Quotes Of Assembly
Members
Four weeks after Governor Paterson announced plans to introduce a gay marriage bill in New York, it passed its first vote today. Since that day, when the governor called his state’s lack of gay marriage a “crisis of leadership,” many factions have weighed in. On one side, State Senator Ruben Diaz, who called for the governor’s resignation, and Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who promised an “active and present” battle. On the other side, several thousand activists who flooded the state capitol to support gay rights, many secular and sectarian groups, and the New York State populace itself, which is in support of the bill by a 53% to 39% margin.
The outcome of the gay marriage decision in New York is particularly important, as New York is the third most-populous state in the nation, and one of the most visible around the world.
Assemblyman Danny O’Donnell, who was widely credited with securing passage of the bill two years ago, is similarly credited today. Profiled on the front page of today’s New York Times, O’Donnell is portrayed as, “a tenacious, ingratiating, playful and sometimes prickly leader of the effort to pass the legislation.”
The next step for the bill is a vote in the Senate, which is far less likely to pass the bill. No vote date is set yet.
Some memorable statements from the Assembly:
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