NYS Senators' Marriage Equality Support Punished

With last week's concession of defeat by State Senator Saland, three of the four Republican State Senators who supported marriage equality will no longer be in the State Senate.

Marriage Equality Victory in NY

In June of this year, the New York State Senate approved the marriage equality law that now governs our state. The Assembly had already passed it, and the Governor signed it immediately.

The State Senate passage was made possible by the support of four Republicans State Senators who joined with all but one of the Democrats in the State Senate "after an intense and emotional campaign aimed at the handful of lawmakers wrestling with a decision that divided their friends, their constituents and sometimes their own homes."

Three of Four Republicans Not Returning to the State Senate

Since the thrill of the June victory, we have had a primary election and a general election. Those elections have not been kind to the Republicans who courageously pushed marriage equality over the finish line in New York State. In the end, the loss of these Republicans strengthened the Democrats and strengthened the support in the New York State Senate for marriage equality.

The New York Times described what has happened to the four Republican State Senators who supported marriage equality:

" . . . when the Legislature returns to Albany next month, only one of those four senators will be among those sworn into office. One, facing the prospect of a tough challenge, decided not to run again; a second was defeated by a more conservative Republican in a primary, and on Thursday, a third conceded defeat after a monthlong paper-ballot counting process in a three-way race in which a more conservative candidate drew so many votes from him that the race was won by a Democrat.       

      

"Activists on both sides of the same-sex marriage issue nationwide had kept a close eye on the fate of the four New York Republicans, whose re-election battles were depicted as a de facto referendum on whether it was electorally safe for Republicans to support same-sex marriage. Gay-rights advocates talked hopefully of being able to persuade Republican legislators in other statehouses that voting for same-sex marriage did not amount to political suicide.        

 

"But, same-sex marriage opponents paid for billboards to denounce the incumbents and predicted that voters would punish the senators for switching their positions. The outcry against the Republicans had an awkward side effect — although conservatives contributed significantly to their fates, two of the three are being replaced by Democrats who support same-sex marriage.

Obama and NAACP Follow NY's Lead

Last week, the NAACP's 64-person Board voted in favor of marriage equality with only two Board members opposed. The previous week featured President Obama proclaiming his support for marriage equality. New York State has been a leader in the movement toward marriage equality, and the support of the NAACP and President Obama is welcomed.

New York State Leads on Marriage Equality

In June 2011, New York State changed its laws to specifically support marriage equality and allow same-sex couples to have all of the protections provided by marriage.

As we stated at that time:

We congratulate Governor Cuomo on leading a disciplined and street smart battle for marriage equality. We congratulate the New York Civil Liberties Union and all of the parts of the successful coalition.

We have noticed that our city's Archbishop was disheartened by the success of the marriage equality coalition, and we re-emphasize that there is no excuse for our city's religious leaders to promote discrimination. The religious community opposed equal rights for non-white residents of our country, opposed women's suffrage, and continues to view its support for discrimination against homosexuals as an important part of its identity.

Until the religious leadership in our city moves away from its focus on finding ways to support and promote discrimination, that leadership will continue to lose these defining battles of our time. If those leaders will begin to oppose discrimination, they will be embraced, and they will improve lives here on earth.

NAACP and President Obama Offer Support

Earlier this month, President Obama endorsed marriage equality, thereby solidifying his place in history as a great President who promoted the progress of freedom and equality. Last week, the NAACP followed the lead of President Obama, who had followed the lead of New York State. Now, the consensus is building for marriage equality. Though 29 states have passed laws banning marriage equality (with four more considering bans in November), the trend is clearly now moving toward equality.

Marriage equality will eventually be the law in every state. For now, New York is one of the states leading the way and welcoming supporters, such as the NAACP and the President of the United States.

Marriage Equality Comes to NY State

Last week, New York became the largest and latest state to embrace marriage for same-sex couples. All New Yorkers should be proud.

Marriage Equality's Economic and Moral Imperative

Denying marriage's legal benefits to those who's life partner is of the same gender as themselves was always morally indefensible. Inheritance rights alone represent a sufficiently powerful benefit to married couples that refusing to allow an entire class of couples to marry has been the practical equivalent of shifting wealth away from the would-be spouses in same-sex couples to other people.

As we stated in 2009:

Legalizing same sex marriage makes us all better. It continues the march to greater personal equality and freedom that our country has undertaken - from slavery to Jim Crow, women's suffrage, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, to today. 

Beyond the moral imperative of marriage equality, New York State and New York City will benefit enormously from the economic opportunity created by embracing marriage equality.

