By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
In what is being called a major blow to the gay rights movement, the New York State Senate voted by a wide margin to kill a bill that would have legalized same-sex “marriage” in the state.
According to the New York Daily News, after two hours of emotional debate yesterday, the Senate voted 38-24 against a same-sex “marriage” bill, effectively killing its chances of passing anytime before next year’s elections.
Polls have shown that New Yorkers are evenly divided on the issue and proponents say it was fear of a conservative backlash that kept many members from voting for the bill.
“We are extremely pleased that the New York State Senate in a bipartisan vote rejected the concept that marriage can be anything other than the union of one man and one woman,” said Richard E. Barnes, executive director of the New York Catholic Conference in a statement.
“It has become clear that Americans continue to understand marriage the way it has been understood, and New York is not different in that regard. This is a victory for the basic building block of our society.”
Proponents of the bill are vowing to fight on.
“I’m angry, I’m disappointed, I’m sad, I’m let down, I’m betrayed – but I am not going away,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Tom Duane (D-Manhattan), the only openly gay member of the Senate.
New York will now join a list of 31 states that have voted to recognize marriage as between one man and one woman. Thus far, only five states have been able to legalize same-sex marriage and only because these laws were passed by activist judges or in the legislature rather than by popular vote.
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