marriage equality in NY State

[rm]

As I've mentioned before, even earlier today, marriage equality stuff in NY State is weird.

Due to unrelated political drama in the state capital, the issue has largely been side-lined, along with the rest of the legislative agenda for a while now. And, since NY State recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, there's been a certain lack of urgency on the subject.

Our assembly as passed a bill for marriage equality three times. But our state senate is notoriously conservative and this has largely been a fight no one wanted to have or thought we could win.

Well, the fight is happening right now. And no one knows what the outcome will be (very weird for a state body that hashes everything out in private before anything happens in public, often leaving public debates meaningless on done deals).

But it seems the discourse on the bill is remarkable in and of itself.

ETA: voting is happening now, after a long, rambling and pretty weird speech from Senator Duane, a gay man who has been at the front of this fight for a while.

ETA2: watching the vote now. It looks like we're going to lose.

ETA3: "The bill is lost."

ETA4: and now there will be nattering about "momentum" from the bigots; cowards one and all.

Comments

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Here's to hoping that Albany will make the right decision despite being the poster children for disfunctionality.

[drfardook.livejournal.com]

My GOP pigfucker of a senator voted no. Well, I changed my registration to Dem from Green already, time to start donating to his next opponent.

One of the positive signs of the debate were the African-American senators (including my former senator, Adams) tying this so tightly to civil rights and being the most eloquent speakers in favor of equality even when their districts are deeply divided.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

ETA3: "The bill is lost."

So what's going to happen now?

[rm.livejournal.com]

There has to be another bill, in another session. Which the assembly will approve again, and that will have to actually come up for a vote in the state Senate. All of this is hampered by the clusterfuck that is our state legislature again (it's so confusing, I barely understand it). Another vote won't happen before fall 2010 at the earliest.

[marcmagus]

Someone pointed out that there's an election between now and then, votes are on record, and we can hope [and attempt to influence that] the batch of senators next time around will be better? I'm not nearly sufficiently up on NY politics to know how likely that is.

[rm.livejournal.com]

It's very hard to vote people out around here because of the way the districts have been zoned. But targeting the 8 democratic no votes makes the most sense, although it is unlikely to be effective.

[matthewwdaly.livejournal.com]

You can definitely send some money to whoever is going to run against Jim Alesi up here in Rochester. He's been nearly run out for the past two elections, and I'm actually surprised that he sided with the reactionaries today because he had to know that that homophobia isn't a crowd-pleaser in his district.

Still, I say that any day you can find out who your friends are is a good day. I knew that we didn't really have the votes, but I didn't know precisely who we had to replace to get the votes next time. Now we have that roadmap.

The list of people to target:

[newsbean.livejournal.com]

Addabbo (D) - NO
Aubertine (D) - NO
Diaz (D) - NO
Huntley (D) - NO
C. Kruger (D) - NO
Monserrate (D) - NO
Onorato (D) - NO
Stachowski (D) - NO

Re: The list of people to target:

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Monserrate (D) - NO

I should be surprised - he's a NYC rep - but considering the recent news I've heard of him, I'm not. Alas.

Re: The list of people to target:

[maryling.livejournal.com]

If you followed the brouhaha from early this summer, it's clear the man has no shame and no morals.

Re: The list of people to target:

[marcmagus]

Thanks! http://www.nysenate.gov/senators turns out to have astonishingly useful information, so now I have a clue where these people are:

Addabbo (D) - District 15 - Queens near the Brooklyn border
Aubertine (D) - District 48 - Oswego, Jefferson, St. Lawrence
Diaz (D) - District 32 - Bronx
Huntley (D) - District 10 - Southern Queens
C. Kruger (D) - District 27 - S. Brooklyn
Monserrate (D) - District 13 - Queens
Onorato (D) - District 12 - Queens near Manhattan
Stachowski (D) - District 58 - Buffalo

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

I used to think that if there was a place I'd ever live in the States NYC would be it.

That was before I realised NYC was very different from NYS.

*sigh* I hope you guys manage to find some sense in your elected officials next time.