Once again, we addresses this thought in 2009:

City Comptroller Bill Thompson produced a report in 2007 that attempted to estimate the economic impact of legalizing same sex marriage. His analysis suggested that New York State would benefit from approximately $250 million of economic activity over three years simply from the weddings that would take place in the state after the legalization of same sex marriage. He also estimated that $175 million of the $250 million would be economic activity benefiting New York City.

Many couples living in New York City would take advantage of the new law and begin planning weddings, while both New York City and New York State would benefit from out-of-state couples coming to New York for their weddings. New York's hotels and banquet halls would see increased activity. The sooner New York State acts, the greater the benefit, as the lack of equivalent opportunities in neighboring states will increased the economic activity in New York State in the near term. Longer term, we'd expect neighboring states to follow our lead and provide equal rights to their residents irrespective of sexual orientation.

The economic opportunity is likely larger now than (now former) Comptroller Thompson estimated in 2007, and our city and our state both need the economic boost. The decision to end the discrimination against same-sex couples will make us not only happier but also wealthier.

NYPD Attack the Celebrants

Unfortunately, our city's police department chose the time of the celebration of the great victory of marriage equality over discrimination to raid a gay bar.

Mayor Bloomberg lobbied for marriage equality, but the NYPD seems unable to allow the historic celebrations to move forward without interference. The Mayor needs to tell the NYPD that, though he and they agree that people of color should be harassed aggressively in their neighborhoods, the Mayor, as the boss, is not seeking to have homosexual New Yorkers targeted by the NYPD, especially during the celebration of a major legislative victory.

The Proponents and the Opponents

We congratulate Governor Cuomo on leading a disciplined and street smart battle for marriage equality. We congratulate the New York Civil Liberties Union and all of the parts of the successful coalition.

We have noticed that our city's Archbishop was disheartened by the success of the marriage equality coalition, and we re-emphasize that there is no excuse for our city's religious leaders to promote discrimination. The religious community opposed equal rights for non-white residents of our country, opposed women's suffrage, and continues to view its support for discrimination against homosexuals as an important part of its identity.

Until the religious leadership in our city moves away from its focus on finding ways to support and promote discrimination, that leadership will continue to lose these defining battles of our time. If those leaders will begin to oppose discrimination, they will be embraced, and they will improve lives here on earth.

Republican Donors Support Marriage Equality in NYS while Bloomberg is Embarrassed by His Budget

Last week, we learned that major Republican donors were adding their dollars and their voices to the fight for marriage equality in our state, and we learned that Mayor Bloomberg's budget proposal included an embarrassing $1 billion in spending on education consultants while firing 4,100 teachers.

Republican Donors Join the Fight for Marriage Equality

In a pleasant and encouraging development, major Republican donors are funding the efforts to end our state's discrimination against same-sex couples and bring marriage equality to New York State.

A week ago, we highlighted Governor Cuomo's determination to lead a coordinated initiative to bring marriage equality to New York. Having Republican donors as supporters of the initiative is a major step forward, and it may represent the key ingredient of success for marriage equality this year.

In our state, the Senate is controlled by the Republican Party. A marriage equality law will need to receive meaningful Republican support to pass (some Democrats do not support marriage equality, thereby making the support of Republicans even more necessary). Republican donors are likely to have influence over the Republican controlled Senate, and the rest of us should applaud their willingness to jump into this initiative after the failure of the push for marriage equality in 2009.

Mayor Bloomberg and other supporters of Republican elected officials around our state now represent two-thirds of the funding of the initiative driving the push for marriage equality. Without them, the Governor would lack both the resources and the political influence that will likely be necessary to win this fight.

Let us hope that these Republicans remain the right side of this issues, and perhaps we can pray that Bloomberg and the other Republicans will take the satisfaction of fighting for human rights for same sex couples and push New York City to end its law enforcement terrorism against people of color as well as its exclusion of people of color from the Fire Department of New York.

Bloomberg's Embarrassing Education Budget

Mayor Bloomberg's budget includes $1 billion for consultants while eliminating more than 4,000 teachers. Manhattan Borough President and other supporters of public education have criticized the imbalance, and the Bloomberg administration has dismissed the criticism. After the Cathie Black debacle, the Mayor continues to give his opponents ammunition with which to attack him as lacking a commitment to improving the education of children in New York City.

Cuomo Leads Coordinated Push for Marriage Equality

Governor Cuomo has chosen to play a leading role in the fight for marriage equality in New York State, and he has prompted leading advocates for same-sex marriage to adopt unprecedented levels of coordination.

