Holy Cow NYS Senate has approved Same Sex Marriage in NY

[Tony-NJ]

Such good news - and just in time for Pride!

 

[DVCDan36]

Funny, I woke up this morning and looked out my front window, I didn't see any Armegedon, so I figured Same-Sex Marriage did not pass last night. Then I saw the headline on the web.
I suppose all of those zealots will have to wait for October.

 

[OKW Lover]

Noted several posts that say "we win" and just wanted to comment that I assume the posters mean that "we all win" - gay or straight.

 

[C&G'sMama]

Noted several posts that say "we win" and just wanted to comment that I assume the posters mean that "we all win" - gay or straight.

Absolutely!!!

 

[DrGaellon]

Now we just have to either keep it OFF the ballot or, if it gets put on the ballot, we have to make sure we mobilize equality-minded NYers to go out to the polls and vote to maintain equality for all New Yorkers....so we don't end up with the same unfortunate nonsense that California and Maine had to deal with with Proposition 8 and Question 1 stripping NYers of their rightful marriage benefits granted by their state legislatures!

New York doesn't allow referenda to reverse the legislature. The only way to kill it now is an amendment to the state constitution, which requires a supermajority - if current polling is accurate, it CAN'T happen.

 

[NHdisneylover]

New York doesn't allow referenda to reverse the legislature. The only way to kill it now is an amendment to the state constitution, which requires a supermajority - if current polling is accurate, it CAN'T happen.

I could be confused as I know Erik, being in New York and following these things closely, is MUCH more informed than I am, but I believe he was referencing the referendum bill led by Joe Robach which passed the senate a week or two ago. It seems this bill if it passes the assembly could be used to attempt to overturn legalizing gay marriage

 

[roxy84]

I am so happy about NY passing this! My wife and I are legally married here in Canada (and we live in Canada) but her home state is NY. Her sister is also gay ans still lives in NYC so having this pass means that she can get married to her girlfriend and have the rights with it!

 

[pixie dust 112]

Congratulations! I was watching the live stream from the Senate web site last night and was so pleased to be a New Yorker!

 

[dwheatl]

Funny, I woke up this morning and looked out my front window, I didn't see any Armegeddon, so I figured Same-Sex Marriage did not pass last night. Then I saw the headline on the web.
I suppose all of those zealots will have to wait for October.

I was thinking about that last night, when I regrettably looked into the "sewers" of public comment on Yahoo news. There were the folks who said the earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes should be coming immediately to wipe us out because God is going to be so mad.

I thought, "If God is going to wipe out humanity for defiling marriage, wouldn't it have been for something like slavery, where families were ripped apart, or for families who sell their little girls into "marriages" where they are treated unspeakably, rather than for giving couples equal rights to profess their undying love and to form a family?" As a Christian, it just kills me to have to be lumped in with such idiots.

 

[unfreshdiva1]

So happy for us all, but can't help thinking "when will it happen in Florida?". Don't see it on agenda anytime soon.

 

[pixie dust 112]

So happy for us all, but can't help thinking "when will it happen in Florida?". Don't see it on agenda anytime soon.

Lots of New Yorkers go to Florida for a Disney wedding! We cordially invite you to New York for your wedding!

 

[tig82174]

New York doesn't allow referenda to reverse the legislature. The only way to kill it now is an amendment to the state constitution, which requires a supermajority - if current polling is accurate, it CAN'T happen.

I could be confused as I know Erik, being in New York and following these things closely, is MUCH more informed than I am, but I believe he was referencing the referendum bill led by Joe Robach which passed the senate a week or two ago. It seems this bill if it passes the assembly could be used to attempt to overturn legalizing gay marriage

Hadley is correct. It did not get much press....but almost 2 weeks ago, pretty silently, my own state Senator, Joe Robach, got a bill passed in the Senate that now DOES create the possibility of referendum votes. It alarms me that it has gotten very little press.....but he did get it passed in the senate (http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/news/blog/2011/06/Robachs-referendum-bill-passes-Senate/). It is not clear whether it will succeed in the Assembly or be signed or vetoed by the Governor....but there are indeed those opposed to SSM in NY who are claiming that if/when this passes it may give them an out.....and my understanding is that as a result of their hope that this does pass that organizations like NOM and the New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedom (a Rochester-area hate organization led by the Rev. Duane Motley) are already announcing they intend to sue the state of NY requesting a stay on gay marriage licenses being issued until they can determine if they have any recourse to get it on a referendum or to challenge the constitutionality of the law by suing in the courts.

