Spitzer Plans to
Introduce Gay Marriage Bill
By NICHOLAS
CONFESSORE, NYTimes on the Web, April 23, 2007
Gov. Eliot Spitzer will introduce a
bill in the coming weeks to legalize same-sex marriage in New York, his
spokeswoman said Friday, a move that would propel New York to the forefront of
one of the most contentious issues in politics.
Though he has long voiced support for same-sex marriage and promised during his
campaign last year to introduce legislation to legalize it, Mr. Spitzer did not
mention the issue in his State of the State speech in January or in remarks a
week ago outlining his priorities for the remainder of the legislative session,
which ends June 21.
But the spokeswoman, Christine Anderson, said that Mr. Spitzer would not back
away from his campaign pledge.
“The governor made a commitment to advance a program bill, and he will fulfill
that commitment during this legislative session,” Ms. Anderson said, using the
term that refers to legislation introduced directly by the governor rather than
through a state agency or by the Legislature.
Several states allow some form of civil unions for same-sex couples, including
Connecticut, where lawmakers are debating a measure that would legalize marriage
for lesbians and gay men. Massachusetts is the only state where same-sex
marriage is legal.
Any legislation to make New York the second such state would face a steep climb
in Albany, a fact that Mr. Spitzer has acknowledged. Explaining why he did
not include the gay-marriage bill among his post-budget legislative priorities,
Mr. Spitzer said last week that he “was listing bills that I think we can and
should get passed by the Legislature in the next few weeks. And so I am
focusing now on politics as the art of the possible.
“I think most who are close to the issue would agree with me that it’s not
likely to be passed in the next nine and a half weeks,” Mr. Spitzer added.
Legislation to allow same-sex marriage has never made it to a floor vote in
either the Assembly, which has a Democratic majority, or the
Republican-controlled State Senate. Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker,
has declined to take a stand on the issue. Joseph L. Bruno, the Senate
majority leader, has supported legislation to outlaw hate crimes and workplace
discrimination against gays, but he remains opposed to same-sex marriage.
Even among lawmakers who say they favor the legislation, there is some division
over the best strategy to get it passed. Two legislators from Manhattan,
State Senator Thomas K. Duane and Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried, both
Democrats, have tried for several years to shepherd a gay-marriage bill through
the Legislature and are trying again this year. That bill has at least 14
sponsors in the Senate and 42 in the Assembly.
If Mr. Spitzer does propose a bill, it is unclear how much muscle he will be
willing — or able — to put behind it. The priorities he has outlined —
such as overhauling the state’s campaign finance laws and introducing a
constitutional amendment to require nonpartisan legislative redistricting —
already pose a considerable challenge. That would leave Mr. Spitzer with
little political bandwidth that would allow him to build support for another
controversial bill.
The governor has also had few opportunities to build bridges to constituencies
that present the strongest grass-roots opposition to gay marriage, such as Roman
Catholic Church officials and other religious leaders. Church leaders
already oppose Mr. Spitzer’s support of embryonic stem cell research, and an
initiative that might have softened the blow of gay marriage — a tax credit for
parents who send children to religious or other private schools — did not make
it into the budget this year.
Gay-rights groups are scheduled to convene in Albany early next month for a day
of lobbying, and several lawmakers and same-sex marriage advocates said they
hoped that Mr. Spitzer would introduce his proposal before then.
“I don’t think the governor has dropped the ball on this,” said Alan Van Capelle,
executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda, a gay-rights group.
“We’ve been talking with the governor’s people about this. At every moment
they have brainstormed with us in some very creative ways about how to
accomplish this agenda.”
Mr. Van Capelle said he shared Mr. Spitzer’s assessment that the measure was
unlikely to pass both chambers of the Legislature this year, but he emphasized
that the governor’s proposal would give it strategic and symbolic weight.
Gary Parker, the founder of Greater Voices, a coalition of gay-oriented
political clubs in New York City, said the fact that every statewide elected
official now supports gay marriage had heartened advocates.
“During the Pataki administration, there was a lot of frustration,” Mr. Parker
said. “We felt extremely stagnant and stifled. Now there is
movement. And the fact that there is discussion is progress.”
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