I followed the sad news that came out of New York this afternoon, and it is disappointing that civil marriage equality did not move the majority of New York State Senators to follow the lead of the Assembly. It's a reminder of how proud I am of the DC Council for its vote for marriage equality yesterday (as well as the second vote coming soon).
Over at the blog Good As You, there is a post showing the photos of all of the State Senators grouped by their vote on marriage. What is heartening to see is that the supporters of marriage equality was a really diverse group of people. Yet when you look at the roster of folks on the side of marriage inequality, it looks like the make-up of the Republican National Convention of 2008.
I raise this, just like the folks over at Good As You, to remind the GLBT community that the line that black folks are more homophobic that other communities is a red herring. The motivating factor for most of the people who are against GLBT rights of any sort is religion, not race. My guess is that each and every one of the people who voted against marriage equality in New York would invoke religion in the explanations of their votes.
It's that simple.
Now over at Pam's House Blend, I saw the statement from the Log Cabin Republicans of New York. Considering that not a single Republican voted for marriage equality, it took balls/breasts of steel to put a statement out blaming the Democrats for this outcome. They might want to revisit the votes of their side of the aisle one more time, and put the cocktail down this time.
Finally, I thought that the statement issued by Governor David Paterson was spot on. That dude is a fierce advocate for the GLBT community.
2 comments:
I was surprised and disappointed by the N.Y. outcome. I know that most of the gains in GLBT rights have come by court decisions rather than by legislative action (with the exception of Vermont) but I really had hope that N.Y. would prove to be more progressive.
Oh well. There will be setbacks here and there but the simple fact is that if the decision was left to people under 40 there would be overwhelming support for gay marriage, so the tide is turning and it's only a matter of time.
By the way, nice to seeya again. I've spent the last couple months in the hospital, but hope to catch up. Your blog remains one of the most thoughtful and well written I know of.
It is good to hear from you Scott, and I am glad that you are recovering. Thank you for the very kind words.
I was also disappointed in the outcome in NY, but civil rights gains take time, and in spite of the setbacks, the broader GLBT movement is advancing quickly (in an historical sense).
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