored system that persecuted sexual minorities, and they have become the defining event that marked the start of the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.
The last years of the 1960s were very contentious as many social movements were active, including the African American Civil Rights Movement, the Counterculture of the 1960s, and antiwar demonstrations. These influences served as catalysts for the Stonewall riots.
Very few establishments welcomed openly gay people in the 1950s and 1960s. Those that did were often bars, although bar owners and managers were rarely gay. The Stonewall Inn, at the time, was owned by the Mafia. It catered to an assortment of patrons, but it was known to be popular with the poorest and most marginalized people in the gay community.
Police raids on gay bars were routine in the 1960s, but officers quickly lost control of the situation at the Stonewall Inn, and attracted a crowd that was incited to riot.
After the Stonewall riots, gays and lesbians in New York City faced gender, class, and generational obstacles to becoming a cohesive community.
On June 28, 1970, the first Gay Pride marches took place in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York commemorating the anniversary of the riots.
Gay Pride events are held annually throughout the world toward the end of June to mark the Stonewall riots.
Today, June 24, 2011, NY state gay and lesbian committed couples cross a great milestone to being equal citizens by being allowed to enjoy the rights of marriage.
New York state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos on Same Sex Marriage Legislation: “After many hours of deliberation and discussion over the past several weeks among the members, it has been decided that same sex marriage legislation will be brought to the full Senate for an up or down vote.”
NY Conservative Party Chair Mike Long: “I’m sorry to say but the bill’s going to pass.”
Word is the 32nd vote is secured and possibly a few more.
From the NY Times – 4:14pm on Friday: “The Cuomo administration and legislative leaders have reached agreement on language that would protect religious institutions from obligations to recognize same-sex marriage, two people involved in the negotiations said on Friday afternoon, potentially paving the way for a vote on the marriage legislation.”
“Senate Republicans were still discussing the marriage bill among themselves in a close door meeting on Friday afternoon. And it remained unclear whether — and even if — they would permit a vote on the broader legislation. Assembly lawmakers, which approved an earlier version of the same-sex marriage bill last week, would need to approve the new language in a new vote before the full bill could become law.”
Of course, all that being said – will the GOP state senators allow a vote on the bill???
Via Towleroad.com: Olbermann has moved his Countdown program to Current TV, where he used one of his special comments to, first, proclaim that gay marriage is inevitable, and then to blame religion for holding it back.
“Every year the margin by which this country supports this grows,” he said of marriage equality. “And within a decade, or perhaps less, it will be universal in this nation. Period.”
After a week of mainly calm and respectful attendance by pro-marriage-equality supporters, nerves seem to be getting frayed as no vote is in sight on passing marriage equality.
From the NY Times: “Frustrations flared in the Capitol on Friday as Democratic lawmakers and gay rights advocates suggested that the Republicans in the state Senate were deliberately delaying a vote on whether to legalize same-sex marriage in New York.”
“It was a marked change of tone from proponents of gay marriage, and it seemed to indicate that their collaborative relationship with the Republicans, in whose hands the fate of the measure rests, had begun to fray.”
“It’s outrageous,” said State Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat. “We were sent home last night without really any explanation.”
Krueger and other Democrats inferred Republicans are stalling on the issue because they fear gay marriage will pass if the vote is put onto the floor.
Sen. Dean Skelos had indicated that he would have vote on the issue this session.
I think it’s going to get ugly is they don’t have this vote…
NY Times editorial: “As we wrote this editorial on Thursday evening, we were still waiting for the New York State Senate to do what it should have done long ago — end a basic inequality under the law by allowing same-sex couples the full right to marry. The solution is obvious: Pass a clean bill that allows all adult New Yorkers to marry whomever they choose to marry, without unneeded exemptions for religious-affiliated organizations.”
“Gov. Andrew Cuomo introduced a good bill, which was promptly approved by the Assembly. In the Senate, the measure seemed to be only one vote shy of passage, but Republicans have kept it from the floor.”
Check out this Lady Gaga mash-up that was created in honor of Senator Jim Alesi, the first NY state Republican senator to come out in support of the marriage equality bill, and his remarks at the rally yesterday.
Marriage equality in NY state is tied to rent control and tax cap bills, it appears.
From the Wall Street Journal: Senate Majority leader Dean Skelos said Tuesday afternoon that the framework for agreement on rent control and a tax cap had been reached. Those agreements appear to clear the way for gay marriage to be addressed separately as early as Wednesday.
Skelos, a Long Island Republican, holds great sway over which bills make it to the full Senate for a vote. He is opposed to gay marriage but says he’ll let his members decide its fate.
Now that the Repubs have what they wanted on their two issues – will they let marriage equality come up for a vote tomorrow? And will one more state senator decide to stand on the right side of history?
