I guess it is very well known by now that New York has passed the marriage equality act, making New York the largest state where gay and lesbian couples will be able to wed and giving the national gay-rights movement new momentum from the state where it was born.As my regular readers may have noticed, I posted everyday for the past two weeks, and implored those New Yorkers to contact their Senate leaders to encourage them to pass the legislation. Do I take credit for it's passage? No..not at all.
But I can tell you I did contact my Senator..5 times. Yes, I called every morning, encouraging him to support the bill (for some reason I felt the need to disguise my voice every morning in case they caught on). Now, my Senator happens to be the Majority Leader, Dean Skelos. It was within his authority to bring the bill to the house floor for a vote. Despite his opposition to the bill, he did, at the last possible minute, bring it to the floor for a vote.
I'm not sure that him bringing the bill to the floor for a vote entitles him to a "pass" when it comes to reelection. I mean, he did oppose the bill, and has opposed it in the past. From news accounts, he milked that power to have other laws that he supported signed into place this week...from renewing New York’s rent laws, capping property taxes for homeowners, and raising tuition at state universities, among other outstanding issues.
I have previously felt a sense of disgust against certain politicians for their staunch anti-abortion, anti-gay and pro-religious stands in government. In my mind, stay out of our bedrooms, allow women the right to choose, and keep the separation of Church and State in tact.I know lots of supporters celebrated this weekend at Pride events all around the City. This weekend, I was at the beach with the family and witnessed some happy couples. One lady as she arrived at the beach "high-fived" her lesbian friend as they celebrated New York's victory.
What is now law in New York will one day be something that every state will wonder why it took so long to pass, and then, will become an afterthought.
But for some, the days of celebrations have just begone.
