Governor, Senate face off on gay marriage
ALBANY, N.Y. -- The governor has made no secret of his support of same sex marriage legislation. He's praised the Assembly for passing the bill in 2007. But in a series of radio interviews Thursday, he urged the Senate to act saying he plans to regardless.
"We're going to put our program bill out and let the Senate either take it up or not take it up," said Paterson.
Paterson says the controversial vote could be a step toward the transparency everyone's been demanding, a move toward public debate on bills that have long been hashed out behind closed doors. But even those known to support same sex marriage have at times proven unwilling to say so.
"Is gay marriage a priority, is gay marriage a priority? What's a priority for us is building this economy,” said Sneate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith.
The Democrat's slim senate margin too fragile to invite controversy. But in a move sure to ruffle fellow Democrats, the governor says silence is unacceptable.
"Let the legislation go up or down based on whether the people like it or not. It's not binding in other words next year if more people are going to vote for something and it passes, then it would," the governor said.
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
Right now, Senate Democrats say the governor is wrong. A spokesman for Majority Leader Malcolm Smith saying "something of this importance demands more than a symbolic gesture or empty rhetoric. It requires the type of real action we are working towards to secure the votes necessary to achieve the goal of marriage equality."
Senate Vice President David Valesky says Senate Democrats have not conferenced same sex marriage. They're too distracted by the current economic crisis he says.
"I don't think that, that's an issue that should be at the forefront of the Senate agenda and I would be very surprised if it was anytime soon,” said Valesky.
Valesky would not say himself whether he would support gay marriage legislation. New York City Senator Tom Duane, sponsor of the same sex marriage bill, says he also does not agree with the governor saying he's not willing to gamble with anyone's civil rights.