Then, numerous pro-gay marriage groups worked independently. Cohen, to oversee his administration’s efforts on the issue.Ĭuomo has also led a new strategy among gay marriage groups and advocates, than the failed efforts in 2009. “This is about the lives of people who I have known for many years, who currently are without the rights to which they are entitled.”Īs a sign of his support now that he’s elected, Cuomo has appointed his most senior aide, Steven M. “To me this is more than just a piece of legislation,” he told gay marriage advocates in April. “I feel more encouraged with him being in office,” she said.įor his part, Cuomo stresses his support of gay-marriage.
“The previous governor was pro gay marriage, but wasn’t as vocal as Cuomo is,” said Brenda Wrigley, a board member of Syracuse-based gay advocacy group, CNY Pride, and a public relations professor at Syracuse University. For their higher hopes now, they give some of the credit to newly elected Gov. The loss in 2009 stunned gay-marriage supporters. Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Long Island, opposes a gay-marriage bill but has publicly announced that he would allow for another vote on the measure. In the Senate, the bill needs 32 votes to pass.
In the Assembly, another Manhattan Democrat - Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell - is also expected to again sponsor a bill but has not publicly confirmed he will do so. He has not publicly declared he’ll make a third try but gay-marriage advocates expect him to. Thomas Duane, D-Manhattan, has introduced the measure. This year, the legislature has until the session ends in June to make another try at passing legislation. But in the Senate, all Republican senators and eight Democrats voted down the bill 38-24. David Paterson, the same gay-marriage bill again passed the Assembly by an even wider margin, 89-52. But the measure died in the Senate without getting to the floor for a vote. Eliot Spitzer, the Assembly passed a gay-marriage bill on a vote of 85-61. Gay-marriage legislation has died twice before in the New York legislature, even with the support of two Democratic governors. “Advocates,” McGuire said, “have to whip up the air of inevitability in hopes of wooing additional votes.” He heads a Christian group devoted to informing voters on elected officials’ issues. McGuire, the president of the New Yorker’s Family Research Foundation, said in an email interview.
“You see so many new stories spinning momentum for ‘gay marriage’ in 2011,” the Rev. Gay-marriage advocates are taking hope for a new gay-marriage bill from a new governor, new coalitions, new strategies and new public attitudes.īut opponents suggest the advocates are misreading the political landscape.