Marriage Equality in NY Would Create Jobs

As we stated in April of 2009, allowing same-sex couples to marry would improve the New York State economy and create jobs.

City Comptroller Bill Thompson produced a report in 2007 that attempted to estimate the economic impact of legalizing same-sex marriage. His analysis suggested that New York State would benefit from approximately $250 million of economic activity over three years simply from the weddings that would take place in the state after the legalization of same sex marriage. He also estimated that $175 million of the $250 million would be economic activity benefiting New York City.

Many couples living in New York City would take advantage of the new law and begin planning weddings, while both New York City and New York State would benefit from out-of-state couples coming to New York for their weddings. New York's hotels and banquet halls would see increased activity. The sooner New York State acts, the greater the benefit, as the lack of equivalent opportunities in neighboring states will increased the economic activity in New York State in the near term. Longer term, we'd expect neighboring states to follow our lead and provide equal rights to their residents irrespective of sexual orientation.

State-Sponsored Discrimination Should End

In that April 2009 posting we also discussed the need to end the discrimination against same-sex couples that is represented by the denial of the right to marry.

There are more than 1,100 federal rights and more than 1,300 New York State rights available to married couples that are not available to couples who are not married. Therefore, the prohibition against marriage for same sex couples in New York State who wish to marry is equivalent to the systematic denial of nearly 2,500 rights to those New Yorkers.

An excellent example of the types of rights that only married couple enjoy is the spousal privilege - a married person cannot be compelled to testify in court about communications with his or her spouse. Without marriage, there is no privilege, and same sex couples who wish to marry are left without this crucial protection.

Beyond the enormous psychological benefits of marriage, we must recognize that there are thousands of important rights that are available only to individuals who are married and that, by preventing some of our fellow New Yorkers from gaining the status of being married, we are participants in a state-sponsored discrimination exercise that attacks our neighbors.

Governor Cuomo Pursues Marriage Equality

Governor Andrew Cuomo has expressed optimism that a law creating marriage equality will pass in the near future, despite the defeat of the 2009 effort.

He also has decided to push advocacy groups to band together to push marriage equality legislation forward. As described by the New York Times:

The most heartening new factor, though, is the active involvement of New York’s Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo. His predecessor, David Paterson, also supported same-sex marriage, but he was too weak and unfocused to get the job done.

With Mr. Cuomo’s encouragement, the state’s most influential gay-rights groups have banded together to form a united front. Working under the guidance of Cuomo aides, their coalition is getting ready to mount an intense and well-financed campaign — including field organizers and a major media blitz — that would focus on about 15 Democratic and Republican lawmakers whose votes are thought to be in play. A seasoned labor and media strategist with close ties to Mr. Cuomo, Jennifer Cunningham, has been tapped to oversee the coalition’s political and media efforts.

Let us hope that Governor Cuomo's efforts result in marriage equality that will both make New York State a leader in human rights and provide New York State with badly needed new jobs.

LeBron Rejects NYC; Stringer Heads to Connecticut

Last week, we learned that LeBron James chose Miami over New York City, and Manhattan's Borough President has been forced to schedule his traditional, heterosexual marriage in Connecticut by his own commitment to human rights and New York State's failure to lead our country's March to marriage equality.

NYC Fails to Attract LeBron

The biggest prize in this year's incredibly rich crop of NBA free agents was LeBron James, and LeBron is headed to the Miami heat to join the other next two biggest prizes of the free agent frenzy in the NBA, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Though New York City is undeniably the greatest city in the world, the most sought after NBA free agent chose Miami. Irrespective of the choice he made, LeBron should be cheered in NYC for the way he showed all of us that a young Black man can take charge of his life and make difficult but sound, unsentimental business decisions with class, intellect, and maturity.

In the end, James, Wade, and Bosh took ownership of their careers at young ages. They set aside their individual desires for the accolades of their adoring fans and embraced the concept of working together to be winners. Even those of us who wish the Knicks could return to the playoffs and compete for a championship should recognize the impressiveness of what these three young men have already accomplished by working with each other to take control of their destiny.

Miami can never be New York City, but the Miami Heat's three superstars deserve our best wishes as they attempt to vindicate their collective decision to take less compensation, share the spotlight, and value winning championships above all of the other goals that often conflict with winning championships and serve to confuse our greatest athletes into mismanaging their athletic careers.

