Marriage Equality in New York!

I didn't get to watch TV or check my e-mail while traveling, so imagine my surprise when I learned this morning that New York state passed a marriage equality bill by a 33-29 vote on June 24th. This is a very positive move for New York, and I hope that other states follow suit. New York City pride marchers, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have praised the measure, as have many progressive commentators.

This momentous occasion has also drawn ire from members of the Religious Right, who have had much to say about legalization of same-sex marriage in New York.

- The Catholic Bishops of New York issues a joint statement on June 24th condemning the measure, and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn urged Catholic schools to refuse any honors bestowed on them by officials who supported the legislation, according to WNYC.

- The National Organization for Marriage (NOM), which was adamantly opposed to marriage equality in New York, has now pledged $2 million to fight the same-sex marriage measure. According to NOM's blog, NOM president Brian Brown has pledged $2 million to 2012 elections in order to send a message to politicians. The post quoted Brown as accusing the Republican party of abandoning its contract with voters. (See www[dot]nomblog[dot]com/10634/)

- In a June 24th statement published online, the Family Research Council denounced the decision, calling the vote "a profound failure of moral courage" resulting from "political coercion." (See www[dot]frc[dot]org/pressrelease/family-research-council-denounces-decision-by-new-york-state-legislature-to-redefine-marriage)

- Right Wing Watch recently brought attention to the June 27th edition of The 700 Club, in which Pat Robertson evoked the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah in reference to the New York decision. Robertson claimed that no society that accepted the practice of homosexuality has ever survived. (See the full episode at www[dot]cbn[dot]com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/archive/club/700Club062711_WS&t=k&search=700clubepisodes)

- In a bombastic commentary at World Net Daily, Linda Harvey paints the LGBT community in depraved colors. In response to the New York marriage measure, Harvey claims that LGBT rights entails "corruption of youth",  "suppression of parental rights", "public sex" and "public nudity."

- Citizenlink (an affiliate of Focus on the Family) posted an article claiming that "marriage defenders" in New York have been vexed by cyberbullies, as they have reportedly had to block comments on their websites.

- Startlingly, Rep. Michele Bachmann acknowledged that New York was within its rights as a state to pass the measure, according to the Advocate.



Congratulations to the LGBT community in New York, which is now one step closer to full equality.




For additional commentary, visit the following links.

Freak Out Nation: NOM Pledges $2 Million to Reverse Marriage Equality Bill in New York

Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters: Justice Rolls Down Like a Mighty Stream in New York

Truth Wins Out: Oh, the Wingnuts Are Not Happy About New York!

Religion Dispatches: Religious Right & Catholic Bishops Plan Post-NY Marriage Strategy

"I think we need to remember the term sodomy came from a town known as Sodom and Sodom was destroyed by God Almighty and the thing that they practiced was homosexual activity and even they tried to rape angels who came down there, so that’s the kind of people they were ... That’s where sodomy came from, we use the term sodomy and it means Sodom. What’s it like? We’re heading that way as a nation. In history there’s never been a civilization ever in history that has embraced homosexuality and turned away from traditional fidelity, traditional marriage, traditional child-rearing, and has survived. There isn’t one single civilization that has survived that openly embraced homosexuality."