Tag: marriage equality

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NY Gov. Cuomo: No Vote on Marriage Equality Unless Votes are There

A bill that would legalize same-sex marriage won’t be introduced in the Senate unless the votes to pass it are available, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today.

Speaking at a news conference, the governor said votes were still being counted in the Republican-led chamber. Cuomo said the goal was to avoid a repeat of 2009, when a same-sex marriage bill was up for a vote in the then-Democratic-controlled Senate, but failed 38-24.

Cuomo, responding to a question about whether Assemblyman Danny O’Donnell jumped the gun on introducing his own measure and not wait for the program bill from the governor, said the focus remained on the Senate.

“This has never been about, on marriage equality, a vote in the Assembly primarily. The Assembly has passed it before. People expect it will pass again. The question is what’s going to happen in the Senate. The discussions that I’ve had with the collective group that is working on this in a unified way is we want to pass a bill. We don’t want to bring a bill up in the Senate that will fail, right? We don’t want to have an instant replay of last year. It’s not about having a vote for a sake of a vote. It’s about if it’s going to pass. and the conversations we’re having now will educate as to whether we’ll bring the bill to a vote.”

A coalition of advocacy groups was formed at Cuomo’s urging earlier this year with the goal of passing the bill this year. Cuomo himself has said same-sex marriage should be legalized by the end of this legislative session in June.

The pro-same-sex marriage group, New Yorkers United for Marriage, are lobbying Democratic and Republican lawmakers considered to be on the fence in the debate.

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NY: LGBT Advocates rally in Albany for marriage equality

An estimated 1,000 gay-rights advocates rallied at the New York state capitol in Albany on Monday, hoping to convince the Republican-controlled Senate to legalize same-sex marriage this year.

“This is not a political issue. This is not about Republicans and Democrats. Marriage equality is an issue of civil rights, a basic issue of civil rights,” Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy told people who attended the Empire State Pride Agenda’s LGBT Equality and Justice Day.

The lieutenant governor said elected officials have a responsibility not just for what they personally believe in but for all the people they represent, “and we cannot represent all New Yorkers if we are closing the door on something so important.”

Now these are people speaking my language.  As many of you who read this blog know, I feel when civil rights are derived from a civil marriage license issued by a civil government, we are talking about civil rights.

Cuomo is viewed favorably by over 70 percent of New Yorkers and will begin a statewide tour Tuesday to build support for it and other agenda items.
(vis LGBTQnation.com)

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NY: Gov. takes marriage equality agenda on the road

Called the “People First” Tour, Governor Cuomo will take his legislative agenda to the people of NY state to talk about his priorities in the final days of the legislative session, including marriage equality.

“Our entire team is going to travel the state to speak directly to New Yorkers about the issues that can move this state forward, and it begins in Syracuse,” said Cuomo in a statement that announced the first stop of the tour late Monday. “We need to pass a property tax cap, ethics reform, and marriage equality during this legislative session. The clock is ticking, but when the people speak, the politicians will listen. We will assemble a broad coalition of New Yorkers to support this agenda and work tirelessly to get it passed in Albany.”

More from The Advocate

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NY Rangers Sean Avery: Speaks Out for Gay Rights

NY Rangers forward Sean Avery recently recorded a video, becoming one of only a few active athletes in American team sports to voice support for gay rights, and is believed to be the first in New York to publicly advocate for same-sex marriage. No active male player in a major American team sport has declared his homosexuality, and homosexual slurs remain in use to insult opponents and officials.

Avery, a 31-year-old from Pickering, Ontario, has played nine seasons in the N.H.L. Known as a fashion-conscious, on-ice agitator, he has never been afraid of what others think of him.

“The places I’ve played and lived the longest have been in West Hollywood, Calif., when I played for the L.A. Kings, and when I moved to New York, I lived in Chelsea for the first four years,” Avery said in a phone interview. “I certainly have been surrounded by the gay community. And living in New York and when you live in L.A., you certainly have a lot of gay friends.”

More from the NY Times.

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Mother doesn’t want another scarf – she wants marriage equality for her son

Very cool Mother’s Day Op-Ed in the New York Daily News:

“This Mother’s Day, I don’t want another scarf. I don’t want any flowers. My dear son can’t give me the gift I want now — he’s done all he can do. Who would have thought that the best gift this mother could ever receive would come from the New York Legislature?”

“It’s time to pass marriage equality legislation. I’ve got a wedding to plan.”

Read the whole piece here.

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Attorney General Holder Vacates Immigration Decision Based on DOMA

From MetroWeekly: Attorney General Eric Holder today filed a very rare decision, vacating a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals related to the application of Paul Wilson Dorman, in which the BIA applied Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act to a pending case.

Holder writes: Pursuant to my authority set forth in 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1(h)(1)(i), I order that the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“Board”) in this case applying Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), 1 U.S.C. § 7, be vacated, and that this matter be referred to me for review.

Attorney Lavi Soloway – a co-founder of Immigration Equality – has been one of the leading attorney-advocates on the issue of asking the government to exercise that discretion. Soloway tells Metro Weekly in an email, “This development could be a sign that the Obama administration is looking for a way to protect gay and lesbian bi-national couples who are currently barred from the regular marriage-based immigration process by the Defense of Marriage Act.

In Holder’s decision, he goes on to state four questions that he directs the BIA to consider:

1) whether respondent’s same-sex partnership or civil union qualifies him to be considered a “spouse” under New Jersey law
2) whether, absent the requirements of DOMA, respondent’s same-sex partnership or civil union would qualify him to be considered a “spouse” under the Immigration and Nationality Act
3) what, if any, impact the timing of respondent’s civil union should have on his request for that discretionary relief
4) whether, if he had a “qualifying relative,” the respondent would be able to satisfy the exceptional and unusual hardship requirement for cancellation of removal.

More at Metro Weekly

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NY: Pres. Clinton voices support for marriage equality

From Politico: President Clinton said the next step in the expansion of rights in the United States should be same-sex marriage in his adopted home state. While Clinton opposed gay marriage while in the White House, he has in recent years shifted his views, something he makes clear in backing the bill in New York.

“Our nation’s permanent mission is to form a ‘more perfect union’ — deepening the meaning of freedom, broadening the reach of opportunity, strengthening the bonds of community,” Clinton said. “That mission has inspired and empowered us to extend rights to people previously denied them. Every time we have done that, it has strengthened our nation. Now we should do it again, in New York, with marriage equality. For more than a century, our Statue of Liberty has welcomed all kinds of people from all over the world yearning to be free. In the 21st century, I believe New York’s welcome must include marriage equality.”

The former president’s statement in support of the New York bill comes as advocates push for its passage ahead of the end of the state’s legislative session in June. It’s passed the state Assembly three times in previous years, but failed in the state Senate the one time it came to the floor, in 2009.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said that legalizing gay marriage is a priority for his administration, though the current Republican majority in the state Senate is largely opposed to it.

Clinton is the highest-profile political figure to sign onto the Human Rights Campaign’s lobbying efforts, but not the only one. In January, Barbara Bush, the 29-year-old daughter of former President George W. Bush, appeared in a video voicing her support for same-sex marriage in New York.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have also spoken out in support of the bill.

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Marriage equality rally in Rhode Island

Marriage Equality Rhode Island is organizing an anti-civil unions rally at the state house. While some activists believe the votes are there for full marriage equality, other pro-gay legislators don’t agree.

I’m not sure. Obviously I’m not in the thick of the debate there.

Some days I’m of a mind it’s better to get something than nothing, and fight again another day; other days I’m firmly in the camp that believes “separate but equal is never equal” so why bother?

I just wish everyone had equal rights.