Marriage in NYC

The New York Senate is set to vote on the same-sex marriage bill today in New York. The Senate has been trying to delay the vote on this bill for the last few months, but today is the day the bill will be debated and voted on. Democrats have a one seat majority in the New York Senate which means they need some Republican support for the bill to pass. On Wednesday morning Senate Republicans believed that a few Republicans may vote to pass the bill, but they were unsure on exactly how many would vote yet. It seems the attitude of the entire Senate is to vote on the bill and get it over with because the bill has been delayed and postponed so many times. If the Senate votes to pass the bill, New York will be the sixth state to legalize or recognize same-sex marriage. Last month Maine became the 31st state to block same-sex marriage through a referendum. Maine’s legislature voted to legalize same-sex marriage earlier this year, but gay rights opponents gathered enough signatures to put the measure on the ballot. Last year in California the State Supreme Court authorized same-sex marriage, but voters eventually overturned the law. At the moment it appears that the bill is going to pass, but we will have to wait until later in the day to see the outcome. If the bill does pass it will be a huge victory for gay rights activists.

It is essential for the morality of our nation to keep the sacred tradition of marriage between a man and a woman. I hope both sides will understand that they can compromise by giving civil partners better benefits to appease the gays while keeping marriage a heterosexual act to appease those who oppose.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/nyregion/03marriage.html?_r=1&hp

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/29/sotu.same.sex/index.html#cnnSTCVideo