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JOSHUA LYNSEN
Friday, April 27, 2007
Making good on a campaign pledge, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) has indicated he will soon introduce a bill to legalize gay marriage in the Empire State.
Spitzer’s plans, revealed this week, won praise from the state’s gay rights organizations.
“When he introduces the bill, it will be a historic moment,” said Joe Tarver, spokesperson for Empire State Pride Agenda.
“Spitzer is the first governor — or he will be the first governor — in the nation to introduce marriage equality legislation. That’s significant in itself, but it will also be important for him to put the weight of his office behind its passage once the bill comes out. And we will be looking for him to do that, as we will do our part, and have constituents put pressure on their elected officials to support the bill.”
New York offers neither domestic partnerships nor civil unions. State law guarantees hospital visitation to gay couples plus a handful of other rights.
Legislation to enact gay marriage has never reached the floor of either state chamber for a vote.
“Introducing the bill is a good, crucial, exciting first step,” said Evan Wolfson, executive director of the gay marriage advocacy group Freedom to Marry.
“But New York advocates, gay and non-gay, as well as the governor and legislators, have to really focus now on getting this bill through first the Assembly, then the Senate and to the governor’s desk. And that’s going to take a lot of work and even more leadership.”
Wolfson and Tarver agreed Spitzer’s proposal was unlikely to pass the legislature this year.
But Marty Rouse, the Human Rights Campaign’s national field director, said that although the bill “might not have the best chance of passing today,” New York activists are “much closer today to realizing marriage equality” than ever before.
“Our community must stay active and engaged in this issue and educate their family, friends and neighbors,” he said, “and be smart and strategic about how this bill will become reality.”
A key component of that strategy, Tarver said, is pushing New York legislators to follow Spitzer’s lead.
“When the governor puts his bill out, it’s going to provide significant momentum to making the bill law in New York state,” he said. “And when we take 1,000 people to Albany next Tuesday for our annual lobby day, that will also provide momentum, because members of our community are going to sit down, look at their legislators in the face and ask them to act and provide us with the equality that comes with being able to get married.”
New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D) has not indicated whether he supports same-sex marriage; Assembly Majority Leader Ronald Canestrari (D) opposes it.
Wolfson said he nonetheless remains hopeful the Assembly will vote on the measure this year.
“It is now incumbent upon the Democratic leaders of the Assembly to pass this bill, to create a benchmark for holding the Senate accountable,” he said. “And that benchmark will be useful in assessing which candidates to support and which legislators needs to be replaced.
“But if everyone does their part, we should be able to have marriage in New York within three years or less.”
Celebrating victories
The developments in New York came as activists in other states were celebrating legislative victories.
Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) signed a domestic partnership bill on April 21 that gives gay couples some of the rights associated with marriage.
“Never before has a governor of Washington signed a measure that acknowledges the legitimacy of our LGBT families as families,” said Barbara Green, interim director of Equal Rights Washington.
Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, activists welcomed an April 19 pledge from Gov. John Lynch (D) to sign legislation authorizing civil unions. His signature would make New Hampshire the fourth state after Connecticut, New Jersey and Vermont to adopt civil unions for gay couples.
Rouse said the New Hampshire measure, which at Blade deadline was poised for Senate approval, is notable for its broader implications.
“It sends a strong message to all of New England,” he said, “and it resonates nationally, because it’s a presidential primary state.”
Activists said the developments in New Hampshire, New York and Washington illustrate how lawmakers across the nation are showing a new willingness to recognize gay relationships.
Wolfson said that “after a challenging last year, the country is taking a fresh look at the question and we have momentum.”
Legislators in California, Connecticut, Illinois and Oregon also are weighing bills that would enact marriage equality or civil unions.
California lawmakers voted 6-3 in committee earlier this month to back a bill that would give gay couples the same rights that marriage provides. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has vowed to veto the measure.
In Connecticut, lawmakers voted 27-15 on April 12 to pass a marriage equality measure out of committee. Future prospects for the bill, however, are unclear. Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R) has said marriage should remain the exclusive union of one man and one woman.
Meanwhile, proposals under consideration in Illinois and Oregon would enact civil unions.
Illinois lawmakers gave the measure initial approval last month, but have yet to revisit the bill. Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) has voiced his support for a measure that cleared the state House last week.
“We don’t move ahead by leaving others behind,” he said. “We only move ahead by affirming we really are one Oregon with one common destiny.”
Wolfson said this year’s “record number” of gay union bills have invigorated those who feared the movement stumbled last year.
“And as always when there’s a stumble or a challenge, voices were heard saying, ‘We should turn back, we should give up, we should go slow, we should focus on other priorities, we should call it something else,’” he said. “But it’s clear as 2007 is unfolding that despite bumps in the road, we are on the path to ending marriage discrimination.”
‘Behind the times’
But not all state legislatures have reacted favorably to bills seeking to recognize gay relationships.
Efforts to pass a domestic partnership bill in New Mexico died when state senators adjourned before considering a measure that passed the House. Legislators dealt gay Hawaiians a similar setback when a civil unions bill died in committee.
“Americans are really fair minded,” Rouse said. “The problem — the significant problem — is that our elected officials are behind the times, not just on our issues, but on a lot of issues.”
And in Massachusetts, legislators must soon decide whether marriage should be limited to straight couples.
The proposed constitutional amendment passed Jan. 2, the final day of the 2005-06 session. The amendment still has to survive another legislative vote in the new session to become a ballot referendum.
“They have 57 people on record saying they will vote for the amendment,” Rouse said. “So we need eight people to change their votes or not show up.”
Rouse said Massachusetts activists seeking to derail the amendment face an uphill battle in advance of its June vote at the legislature.
“I think it’s going to be extremely difficult to win over eight more,” he said. “However, Massachusetts has pulled off miracles before and I expect they will do so again, but it’s all hands on deck.”
If passed by legislators and ratified by voters, the amendment would take away the right of gay couples to marry after Jan. 1, 2009.
“Every day that goes by, we are winning another heart, another mind,” Rouse said, “and hopefully another vote for marriage equality in Massachusetts — and hopefully all across our country.”
Joshua Lynsen can be reached at
jlynsen@washblade.com.
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