So while I'm cautiously optimistic that both those efforts will fail.....it is important that those of us who care about SSM prepare ourselves that the fight may not, indeed, be entirely over....In fact, Ross Levi (the E.D. of the Empire State Pride Agenda is a friend/colleague of mine and he was interviewd on the news last night and said that ESPA has already engaged a team of legal experts to assist in mounting a defense should the law's passage get challenged). Of course, we should all still celebrate...and plan on continuing to celebrate.....but it also means we need to be ready to further defend our freedoms AND if a window of opportunity for marriage DOES open (like it did in California) then any smart LGBT couple who wants to get married better do it FAST and immediately. (Jason and I, for instance, are planning on getting to the courthouse to get legally married wiht a couple witnesses the DAY the law goes into effect....and then we'll plan a ceremony and a reception and everything later on on our own time...but we're going to go and get that piece of paper in hand before anyone has the chance to screw with it or mess it up!!)

 

[C&G'sMama]

Erik,
Thank you so much for all of your insight on this. I didn't know about the Robach thing, sadly, I'm not surprised by it.

DP and I have actually changed our tune about making it legal. I too wondered if we should just hit the steps of City Hall that first day.

 

[NHdisneylover]

(Jason and I, for instance, are planning on getting to the courthouse to get legally married wiht a couple witnesses the DAY the law goes into effect....and then we'll plan a ceremony and a reception and everything later on on our own time...but we're going to go and get that piece of paper in hand before anyone has the chance to screw with it or mess it up!!)

Erik,
Thank you so much for all of your insight on this. I didn't know about the Robach thing, sadly, I'm not surprised by it.

DP and I have actually changed our tune about making it legal. I too wondered if we should just hit the steps of City Hall that first day.

You are both in Rochester--maybe you will meet each other at the courthouse that day

I read elsewhere it is expected to go into effect on July 24 Is that right? It is a Saturday, so that seems a little odd to me, but I guess you never know.

 

[bicker]

I was thinking about that last night, when I regrettably looked into the "sewers" of public comment on Yahoo news. There were the folks who said the earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes should be coming immediately to wipe us out because God is going to be so mad.

Frankly, I appreciate and respect such comments, because they're standing up for what someone believes without hiding behind the rhetorical self-indulgence of making claims that can not be disproved for a period of time long enough so that the person making the claim thereby escapes have to defend their assertion once the truth of its falsehood is revealed. With the folks you're referring to, either there will suddenly be a change in nature, undeniably pegged to this specific date, or there won't be. It isn't really going to come down to their personal beliefs or values: They are relating a reasonable set of parameters by which other folks should believe them. The place that really qualifies for the label "sewers of public comment" are those that are the planting fields for more hand-waving and other unprovable claims of impending catastrophe.

Of course, New York is still there this morning (just like we've been doing very well, here in Massachusetts, for years) so their predictions of doom are little more than what they perhaps hope for, rather than what really is.

I thought, "If God is going to wipe out humanity for defiling marriage, wouldn't it have been for something like slavery

Very good point. I've never heard that implication put forward before, but it hits the mark quite well.

 

[bicker]

So happy for us all, but can't help thinking "when will it happen in Florida?". Don't see it on agenda anytime soon.

Folks are working on it:

http://eqfl.org

 

[tig82174]

Erik,
Thank you so much for all of your insight on this. I didn't know about the Robach thing, sadly, I'm not surprised by it.

DP and I have actually changed our tune about making it legal. I too wondered if we should just hit the steps of City Hall that first day.