[drfardook.livejournal.com]

Our deeply unpopular governor was itching to sign the bill but he's going to be up for election in 2010. Chances are Patterson will get slaughtered if he tries to run as fair or unfair, the albatross of the NY state economy has been hung around his neck.

We may not get another governor who's as strongly in favor of gay marriage by the time it comes up for another vote. Due to extensive gerrymandering legislative seats don't turn over very quickly so its going to be difficult to vote the bastards out of office. Even massive public shame won't make people resign in NY state politics.

At this point letting the air out of their tires, making fun of their hair, and kicking them in the shins are the most viable options.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Did you hear the way the "no" votes all mumbled?

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

At this point letting the air out of their tires, making fun of their hair, and kicking them in the shins are the most viable options.

Hey, you gotta find hope where you can get. Making fun of elected officials is definitly one of the upsides of living in a democratic republic (that isn't totalitarian).

[manycolored.livejournal.com]

*sob*

[maryling.livejournal.com]

I live in the district of probably the only Long Island senator to vote yes. (Currently unable to check the vote.) Heartbroken that so many people just don't get it.

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen the tallies, but I'm almost positive that my own LI senator votes no. (I'd love to be proven wrong)

[maryling.livejournal.com]

Roll posted below: http://rm.livejournal.com/1762306.html?thread=17084674#t17084674

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Marcellino doesn't really surprise me. Sadly.

[newsbean.livejournal.com]

* Eric Adams (D) — YES “This is about love.”
* Joseph Addabbo (D) — NO
* James Alesi (R) — NO
* Darrel Aubertine (D) — NO
* John Bonacic (R) — NO
* Neil Breslin (D) — YES
* John DeFrancisco (R) — NO
* Ruben Diaz (D) — NO “Sen. Smith, it is better to keep your word.”
* Martin Malave Dilan (D) — YES
* Tom Duane (D) — YES
* Pedro Espada (D) — YES
* Hugh Farley (R) — NO
* John Flanagan (R) — NO
* Brian Foley (D) — YES
* Charles Fuschillo, Jr. (R) — NO
* Martin Golden (R) — NO
* Joseph Griffo (R) — NO
* Kemp Hannon (R) — NO
* Ruth Hassell-Thompson (D) — YES
* Shirley Huntley (D) — NO
* Craig Johnson (D) — YES
* Owen Johnson (R) — NO
* Jeffrey Klein (D) — YES
* Liz Krueger (D) — YES
* Carl Kruger (D) — NO
* Andrew Lanza (R) — NO
* Bill Larkin (R) — NO
* Kenneth LaValle (R) — NO
* Vincent Leibell (R) — NO
* Tom Libous (R) — NO
* Elizabeth Little (R) — NO
* Carl Marcellino (R) — NO
* George Maziarz (R) — NO
* Roy McDonald (R) — NO
* Hiram Monserrate (D) — NO
* Velmanette Montgomery (D) — YES
* Thomas Morahan (R) — NO
* Michael Nozzolio (R) — NO
* George Onorato (D) — NO
* Suzi Oppenheimer (D) — YES
* Frank Padavan (R) — NO
* Kevin Parker (D) — YES
* Bill Perkins (D) — YES
* Michael Ranzenhofer (R) — NO
* Joseph Robach (R) — NO
* Stephen Saland (R) — NO
* John Sampson (D) — YES
* Diane Savino (D) — YES
* Eric Schneiderman (D) — YES
* Jose Serrano (D) — YES
* James Seward (R) — NO
* Dean Skelos (R) — NO
* Malcolm Smith (D) — YES
* Daniel Squadron (D) — YES
* William Stachowski (D) — NO
* Toby Ann Stavisky (D) — YES
* Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D) — YES
* Antoine Thompson (D) — YES
* David Valesky (D) — YES
* Dale Volker (R) — NO
* George Winner (R) — NO
* Catherine Young (R) — NO

[dulcinbradbury.livejournal.com]

Fuck you, Senator McDonald. May you be caught with a prostitute two weeks before your next election comes up.

