Will same-sex marriage in New York fail, again?
Despite a coordinated campaign from Governor Cuomo, Senator Gillibrand, Mayor Bloomberg, and LGBT organizations, despite the fact that a majority of New Yorkers want same-sex marriage in the state, a new Senate vote count makes the possibility of marriage equality for same-sex couples in New York look like a mirage. New Yorkers supporting same-sex marriage need 32 votes — a majority of the 62 state Senators — to say, “I do,” but according to local news channel NY1, only 26 are confirmed as “yes,” and 28 are confirmed as “no.” Of the remaining eight undecided Senate votes, seven voted “no” in 2009.
READ: New York Same-Sex Marriage: Here’s How Your Senator Will Vote
And, yes, it gets worse. Of the eight undecided, five are Republicans, and three are Democrats. One of the Democrats is Senator Carl Kruger, who was recently indicted on million-dollar federal bribery charges, along with the man whom many believe is his same-sex partner. Kruger voted “no” in 2009 and has been the subject of much scorn from the LGBT community.
The five other undecided senators are three Democrats — Senators Shirley Huntley, Joe Addabbo and Carl Kruger — and two Republicans, Senators Stephen Saland and Kemp Hannon. “Among those on the fence is Republican Senator Jim Alesi, who says he has made up his mind, but refuses to say how he will vote,” reports NY1. “We haven’t seen a bill. I think I know the concept of the bill pretty well. I have explained before I am not going to declare how my vote will come out this year,” Alesi said last week.”
Some, like Senator Ball, are claiming the religious protections portion of the bill are not strong enough.
In 2009, activist singled out Addabo and Kruger as toping the list of anti-gay Senators. We are hopeful they have given a great deal of thought to how the majority of all New Yorkers want them to vote.
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