As PGN goes to press, same-sex marriage is the final issue holding up the end of the legislative session in the New York Senate, whose last scheduled day was Monday.
It’s a close call, split mostly on party lines, with 31 senators, including two Republicans, supporting and 31 opposing, including one Democrat. The state Assembly already passed the bill and Gov. Andrew Cuomo has pledged to sign it.
This isn’t the first time New York has considered the issue: The Senate defeated a similar bill in 2009, which former Gov. David Paterson had promised to sign. Additionally, the state already recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.
In New Jersey, lawmakers have again introduced a marriage-equality bill in the House, a version of which was also defeated by the state senate in the last legislative session.
New Jersey already allows civil unions for same-sex couples per a 2006 state Supreme Court ruling, which provide the same rights as marriage without the name.
On the New Jersey Senate floor Monday, Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D) publicly apologized for failing to vote for gay marriage when it was up previously, calling it the “biggest mistake of my legislative career.” He continued, “I made a decision based purely on political calculations not to vote in support of marriage equality. I failed in my responsibility as majority leader of this house of government to actually lead. I was wrong.”
At the time, outgoing Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine had promised that if the legislature passed it, he would sign a marriage-equality bill in the lame-duck session. The bill failed in the Senate, 20-14.
Sweeney certainly didn’t have to apologize. He made his statement during a debate about a pension bill that would require public employees to pay more for health and pension benefits, his comments a cautionary tale of failing to take bold action on a politically sensitive issue.
And Sweeney certainly seems sincere in his regret, though marriage equality now faces a tough battle in New Jersey, as the legislature may not have enough votes to withstand a veto by Republican Gov. Chris Christie.
If Sweeney is sincere, one of the best ways he could demonstrate it would be to introduce the marriage-equality bill in the senate as a lead sponsor, then lobby his fellow lawmakers for their support. This would atone for his previous (in)action.
Of the two, achieving gay marriage in New York would be the larger victory, given it is the third-most populous state in the country and New York City’s reputation as a gay mecca. But the LGBT community would welcome a victory in New Jersey too.