[manycolored.livejournal.com]

Indeed. Or caught with his boyfriend. That would be nice.

[maryling.livejournal.com]

My senator's Craig Johnson, God bless him. And my apologies to Senator Foley, the one other senator on the Island to vote yes.

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

Fuuuuuck! Oh, New York. Only state in the nation with a legislature more disfunctional than Texas's.

[drfardook.livejournal.com]

Don't forget Illinois.

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

I try to, all the time.

[darkrosetiger.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't know. California would give any state government a run for their money in the dysfunctionality sweepstates.

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

True, but I tend to cut them some slack, as they're saddled with all those props (not the good kind), thanks to direct democracy.

[newsbean.livejournal.com]

Contact info for the 8 dems who killed this: http://newsbean.livejournal.com/314628.html

[abnormal-apathy.livejournal.com]

This surprises me as much as the whole California thing. How is it that there are more conservative people in NY than there are in Iowa?

[delchi.livejournal.com]

I'm not cionvinced that it's people. I think it's politicians who are voting for their personal political future and not the will of the people.

Maybe I'm wrong, but ...

[rm.livejournal.com]

A lot of them cited this. The track record of anyone losing a NY state-level election on a single issue (and by issue, I mean a political stance and not a scandal): it's never happened. They're liars.

[delchi.livejournal.com]

Confused.

Are you saying that the politicians are claiming to be voting as they are to save their own skins, but that's not the case?

[rm.livejournal.com]

That's correct. Disagreeing with their constituents on this issue is very unlikely to make them loose their seats because of the way the state is gerrymandered. Some of these people have been in office for two decades now.

They are either misinformed, or shielding themselves from the more aggressive criticism they would receive if they just admitted they think gay people are immoral/sinners/inhuman.

[delchi.livejournal.com]

Then I wonder what the will of the people happens to be.

Is there a way for the constituents to show that their will is not being reporesented, and have change brought down?

[matthewwdaly.livejournal.com]

Not really. If anything, it's a big surprise that there was an actual vote today, because a lot of Senators wanted to not have to take a stand.

I hate to be pessimistic, but the fact is that the New York State Legislature couldn't pass a joint resolution to evacuate the state house if it were on fire, and I don't think that anything short of rewriting the state Constitution from scratch would fix that. If we're lucky, then someday the state courts will get fed up with the legislative morass and declare that establishing justice IS damned well within their bounds unlike the last time when they foolishly thought that tossing the ball to the Legislature would generate a remedy that everyone could believe in.

[maryling.livejournal.com]

the fact is that the New York State Legislature couldn't pass a joint resolution to evacuate the state house if it were on fire

Oh dear God, yes. This. After the leadership debacle from this summer, I've lost ALL faith in the state senate (other than my own senator, who's remarkably sane).

[dulcinbradbury.livejournal.com]

Your line break on that quote landed "the fact is that the New York State Legislature couldn't pass a joint"

... and I thought "Yah, they'd probably even fight like hell while stoned."

[drfardook.livejournal.com]

Iowa was a judicial decision wasn't it?

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yes.

[dulcinbradbury.livejournal.com]

Simply... it's been forty years since the Dems were in office during a census year. We're about 60% Dem, but, 50% Rep in the Senate due to years and years or gerrymandering.

[count-to-seven.livejournal.com]

I heard about this on NPR while driving home and thought of you.

I'm still smarting over various comments/rants I've seen recently in which people have stated their less than sympathetic view towards m/f couples being denied their right to a civil partnership. If I hear one more person tell me "...but you HAVE the right to get married, it's not the same!", I might just haul off an punch someone actually post something serious on my journal.

Is it wrong that I see the sudden continual legislative attempts, defeated though they may currently be, as a positive sign?

[arielstarshadow.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine how I missed adding you as a friend in the past, but I've rectified that!

I was disappointed in the vote. I just - well, I just don't get humanity, I never have (no wonder I become more and more convinced I must somehow be another species).