LeBron is Alex Rodriguez before 2009, the biggest star in his sport but a star without a championship - the favorite for each year's MVP Award but someone who has never won a championship or even come particularly close. Rodriguez focused on joining a team that could help him win a championship, he changed defensive positions to let the local hero remain in place, he demonstrated a willingness to take less money, and he played unselfishly. Rodriguez won a couple more MVP Awards before finaly playing in and winning his first World Series after carrying his team throughout the playoffs. Dwyane Wade is Derek Jeter, the local hero who has won a championship with his original team and invites other superstars to join him in winning additional titles. Rodriguez took six years playing next to Jeter before he won a championship, and one should expect that LeBron's patience is much shorter than that of Rodriguez.

LeBron, as a student of the history of the NBA, understands that a single superstar is never a formula for winning a championship.

The Sixers in the 1980's needed Dr. J. AND Moses Malone. The Bulls needed Jordan and Pippen and Horace Grant and Paxson and Rodman. The Lakers needed Kobe and Shaq; then Kobe and Gasol and Artest and . . .

Here in NYC, we will lament our failure to attract LeBron, but we can learn from LeBron's focus on his ultimate goal and his determination not to be derailed. Also, we can see these three young men play together often - against the Knicks and the Nets.

Manhattan Borough President Heads to Connecticut

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is getting married in Connecticut because he doesn't want to get married in New York, a jurisdiction that doesn't permit same sex marriages. At Manhattan Viewpoint, we have warned that New York State's refusal to lead on this key human rights issue could cost us economic opportunities provided by gay and lesbian couples from all over the country who would wish to marry in NYC if they could. But, Scott Stringer's decision highlights another risk. Heterosexual couples who care deeply about the rights of their fellow residents of New York may reject New York as a marriage location in solidarity with those who are excluded.

Let us appreciate our Borough President for his empathy and his commitment to his beliefs. Let us also demand that New York State change directions and begin to treat all of its citizens equally with regard to marriage.

Albany Chaos With No End In Sight

The latest insanity in Albany started on Tuesday of last week with defections in the State Senate, and though one of the two defectors has recinded his defection, and though a judicial pronouncement is due out today, the Albany chaos is at its beginning rather than at its ending.

Unpleasant Surprise

On Tuesday of last week, two of the State Senate's Democratic members sided with the Republican Party to attempt to elect new leadership in the State Senate. Because the Democrats held a slim 30-32 vote majority, the maneuver created a 32-30 majority for the Republicans and threw Albany into Chaos. The two Democrats making the switch were already in serious legal trouble. One of them, Pedro Espada, Jr., is under investigation by the New York State Attorney General's office for misuse of State funds, and the other, Hiram Monserrate has been indicted for attacking his female companion. Any Senator that is convicted of a felony is immediately removed from office. Therefore, while Monserrate reversed his defection today, Espada's might be reversed by a jury in the coming months if it is not reversed in some other way.

Another Billionaire Anoints Himself Leader

In New York City, our Mayor is a multi-billionaire who felt that the two consecutive term maximum in the New York City Charter was too restrictive. He had it changed to allow him to serve a third term by enlisting the help of another billionaire, the same billionaire who initially promoted the term limits that the Mayor overturned. It seemed that the Mayor of New York City believed that any time two billionaires agree on a public policy issue, the absence of a billionaire in opposition to them demonstrated the correctness of their approach while also converting any principled opposition into "disgrace[ful]" attacks.

In the latest Albany nightmare, yet another billionaire, Tom Golisano, led the process to initiate the chaos because he felt slighted and angry after the Democrats voted to raise taxes in the highest earners in New York State. He met in secret with the Republicans and personally wooed the two defecting Democrats into the Republican fold.

Unclear Outcome

Unfortunately for the Republicans, their coup had an instant misfire. Monserrate refused to support his own coup the day after he initiated it. His change of heart intensified the sense that Albany is adrift and potentially unsalvageable in the near term.

Monserrate went so far as to pledge last week to vote "no" on all legislation until he could more Democrats switch to the Republican camp. Such an approach would have ensured that nothing could pass the New York State Senate and would ensure that Democrats and Republicans would have nothing to show for this session. His decision to return to the Democrats has a similar effect. It leaves the New York State Senate deadlocked at 31-31 with no mechanism to break the tie (because of the lack of a Lt. Governor in New York State after Governor Spitzer's resignation and the elevation of Lt. Governor Paterson to the office of Governor - New York State has no system for filling the vacant Lt. Governor position).

Unimportant Showdown

The Democrats have asked the New York State judiciary to declare the Republican takeover of the New York State Senate illegal. While we eagerly await the decision of the judiciary branch today (a decision almost certain to be appealed until it ends up in the New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals), we find it very difficult to see that such a declaration would have any practical impact.

