N.Y. Senate Votes Down Gay Marriage

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Social Issues

(AP)

New York's Senate today easily voted down a bill to legalize gay marriage in the state.

There were twenty-four votes in favor of the bill, named the Marriage Equality Act, and 38 votes against it. Thirty-two votes were needed for passage. The New York State Assembly had already passed the legislation.

The measure needed Republican support because while there are 32 Democrats in the State Senate, some in that party opposed the bill. Among them were Queens Senator Hiram Monserrate and Bronx Senator Ruben Diaz Sr., New York 1 reports. No Republicans backed the bill.

As the Associated Press notes, "the Senate decision Wednesday comes after months of delays and arm twisting of lawmakers sympathetic to the bill but representing conservative districts."

New York Gov. David Paterson, a Democrat facing a difficult election campaign in 2010, strongly backed the bill. A Marist College poll released Wednesday showed 51 percent of those who live in New York state support same-sex marriage, while 42 percent oppose it.

New York also does not allow civil unions, though it does afford gay couples some of the rights granted married couples.

Gay marriage is legal in four states: Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts and Vermont. It will become legal in New Hampshire next year, and the District of Columbia city council recently voted to legalize it there.

Last month in Maine, voters struck down a law legalizing gay marriage before it could take effect.

The AP notes that after the vote, gay rights backers chanted, "Equal rights now!"

Eighteen of the lawmakers who supported the legislation spoke in its favor, but only one who opposed the bill spoke in defense of that position.

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
Follow on Twitter »

112 Comments Have Your Say
Email Story Send to a Friend
Share This Tell Your Friends
Tweet This Tweet This
More Share It

Add a Comment

See all 112 Comments

by drbob10001 December 3, 2009 3:06 AM EST

Gay marriage proponents have done a great disservice to those of us who fought long and hard for equal rights under the law for Gay and Lesbian couples. While lobbyist groups filled their coffers and paid for their ridiculous salaries and fancy office buildings in DC, we got stuck with a clearly unpopular and premature movement that has now left us high and dry. Forget bugging Congress and certainly leave President Obama out of this. In fact our President has done more to protect us and give us equal rights than any US President in history. Besides, President Obama has had the best idea all along. Let heterosexual couples have marriage for now, but let's get full federal rights for civil unions under his administration. The sooner the LGBT rights movement realizes that President Obama is a valuable ally and friend in the White House, and treat him with respect, the sooner we will attain our rights. Meanwhile let's put the whole Gay Marriage fetish in the back closet where in belongs.

Reply to this comment


by slownewsday-5 December 3, 2009 9:16 AM EST: "Meanwhile let's put the whole Gay Marriage fetish in the back closet where in belongs."

It's no "fetish". It's equal rights.


by newsterl December 3, 2009 1:48 AM EST: "Your posts show you to be intolerant of Christians..and y"

They dont deserve tolerance, not with their long sordid and bloody history. Just watch 500 nations and learn about yet another sordid chapter of subversion, death, forced conversions and murder by christians foisting themselves on native American tribes, it's totally disgusting and THEY want tolerance now? screw that crap!!; Reply to this comment

by justdatrooth December 3, 2009 12:41 AM EST

It will be interesting to see if the gehey community respects the wishes of NYs citizens and the rule of law. past experience would suggest that they have no respexct whatsoever for anything but their own narrow aims and opinions.

The proper way to resolve this whole issue is to have a national binding referendum that will irrevocably set policy for the next 50 years or so. Let the people decide, then ****.

Reply to this comment


by nextgenman09 December 3, 2009 4:24 AM EST: That's because they took a page from the Conservitarded Freakvangeical playbook.


by lilijett December 4, 2009 3:58 PM EST: No, because people are ignorant. If the people decided, African Americans would still be riding in the back of the bus.


by slownewsday-5 December 3, 2009 12:30 AM EST: by newyorkmom
slownews.. i would argue that your position provides the threat to this country...if the country followed Christian principles instead of the anything goes crowd..we might have a chance. Your posts show you to be intolerant of Christians..and you think highly of yourself to say someone else is not Christ-like."

Who says what Christian principles actually ARE? If everyone agrees on them, why are there so many sects of it??

Every congregation gets a different interpretation of the words. You have a different interpretation than the person sitting next to you, much less in another church.

The point is that you say "Christian values" like it means anything concrete. It doesn't. Loosely-constructed sets of ideals like that can be too easily manipulated and corrupted.

.; Reply to this comment

by newyorkmom December 3, 2009 12:27 AM EST

off to bed...enjoyed the debate with all of you

Reply to this comment


by slownewsday-5 December 3, 2009 12:33 AM EST: I enjoyed it as well! Good night, newyorkmom.


by caeric December 3, 2009 12:39 AM EST: Time for bed for me as well. Actually, past time. Hope you all sleep well.

by newyorkmom December 3, 2009 12:25 AM EST

when I see gay parades on TV with people dancing naked in the streets wearing S/M attire..is this the true and pure expression of love that you refer to? Children are often exposed to this...is that pure and true? What is pure and true about two bodies that were not designed to have sex with each other doing just that. It is a perversion of the truth. You have been deceived.

