NY Assembly Poised to Pass Gay Marriage Bill

Democrats in the Senate are working furiously to get enough votes to turn the proposal into law

The state Assembly is expected to pass a bill as early as tomorrow that would put New York one step closer to legalizing same-sex marriage, while Democrats in the Senate are working furiously to get enough votes to turn the proposal into law.

Even opponents expect easy passage in the Assembly, where Democrats hold a super majority.  Similar legislation was approved in the Assembly in 2007.

In the Senate, Democrats have a 32-30 margin. But at least one Democrat, conservative minister Ruben Diaz Sr., is opposed and is helping to organize a demonstration by clergy against gay marriage.

Diaz and a group of Hispanic religious leaders said today they are planning to hold an anti-gay marriage rally outside of Gov. David Paterson's Manhattan office this week.

Yet, after years in which it appeared the proposal would never reach the Senate floor, supporters see movement and opponents see some wavering under intense lobbying from both sides.

"We have a significant amount, but I know it's not 32 (votes)", said Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith. "We're working on that. We're clearly moving in the right direction."

Democratic Sen. Thomas Duane, a leader on the issue for years, said he believed it would pass "by a majority and a few to spare."

"The vast majority of Democrats will vote in favor of it, and several Republicans will vote in favor," said Duane, of Manhattan.

Some Senate Republicans, who were part of the previous majority, which had in unison blocked gay marriage bills, say they are still weighing the arguments.

"The surprising thing is the amount of concern in my district -- it's been considerable," said Sen. Kemp Hannon, a Nassau County Republican.

He said he's not hearing arguments against gays as much as he's hearing support for the "traditional definition of marriage." But he said he won't decide until he sees a detailed bill.

"I'm leaning against," Hannon said. "I'm not inclined to support it."

Sen. James Alesi, a Rochester Republican, wouldn't divulge his position.

"I have not made my position public and will not be making my position public until there is a bill on the floor or until some other time,'' Alesi said in an interview.

"My history starting in the Assembly and going through the Senate has been beyond any doubt that I support broad rights for everybody, including GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people), but in this particular instance I have not made my position public."

Duane said he expects approval in the Senate because some Republicans are ready to vote for it and the first vote will draw several more.

A Siena College poll in April found 53 percent of voters wanted a gay marriage bill. The sentiment was strongest among Democrats, and Democrats are growing in numbers even in traditionally Republican Senate districts.

The Rev. Duane Motley, founder of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, which opposes gay marriage, said defeating the proposal in the Assembly is almost impossible. Although he's concerned about the bill's chances in the Senate, he said Monday he's still confident it will be blocked from the floor or defeated.

"There's always a chance of people jumping ship," Motley said, referring to the intense pressure Republicans face from voters and advocates of same-sex marriage. "The fact is marriage is a basic, fundamental building block of our culture and this would end up crumbling it."

His group says the issue is one of religious freedom. A law would force government clerks, justices of the peace and even religious social services agencies and business operators such as wedding photographers to provide licenses and services to same-sex couples even if it were against their principles.

A group of Hispanic religious leaders plans an anti-gay marriage rally on May 17 outside the Manhattan office of Gov. David Paterson, who said he will sign a gay marriage bill passed by the full Legislature.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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