On Wednesday, the New York State Assembly passed a bill that could pave the way for New York to join Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire as the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage. This is not a new issue to New York; in 2009 the Senate rejected a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, and three other attempts have been blocked in the State Assembly. Currently New York only honors same-sex marriages if the ceremony was performed in another state (or Washington, DC). The bill is currently in the Senate, but has yet to be brought to the floor for a vote. Discussion is expected to continue Tuesday. If passes, it would allow the same rights currently enjoyed by many Americans to be equally extended to same-sex couples.
The largest opposition in the Senate stems from concerns that passage of the bill would leave religious institutions vulnerable to possible litigation. Republican Senator Greg Ball stated Friday, "I'm not going to vote for a bill where Catholic adoption agencies or religious organizations are shut down or are opened up to lawsuits." He claims that adoption agencies have often times closed down following the passage of same-sex marriage legislation. Democratic Senator Tom Duane fired back, "We're talking about the government recognizing same-sex equality", and that there are “already laws on the books in New York state which protect people of faith." Senator Duane, an openly gay member of the New York State Senate is not alone in his belief that New York is ready to recognize same-sex marriage. The bill has the support of Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, and at last count support of 31 of the 32 senators needed to receive the approval of the Senate.
Senator Ball, one of the pending swing votes, believes that the religious institutions will become vulnerable to lawsuits if they refuse to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies. He told CNN, “We have seen this in other states… we’re not talking about some fairy land.”
Senator Ball is utilizing all available resources to decide how to cast his vote. Friday, he solicited opinions from the general public using his Twitter account, @ball4ny.
Could the fate of gay couples in New York depend on a Twitter post? Should serious discussion on important issues be subject to the same follies that led to the fall of former Congressman Anthony Weiner? Ball’s actions call into question the legitimacy of the debate.