My recommendation, C&G? Yes, you should. I am certainly not saying every gay person should just go marry any person they know or are casually dating so that they can "get in on" marriage.....but for all of us who are already in committed long term relationships, I do believe that NOW is our time. The way Jason and I see it at this point, the date on our marriage license is not what's important....the rights and benefits that accompany it are what matters. As far as WE are concerned, we've already been married (emotionally) for almost 9 years.....so this "status change" is just long overdue. So we're doing the paperwork as soon as we can. The ceremony to come later is much less a wedding and more a celebration of us----we're almost even feeling it's more like a renewal than a start. Plus.....from a legal and political standpoint, there is a great reason to get it done early and quick. As California demonstrated, sometimes sadly laws do end up changing.....but even in California it was decided that the same sex couples who DID get married before heinous Prop 8 was passed got to STAY married. That Prop 8 could ban further NEW marriages but it could not eradicate any existing legal marriages. Just to be safe if something catastrophic like that should happen here in NY, we want to be one of the lucky families who struck while the iron was hot and don't get shut out. (I read a horrible story around Prop 8 time about a gay couple who shared the same birthday in mid-November and it had always been their dream to get married on their birthday so when marriage was made legal they planned an elaborate wedding for their birthday....which was AFTER that 2008 election. And then because it was after Prop 8, they had a beautiful ceremony with their friends and family, but to this day they are still not legally married. )

You are both in Rochester--maybe you will meet each other at the courthouse that day

I read elsewhere it is expected to go into effect on July 24 Is that right? It is a Saturday, so that seems a little odd to me, but I guess you never know.

Yeah, the 30 days is technically July 24th....but no official date has been announced that I can find record of. All the reports are currently stating "by late July" so we're thinking thye might do Friday, July 23rd or Monday, July 26th." I am going to call our county clerk here in Rochester on Tuesday (assuming that they will probably be overrun with calls and information on Monday) and ask if they have any news and ask about the process so we can start the wheels in motion.

 

[pixie dust 112]

My recommendation, C&G? Yes, you should. I am certainly not saying every gay person should just go marry any person they know or are casually dating so that they can "get in on" marriage.....but for all of us who are already in committed long term relationships, I do believe that NOW is our time. The way Jason and I see it at this point, the date on our marriage license is not what's important....the rights and benefits that accompany it are what matters. As far as WE are concerned, we've already been married (emotionally) for almost 9 years.....so this "status change" is just long overdue. So we're doing the paperwork as soon as we can. The ceremony to come later is much less a wedding and more a celebration of us----we're almost even feeling it's more like a renewal than a start. Plus.....from a legal and political standpoint, there is a great reason to get it done early and quick. As California demonstrated, sometimes sadly laws do end up changing.....but even in California it was decided that the same sex couples who DID get married before heinous Prop 8 was passed got to STAY married. That Prop 8 could ban further NEW marriages but it could not eradicate any existing legal marriages. Just to be safe if something catastrophic like that should happen here in NY, we want to be one of the lucky families who struck while the iron was hot and don't get shut out. (I read a horrible story around Prop 8 time about a gay couple who shared the same birthday in mid-November and it had always been their dream to get married on their birthday so when marriage was made legal they planned an elaborate wedding for their birthday....which was AFTER that 2008 election. And then because it was after Prop 8, they had a beautiful ceremony with their friends and family, but to this day they are still not legally married. )



Yeah, the 30 days is technically July 24th....but no official date has been announced that I can find record of. All the reports are currently stating "by late July" so we're thinking thye might do Friday, July 23rd or Monday, July 26th." I am going to call our county clerk here in Rochester on Tuesday (assuming that they will probably be overrun with calls and information on Monday) and ask if they have any news and ask about the process so we can start the wheels in motion.

Call your City Clerk, not the County Clerk. City Clerks, Town Clerks and Village Clerks issue Marriage certificates in NY. I am the Corporation Counsel (City Attorney)for another city in NYS. When I hear details of when things are good to go, I'll let you know.

 

[C&G'sMama]

Call your City Clerk, not the County Clerk. City Clerks, Town Clerks and Village Clerks issue Marriage certificates in NY. I am the Corporation Counsel (City Atotrny)for another city in NYS. When I hear details of when things are good to go, I'll let you know.

Thank you!!!

 

[wallyb]

Yeah - Congrats to my NY DIS friends!
Welcome to marriage equality - jump on in, the water is fine!