Q&A: Key NY Lawmaker on the 10th Anniversary of Gay Marriage Passg

Contents:

• THEY FOUGHT FOR GAY MARRIAGE. A LATER, ADVOT REFLECT ON THE 'HERCULEAN FEAT.'
• GAY MARRIAGE
• GAY MARRIAGE PASS FIRST VOTE NEW YORK STATE
• BEHD N.Y. GAY MARRIAGE, AN UNLIKELY MIX OF FORC

THEY FOUGHT FOR GAY MARRIAGE. A LATER, ADVOT REFLECT ON THE 'HERCULEAN FEAT.'

“You’ve got a ton of people who have entered to gay marriag, and would be more than a ltle chaotic for the urt to do somethg that somehow dispted those marriag that have been entered to acrdance wh the law, ” Mr. Lears did not officially stct their members to vote no, acrdg to two people faiar wh the ternal discsns, makg the vote more a matter of personal bloc of Republins who supported the measure amounted to ls than a quarter of the party nference, but that was a far greater proportn than gay rights legislatn has drawn the past om G.

That set off an tensive effort among a bipartisan group of proponents the Senate — boosted quietly by a aln of fluential Republin donors and operativ, some of them gay — to fd the at least 10 Republin vot necsary that chamber to move the Senate, the legislatn was revised to addrs ncerns among some Republins that would punish or rtrict the relig eedom of stutns that refe to regnize same-sex marriag.

GAY MARRIAGE

The unexpectedly high number of Hoe Republins supportg the bill July — nearly a quarter of them — propelled her bid to cut a bipartisan al the Senate, but she urged Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majory lear, to wa until after the electns to brg to a strategy drew the ire of some progrsiv who were eager to exact a polil price om Republin opponents of the measure, but yield the hoped for rult: The legislatn passed the Senate last month wh the support of 12 Republins, exceedg the 60-vote thrhold that has trated many a bipartisan the Hoe floor on Thursday, a para of Democrats — some of them gay, many of speakg about their own same-sex marriag — stood to make the se for the measure.

“Today, we will vote for equaly and agast discrimatn by fally overturng the homophobic Defense of Marriage Act and guaranteeg ccial protectns for same-sex and terracial marriag, ” Reprentative David Cicille, Democrat of Rho Island, said on Thursday the moments before , at a ceremony to celebrate and officially transm the legislatn to Mr.

Pelosi, whose speakership ends the begng of January, said that signg the bill was a ftg pstone to her tenure the post, which began 2010 wh her signg legislatn to allow the repeal of the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy agast gay and bisexual people servg openly the Reprentative Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachetts and one of the first openly gay members of Congrs, was on hand to celebrate what he scribed the mise of yet another ignom piece of policy, referrg to the Defense of Marriage Act by s ials. Lee tried and failed to attach chang to the bill that he said would more strongly protect relig Colls phed back, notg that the bill had received strong backg om fah-based groups, cludg the Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats, which historilly has aggrsively opposed gay rights.

GAY MARRIAGE PASS FIRST VOTE NEW YORK STATE

VioThe Rpect for Marriage Act, which passed Congrs wh bipartisan support, mandat feral regnn for same-sex and terracial Contreras for The New York TimWASHINGTON — Print Bin signed the Rpect for Marriage Act to law on Tuday, mandatg feral regnn for same-sex marriag and ppg his own personal evolutn toward embracg gay rights over the urse of a four- polil an elaborate signg ceremony on the South Lawn, plete wh mil performanc om Cyndi Lper and Sam Smh, Mr. Bin, who voted for the Defense of Marriage Act as a senator 1996 and wavered on lettg gay men and lbians serve the ary, the signg ceremony was an ditn of how much the print has changed when to champng L.

His views on issu like abortn, gay marriage and sentencg reform — which once put him on the more nservative si of his party’s iologil spectm — now more firmly match posns that have galvanized Democrats and even many Republins over the past several years. His policy choic the Senate reflected those tim, often sidg wh those who proposed rtrictns, or lims, on gay men and lbians. He supported a measure that rtricted how homosexualy was tght schools, one of many feats for the equaly his 2008 vice-printial bate wh Sarah Pal, Mr.

“I do rpect and appreciate that he is someone that n adm that his views were outdated the past and that he has evolved on the subject and is now an outspoken champn and advote, ” said Kelley Robson, the print of Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights anizatn Washgton.

BEHD N.Y. GAY MARRIAGE, AN UNLIKELY MIX OF FORC

But on June 24, 2011, when the New York Legislature passed the state’s marriage equaly measure, only 46 percent did, barely surpassg the 45 percent who opposed the right of gay upl to wed. “Even plac like Mississippi or Alabama, at some pot they were gog to have a problem wh the full fah and cred clse of the Constutn if they say, ‘We'll accept straight marriag om New York but not gay on. ’”A group walks down Fifth Avenue durg the New York Cy gay pri march on June 26, Honda / AFP via Getty Imag fileIt wasn’t a bloodls victory, though: The four Republin state senators who crossed the aisle to support the bill all were out of office wh the next few years.

Senator Tammy Baldw, Democrat of Wisns and the lead sponsor of the legislatn, said that gay people were “sred for good reason” about their rights beg unr threat, and that the same legal arguments the nservative-leang Supreme Court had employed to reverse Roe uld jt as easily be applied to other s. Baldw, the first openly gay woman to be elected to the Hoe and the Senate, notg that Jtice Thomas his ncurrg opn “was sentially providg an open vatn to ligators across the untry to brg their s to the Supreme Court. ”ImageSenator Tammy Baldw, Democrat of Wisns and the first openly gay woman to be elected to the Hoe and the Senate, was the lead sponsor of the Drago for The New York TimSenator San Colls, Republin of Mae and one of the 12 Republin supporters of the bill, add that even whout an imment threat, “there is still value ensurg that our feral laws reflect that same-sex and terracial upl have the right to have their marriag regnized, regardls of where they live this untry.