After a two-week paralysis in the New York Senate where Democrats and Republicans have fought over control, Gov. David Paterson orders a special session and says "the People's business will resume at 3 o'clock" today. But it is unclear if a vote on same-sex marriage will happen anytime soon.
Gay City News reports: "The governor stepped up to quell the chaos in the Senate two days after news surfaced that Senator Thomas K. Duane, the out gay Chelsea Democrat leading the fight for marriage equality, sent a letter to his Democratic colleagues complaining that the issue had fallen off the radar of his conference’s leadership ever since the June 8 Republican coup. Four of Duane's colleagues told Gay City News that it is now up to the governor to insist that the issue be restored to the front burner, while Brooklyn Senator John Sampson, newly installed as the Democratic conference leader, voiced uncertainly as to whether marriage equality would in fact make it to the floor for a vote."
The governor adds the special session will be called "every day until the people's business is discharged and we will be moving on to issues of reform, fiscal discipline and also civil rights." The Daily News adds Paterson "did not specifically say 'gay marriage,' but he has been couching the legalization of same-sex marriage as a civil right since he first unveiled his program bill in April."
The conventional wisdom is that Paterson trying to "buy some time" for Senate Democrats to prevent Ruben Diaz Sr.—the arch-conservative anti-gay Pentecostal minister and Bronx senator—from "going nuclear."
I am very sure that Governor Paterson is going to bring this topic/issue to the table. He must. He's been standing and breaking new ground and he's not going to wuss out now!
I REALLY LOVE THIS GUY'S AUDACIOUSNESS!!!
Posted by: TheRevKev | 23 June 2009 at 12:27
Is it me or does Paterson have a huge d***!
Posted by: Mr. Phoenix | 24 June 2009 at 01:27