Is David Paterson's Same Sex Marriage Bill Going To Hurt Momentum For Equality?

NYC's most vicious bigot isn't even a Republican!

All my gay friends are delighted because NY Governor David Paterson introduced a bill into the state legislature today that would legalize same sex marriage. They're supposed to be delighted. That's why the desperately unpopular, inept governor decided to announce it. It's a divisive strategy and it's unlikely to change the law in favor of gay people. The bill will sail through the Assembly (again), but it's not going to pass the state Senate-- same as what happened in 2007. And this time, Democrats control the state Senate, so they can't even blame homophobic Republican bigots. They'll have to look in the mirror to find the bigots to blame. What a mess!

Paterson says the momentum is building for same sex marriage and that "We come to this debate with the wind at our back" because of the recent victories in Vermont, Connecticut and Iowa. He makes a good case, an idealistic-sounding one too. But his politics is weak-- if not completely self-serving and gimmicky.

Mr. Paterson, who has been pummeled in public opinion polls over his handling of the state’s fiscal crisis, is taking on a level of involvement unusual for a governor, inserting himself directly into the ongoing campaign in Albany to gather the votes needed to pass the bill. Currently the measure does not have enough support in the State Senate, which Democrats seized last fall and control by a thin margin, 32 to 30.

...Mr. Paterson, who is Catholic, was asked about the Catholic Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage-- a view reiterated on Wednesday by Timothy M. Dolan, the new archbishop of New York.

“He spoke out yesterday at the cathedral at his installation on a number of issues, and we stood for him,” Mr. Paterson said. “We applauded him for speaking out on what he thinks is right and doing it in a gracious and admirable way. But this is a civil government, and he has the opportunity as to a lot of religious leaders of different points of view to advocate in Albany and stand for what he believes.

Asked about the opposition to same-sex marriage that has been expressed by State Senator Rubén Díaz Sr., a Pentecostal minister from the Bronx, Mr. Paterson replied, “I didn’t know that he was inviting Christ’s army, because I thought I was a member of it-- and I’m in favor of gay marriage.”

...Díaz, has stepped up his efforts to defeat the same-sex marriage bill in recent days. As Mr. Paterson was announcing plans to introduce the legislation on Thursday morning, Mr. Díaz gathered with other Hispanic clergy leaders in the Bronx to object to the governor’s proposal. Mr. Díaz has said that he was especially troubled by the timing of the governor’s announcement, which came so close to the installation of the new Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, Timothy M. Dolan.

Díaz was one of the 3 reactionary fake Democrats-- the "Gang of Four" (later the "Gang of Three when Queens crook Hiram Monserrate sold out his fellow wingnuts for the chairmanship of the lucrative Consumer Affairs Committee)-- that refused to caucus with the Democrats when they won the Senate majority for the first time since 1939. Díaz is the only Democrat in the Senate to oppose women's choice and stem cell research. Does this sound like a Democrat? "Abortion is the American Holocaust... The comparison is plain: six million Jews were exterminated by Hitler in Germany; Almost 48 million babies have been exterminated in the abortion clinics of America. We have simply been in the killing for a longer period of time than Hitler... Hitler used the ashes of the Jews to make bars of soap. In America, we are selling fetal tissue to be used in the manufacture of cosmetics as well as for medical research... Do not point your finger at Hitler; we are worse." That was Díaz mouthing off in 2005. He's also a vicious outspoken homophobe who opposes any kind of equality for gay people, not just marriage. He went so far as to personally attack other Hispanic legislators who voted in favor of equality. He opposed NYC hosting the Gay Games and opposes NY's Harvey Milk School which offers gay students who are discriminated against in other schools to get a safe education. You think Paterson, whose record proves that he has always been a sincere champion of gay rights, is going to change his mind?

Not gonna happen. Is he going to change the mind of a single Republican homophobe? Not a chance-- especially not with the split in the Republican gay movement. They relish handing the Democrats an embarrassing defeat. Instead we'll have a situation where the unpopular Paterson will be unable to rally support to the bill and it will fail, screwing up the momentum that has been building in other states. Or, Majority Leader Malcolm Smith won't even let the bill come to a vote, since he's already said he won't bring it up again until he has the votes-- meaning either Díaz or an equally gay-bashing Republican.

C.W. Post political science professor Stanley Klein said Paterson is making a transparent effort to boost dismal approval ratings. Klein predicted the move will backfire.

"Being the flag bearer for gay marriage when you know it can't pass the Senate doesn't do you any good," said Klein, who is also a Republican committeeman in Suffolk. "The Republicans are still stung by the fact that they lost the majority, so they're going to vote unanimously against anything he brings up."

Good speech though: