Jun 22, 2007  |  By: Trenton Straube  | COMMENTS     

The New York State Assembly on Tuesday night passed Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s same-sex marriage equality bill. The dramatic floor debate included tears, testimonials and, appropriately, a marriage proposal. The final vote was 85-61.

“I was more than pleased with that number, it was beyond what we expected,” said Assembly member Daniel O’Donnell, the bill’s sponsor in that chamber.

“There were a number of people who voted ‘yes’ as a result of the floor debate,” O’Donnell said. “One of the reasons for the anxiety in the last week was that we were at the very margins of what the vote could be — 75 — and we were counting on three to four Republican votes to make it happen. That’s the edge of what you need to put a bill on the floor.”

Democrats hold a 108 to 42 majority in the Assembly. That the first-ever floor vote on the bill could be so close is a testament to the controversy remaining around the subject. Indeed, in the Republican-controlled Senate, Majority Leader Joe Bruno had pledged he would not bring the bill for a vote this session, which ended Thursday, regardless of the Assembly vote.

It was in July 2006 that the state Court of Appeals ruled against marriage equality, sending the issue to legislators. Spitzer took up the challenge in April when he introduced his marriage bill. Gay Sen. Thomas Duane is championing a marriage bill in that chamber.

During the Assembly debate, the political was often personal. O’Donnell, as he has done many times, spoke of his relationship with partner John Banta, who was present. And Republican Theresa Sayward, who represents North County, a conservative district upstate, recounted her personal experiences as a mother of a gay child. “My son didn’t want to be different. Lord knows he wanted to change,” Sayward said on the floor. “It is not a life choice. My God loves my son. And as sure as I’m standing here tonight, this is certainly not for me, or should it be for any of us, anything other than a civil rights issue.”

Matthew Titone (D-Staten Island), who is gay, was the last Assembly member to speak during the debate. Before announcing his vote, he stood holding up his cell phone. “I have my partner here on the phone,” Titone said, “and he just asked me to marry him, and my answer, Madam Speaker, is yes.”

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver had remained enigmatic regarding his stance on the issue until Tuesday night. He voted yes, but only after the requisite number of yes votes had been tallied to pass the bill, a move that O’Donnell said is not unusual.

Aside from working to win votes in the Senate, O’Donnell said, upcoming strategies for marriage equality must include protecting those Assembly members who supported the bill. “If one of them loses their seat, the perception will be politically that they lost their seat because of that vote,” O’Donnell said. “We cannot let that happen. With 85 votes we have a small margin of error.” He suggested making donations to or thanking those who backed the bill, adding that the perception in Albany was that the gay community did not reward its supporters. 

O’Donnell said he often reiterates to his colleagues the fact that no lawmakers in California or Massachusetts have lost seats because they supported gay marriage.

Yet the fear remains. “Everbody who voted yes and is not on the island of Manhattan thinks this vote puts them at peril,” said O’Donnell.