Reply to this comment


by caeric December 3, 2009 12:39 AM EST: People are people. Should I look at every awful and morally reprehensible heterosexual and and assume that they represent every heterosexual? You are using a double standard, and it is not good or right that you do so.

There is an interesting DVD by John Corvino called "What's Morally Wrong with Homosexuality". He provides answers to some of your misconceptions.


by caeric December 3, 2009 12:43 AM EST: Just before I go, one more thing here. Do you also judge the gay doctors, paramedics, nurses, servicemen/women, police, etc. in such a negative way? There are many of us out there who help, nurture, heal and give our life's blood to make this a better and more hopeful world.

Just a reminder - there are good and bad in all groups, among all peoples. Casting blanket judgments about does no good for anyone.

by slownewsday-5 December 3, 2009 12:20 AM EST

by slownewsday-5

To clarify - I'm not saying Christians insult, in general. It was a sarcastic statement: newyorkmom pretends to be Christian, but isn't very Christ-like.

"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians - they are so unlike your Christ." - Mahatma Gandhi

by newyorkmom
i care about children..i care about this country..i care about the homeless, the poor, those with diseases...the beaten, the helpless, i spend every minute of my working day caring for those that noone cares about. I care about homosexuals...I care about the imprisoned ; however, i dont want to see the US deteriorate into a cesspool of immorality..it is not trying to impose beliefs..it is trying to maintain a moral society that can function without crime, sexual addiction, murder, etc etc...it is all tied to the same thread."

---

"it is trying to maintain a moral society"

Whose morals? Who says your need to put your nose into others' business is moral?

The "common thread" I care about it the US Constitution - not your morality, but its morality. Equal protection, in this case from discrimination by the government.

If you want smaller government, quit trying to meddle with people's private lives when they are practicing a legal sexuality.

.

Reply to this comment


by slownewsday-5 December 3, 2009 12:22 AM EST: And when I said "discrimination by the government", I was referring to states, not the fed.

by newyorkmom December 3, 2009 12:15 AM EST

God destroyed Sodom...was God wrong?

Reply to this comment


by slownewsday-5 December 3, 2009 12:21 AM EST: I dunno - you tell me. He really was pretty violent in the Old Testament... Deuteronomy gets a bit crazy, actually.

.


by caeric December 3, 2009 12:34 AM EST: 1) There are many positive and good religions. They all have some good points, and they all have some bad points. Again, they are human attempts to understand the Creator, and they are all subject to human failure and manipulation, whatever the reason. I believe there is only one Creator, but I don't believe that any person or any religion fully knows or understands... we can only attempt to do so. Therefore, no persons religion is meant for anyone other than that person alone.

2) Not everyone is a Christian, and not everyone has the same religous beliefs. To me, the events at Sodom is more of a story than an actual historical event, especially in the way many Christians interpret it.

3) Most Christians, and it seems American Christians in particular, don't know or understand the history of their religion. In fact, the 'fundamental doctrines' came about from a series of twelve books called 'The Fundamentals' published between 1910 and 1915. Christianity is much older than that, but American Christianity in particular was heavily influenced by them (which is why Christians is practiced differently in many other parts of the world).

4) See http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_bibl.htm for a much more thorough discussion involving homosexuality and Sodom and Gomorrah.


by slownewsday-5 December 3, 2009 12:13 AM EST: "by cidaia

Instead of hijacking and redefining what marriage is, why don't you build an institution based on YOUR beliefs about what life partnership is and what it ought to mean?"

Actually, the government hijacked the term "marriage" to describe their secular license.

In hindsight, they probably should have chosen another word. They didn't.

Welcome to English and its etymology! You're witnessing one of the ways we end up with so many definitions for most of our words.

By the way, the definition has been updated:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/MARRIAGE

.; Reply to this comment

by slownewsday-5 December 2, 2009 10:59 PM EST

"by newyorkmom December 2, 2009 10:52 PM EST
Society has become afraid to say that anything is wrong because of ignorant whiners like you. Why do you think children are kidnapped, killed, molested...it is the tired, lame discussion such as the above that any mention of something being wrong is intolerant. Please dont insult all of those in this country who strive to do what is right.. If you want to let immorality flourish go right ahead. But there are just as many who will fight tooth and nail for what is right. Game on whiner!"

Nice insults! How Christian of you!

It's blind evangelicals such as yourself which present the greatest threat to our nation. You'd impose your morality, which seems to be completely based on dogma, on those who don't share your views.

We aren't a theocracy. Your religious beliefs only apply to those who share them.

.

Reply to this comment


by slownewsday-5 December 2, 2009 11:20 PM EST: To clarify - I'm not saying Christians insult, in general. It was a sarcastic statement: newyorkmom pretends to be Christian, but isn't very Christ-like.

"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians - they are so unlike your Christ." - Mahatma Gandhi

.


by newyorkmom December 3, 2009 12:02 AM EST: i care about children..i care about this country..i care about the homeless, the poor, those with diseases...the beaten, the helpless, i spend every minute of my working day caring for those that noone cares about. I care about homosexuals...I care about the imprisoned ; however, i dont want to see the US deteriorate into a cesspool of immorality..it is not trying to impose beliefs..it is trying to maintain a moral society that can function without crime, sexual addiction, murder, etc etc...it is all tied to the same thread.