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New NY Senate President Supports Marriage

Timothy Kincaid

June 9th, 2009

Yesterday I speculated that the change in leadership in the New York State Senate might yield movement on the marriage bill. Today, comments made by Pedro Espada Jr. give more fuel to the consideration of such possibility. (NY Times)

“I am for same-sex marriage,” Mr. Espada said. “There will be no guarantees and no quid pro quos, I think there will be a vote of conscience of the senators. And with my partner in government, Senator Skelos, we have not discussed bringing it out to the floor. I’m expressing my own personal desire to see a full debate and decision on this matter.”

The Senate majority leader, Dean G. Skelos, a Long Island Republican who is sharing power with Mr. Espada under the new leadership arrangement, said he and Mr. Espada would discuss the issue of same-sex marriage and other matters later on Tuesday.

Empire State Pride, with a long history of bi-partisan lobbying and support, smartly set aside partisan assumptions and is instead focusing on their objectives.

“Our issues are not partisan issues,” Alan Van Capelle, the organization’s executive director, said on Tuesday. “They are about equal rights for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who are treated like second-class citizens. Our hope and expectation is that yesterday’s events will not derail efforts by our community to win the equality we so desperately need.”

UPDATE: From NY Magazine

Democrat Pedro Espada, the new president pro tempore, is a co-sponsor (along with nineteen other Democrats) of the gay-marriage bill. Earlier today, he told the Daily News that he would be “pushing very very hard for issues like same-sex marriage to not be pre-determined in a smoke-filled room, but to let it air out in full debate on the Senate floor as soon as possible.” Dean Skelos, the new majority leader, is against gay marriage, but had previously instructed his caucus to vote how they pleased on the issue. Both men discussed the issue with the Post’s Fred Dicker on Albany’s TALK 1300 this morning. Espada expressed hope that the bill would come to a vote, while Skelos, according to Newsday, “didn’t disagree.” “We should vote up or down on bills, that’s part of the reforms we’ve brought,” Skelos said.

So whether this bill has adequate votes for passage, it looks as though Senators may well be put on record about their position on marriage equality.

Comments

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Lindoro Almaviva
June 9th, 2009 | LINK

You know? I don’t think this is such a bad thing. If the democrats can muster the votes, it would be a first: a republican controlled legislature passing a marriage equality bill.

I kind of like the ring of that.

Burr
June 9th, 2009 | LINK

There’s no harm in a vote even if it loses. It’s not a court case. No precedent. It makes the job of passing it later on easier as we’ll know who to put the pressure on.

cd
June 10th, 2009 | LINK

I like that finally putting people on the record part. It has a strong clarifying effect.

Whether and how long these rules and good intentions last remains to be seen, though. I’m more confident about New Jersey lawmakers acting late this year.

tavdy79
June 10th, 2009 | LINK

Espada Jr. was one of the original “gang of three” that blocked Smith’s election over the gay marriage bill, so evidently someone has been doing a lot of legwork in NYC to convince him to change his position. Since Skelos is a Long Island Republican, and so one of the Repubs being targeted as possible “yes” votes, I wouldn’t be surprised if Skelos does bring the gay marriage bill to the NY senate floor – he could well have relatively little to lose. Skelos was first elected to the NY senate in 1982, and a constituency can change a lot in 27 years.

I certainly put it past Espada Jr. (and Monserrate if he’s also a yes vote) to have cut a deal with Skelos – again, because Espada has tried exactly the same thing (albeit in reverse) on this very topic before. It doesn’t make sense to me for Espada to change allegiances like this otherwise since his earlier threat to caucus with the Repubs was based on a position he has now reversed. The possibility of it leading to the shaming of both Diaz (for failing to block the bill) and Smith (for failing to get the bill to the floor himself) in the eyes of Dem voters may be an additional sweetener for Skelos.

Timothy Kincaid
June 10th, 2009 | LINK

tavdy,

Espada was one of the Gang of Three, but his issue wasn’t marriage. He wanted more power for Hispanics (ie himself) in the Senate.

Skelos is almost certainly a “no” vote. But he promised Log Cabin that he wouldn’t block a vote and that he would let Republicans vote their conscience.

But I think you are spot-on in suggesting that Skelos could be gloating at the opportunity to make the Democratic power players appear as having sold out gays. That’s the sort of strategy that can actually pay off in NY.

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