After making Albany heel when it comes to the budget, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has promised a gay marriage vote in the upcoming six to eight weeks.
Cuomo has always promised he would tackle marriage equality, so this is no shock. Will it pass the legislature? Hard to say. Sure a late January Quinnipiac University poll showed 56 percent of state voters support gay marriage. Power players like Mayor Michael Bloomberg, U.S. Sens. Chuck Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are on board. Let’s not forget two former Big Apple Mayors, David Dinkins and Ed Koch, made their support public. Finally there are the famous, such as Russell Simmons and Joan Rivers (go the New Yorkers for Marriage Equality if you want to see their vids).
High polling figures, a popular governor playing point, and positive buzz. It wouldn’t shock if some see gay marriage in New York a slam dunk.
Click here for gay marriage resources in New York.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Activists, lobbyists and citizens this week have been pressing for at least one of six Republican members of the state House Judiciary Committee to vote in favor of sending Pat Steadman’s same-sex civil unions bill to the House floor for debate. On Tuesday, the House Democratic caucus officially joined the campaign.
Here’s our list of events today and tomorrow around the world relating to marriage equality, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and other LGBT equality issues. If you know of any other events – rallies, meetings, phonebanking, etc – please use the link below to add your event to our list!
by Rex Wockner
by Bruce Notley-Smith
Protesters from Jesus Metropolitan Community Church, a congregation of 400 located on the northeast side of Indianapolis, held signs reading “Would Jesus Discriminate?” and conducted a loud protest atthe Indiana Statehouse today as the Senate took a preliminary vote approving an amendment that would ban same-sex marriage and civil unions in the state.
Chris Geidner at Metro Weekly reports that the reintroduction of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is coming this week:
by On Top Magazine Staff
Immigration Equality, the national experts on immigration rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, hailed an announcement today from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that the agency will allow Americans with spouses from abroad to apply for green cards while courts weigh constitutional challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
The coming debate in the Colorado House Judiciary Committee on same-sex civil unions bill SB 172 will center on Republican arguments for and against the legislation. The debate scheduled to take place under the Dome in Denver Thursday will underline the dynamics shaping the larger national debate on gay rights- a debate that now pits Republicans against Republicans because Democrats and Independents have already made up their minds on the matter.
