NOM BLOG

Will Governor Andrew Cuomo Deliver on SSM in NY?

 

It depends who you ask:

Same-Sex Marriage Advocates Noncommittal On Vote In New York State Senate

Gay-rights leaders hedged Wednesday on whether they would push for a vote this year in the state Senate to legalize same-sex marriage after the measure was rejected in 2009.

Advocates met behind closed doors with Gov. Andrew Cuomo for more than an hour at the Capitol as the governor reiterated his support of legalizing same-sex marriage in New York.

But the noncommittal comments from gay-rights leaders after the meeting indicated the ongoing difficulty of getting the bill passed in the state Senate, which voted down the measure 24-38 in 2009 even though Democrats were in the majority.

Or is this what happened?

Advocates Upbeat After Cuomo Meeting

“I’ve been to lots of meetings where presidents or governors call people in to say that they’re with them, and this one was really extraordinary,” said Richard Socarides, the executive director of Equality Matters, a new LGBT-focused effort of the progressive watchdog Media Matters. During the Clinton administration, Socarides, an attorney, was the White House liaison to the LGBT community.

“What was clear to me from the meeting is that the governor is very committed to this,” Socarides continued. “He is prepared to do what it takes to get it done. He’s going to work on it and his team is going to work on it as soon as they get the budget done.”

Acknowledging that Cuomo did not put it in so many words, Socarides said if the budget is completed on or close to the April 1 deadline, with both Senate Republicans and Assembly Democrats reasonably content about that process, “I think he will turn to this, and it will be his top priority.”

2 Comments