Espada is not going to support the Democrats, one cannot imagine a justice declaring that State Senators must support a particular leadership team or political party. Ultimately, even if the judicial branch declares that the Republican takeover was invalid, the practical effect of having more Senators supporting the Republicans than the Democrats will be the same as if the coup were validated by the judicial branch. If remain deadlocked, no one will be in charge, and chaos will remain the order of the day.

The only questions that matter revolve around how Senators will vote in committees and on legislation that reaches the Senate floor. For now, we have many questions and no answers.

Unending Frustration

With so much riding on this session, including the potential legalization of same-sex marriage, the frustration of the latest chaos is greater than what accompanies the typical Albany foolishness. The Democrats worked for 70 years to gain control of the New York State Senate for long enough to make real changes in public policy as well as in the institution of the State Senate itself. Now, after less than six months in power, it seems that the 70 years of Republican control (with one brief interruption in 1965) continue endlessly into the future. If the Democratic control of the State Senate proves to have been a mirage (or even a fantasy), the people of the State of New York will not have the leadership in place that is needed to help pull New York through the global economic slowdown or prepare New York for the brighter national and global economic times that are certain to arrive sooner or later. Without Democratic control, we might never allow all New Yorkers to have the right to marry. We might miss out on a great future that we were supposed to have as a progressive State in the era of progressive politics that has emerged in Washington DC. We might have to wait another 70 years for the chance to fix our problems and get our public sector leadership moving coherently and enthusiastically toward better lives for the people of New York State.

Same Sex Marriage Would Improve the NYC Economy

Last week, Governor Paterson proposed that the New York State Legislature adopt legislation legalizing same sex marriage. We note that legalizing same sex marriage will improve New York City's economy while living up to our moral obligation to end the discrimination in our state and in our city against homosexual residents and the outcome of that fight will be determined in the New York State Senate. This fight for liberty and equality will be decided in the New York State Senate, and the outcome is completely uncertain.

State Senate at the Crossroads

The legislation proposed by Governor Paterson passed the New York State Assembly by a wide margin in 2007, but it failed to get to the floor of the New York State Senate. Since then, the Democrats have taken over the New York State Senate by a very thin majority, making adoption of the legislation more likely but uncertain.

It is rare in the New York State legislature for a vote to be taken in either chamber on a piece of legislation that the leadership of that chamber is not certain will obtain a majority vote. With this piece of legislation, the vote will be too close to call right up to the moments before the vote.

Economic Growth and Same Sex Marriage

City Comptroller Bill Thompson produced a report in 2007 that attempted to estimate the economic impact of legalizing same sex marriage. His analysis suggested that New York State would benefit from approximately $250 million of economic activity over three years simply from the weddings that would take place in the state after the legalization of same sex marriage. He also estimated that $175 million of the $250 million would be economic activity benefiting New York City.

Many couples living in New York City would take advantage of the new law and begin planning weddings, while both New York City and New York State would benefit from out-of-state couples coming to New York for their weddings. New York's hotels and banquet halls would see increased activity. The sooner New York State acts, the greater the benefit, as the lack of equivalent opportunities in neighboring states will increased the economic activity in New York State in the near term. Longer term, we'd expect neighboring states to follow our lead and provide equal rights to their residents irrespective of sexual orientation

Benefits of Marriage to New Yorkers

There are more than 1,100 federal rights and more than 1,300 New York State rights available to married couples that are not available to couples who are not married. Therefore, the prohibition against marriage for same sex couples in New York State who wish to marry is equivalent to the systematic denial of nearly 2,500 rights to those New Yorkers.

An excellent example of the types of rights that only married couple enjoy is the spousal privilege - a married person cannot be compelled to testify in court about communications with his or her spouse. Without marriage, there is no privilege, and same sex couples who wish to marry are left without this crucial protection.

Beyond the enormous psychological benefits of marriage, we must recognize that there are thousands of important rights that are available only to individuals who are married and that, by preventing some of our fellow New Yorkers from gaining the status of being married, we are participants in a state-sponsored discrimination exercise that attacks our neighbors.

Being a Better New York

Legalizing same sex marriage makes us all better. It continues the march to greater personal equality and freedom that our country has undertaken - from slavery to Jim Crow, women's suffrage, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, to today. It adds hundreds of millions of dollars to our economy and vindicates our self-image as a land of equal opportunity.

We urge the New York State Senate to support Governor Paterson in this historic battle.