Big day in New York.
Governor David Paterson, joined by Mayor Bloomberg and several members of Congress, held a press conference to kick-start the effort to pass same-sex marriage:
Gov. David A. Paterson on Thursday announced that he would introduce a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, drawing on the soaring oratory of the civil rights movement to call on the Legislature to add New York to the four states that have already authorized such unions.Also in attendance were openly gay members of the New York Legislature including Senator Tom Duane and one of AMERICAblog's good friends, Assemblyman Danny O'Donnell:
Mr. O’Donnell, who sponsored a previous bill to authorize same-sex marriage, noted that there were 85 votes in the Assembly for the 2007 bill.The battle is going to be in the State Senate, which is now controlled by Democrats for the first time in decades.
“I was born in this state, I was raised in this state, I was educated in this state, I’m an elected official in this state, I pay taxes this state, I want a piece of paper from this government just like the rest of you,” declared Mr. O’Donnell, who represents the Upper West Side and is the brother of the entertainer Rosie O’Donnell.
Introducing Mr. Duane, Mr. Paterson cited Woodrow Wilson as saying that publication influences public policy more than legislation.
Mr. Duane vowed to carry the bill in the Senate. “I absolutely look forward to standing with you governor, when you sign this wonderful piece of legislation into law,” he said. “I know, we know, it’s going to take hard work and it’s going to take a bipartisan effort. And, governor, I know that you can do it.”
I really liked the very powerful statement from NY City Council Speaker Chris Quinn, who is also openly gay:
Exciting times.
As an aside, for all the dog lovers out there, Chris and her partner, Kim, are as crazy about their dog, Sadie, as Carlos and I are about Petey. And, whenever Danny O'Donnell and I get together, we spend a lot of time talking about our dogs, too.
