Locals Respond To NY State Senate’s Defeat Of Gay Marriage Bill

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Amidst the mounting swirl of controversy over President Obama’s decision to escalate the U.S.’s military presence in Afghanistan (not to mention ongoing developments in debates over health care and climate change), the New York State Senate created a furor of its own this week with its 38-to-24 vote to reject a bill that would have made New York the sixth state to legalize gay marriage.

And around and around it goes... New York's State Senate (pictured during an unspecified session) voted 38-24 this week to defeat a bill that would have made New York the sixth state in the country to legally recognize same-sex marriage. (Photo courtesy of the New York State Senate.)

“We are deeply saddened and angered by the rejection of equal access for LGBT families in New York,” said Sue Cowell, executive director of the Gay Alliance, in a press release she issued on Wednesday (December 2nd). “Our families matter as much as those of heterosexual New Yorkers. It is outrageous that our status as citizens has been disregarded by our elected ‘leaders.’ This injustice is un-American and unacceptable.”

Cowell and other critics of the vote pointed out that none of the Rochester area’s senators – Jim Alesi, George Maziarz, Michael Nozzolio and Joe Robach – voted in favor of the bill or made statements on the senate floor explaining their decision. (Buffalo Democrat Antoine Thompson was the only senator representing Western New York who voted yes.¹)

“We are especially disappointed with our local Senators,” continued Cowell, “for their failure to be inclusive and lead on this important issue of the day. We appreciate the other NY Senators who stood on the right side of history, eloquently made their case, and voted to support the bill.”

On Wednesday night, the Gay Alliance hosted an “All Families Matter” rally at the intersection of University and Atlantic Avenues, a symbolic focal point for the LGBT community as signified by the two large Equality sculptures that stand at the corner.

New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa remain the only states to legally recognize same-sex marriage. Meanwhile, as the New York Times and Christian Science Monitor report in the articles²,³ below, New Jersey’s State legislature may soon vote on the same issue following a petition signed by 2,300 of the Garden State’s Democratic officials, advocates, and residents.

New York continues to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.³

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