Today, Empire State Pride Agenda issued a press release calling for the the new Republican-controlled New York Senate to finally vote on the gay marriage and other LGBT bills:
Our issues are not partisan issues. They are about equal rights for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who are treated like second class citizens. Our hope and expectation is that yesterday’s events will not derail efforts by our community to win the equality we so desperately need.
It is time to bring marriage equality and these other LGBT issues to the Senate floor for votes and have members vote their conscience. We urge the Senate to schedule these votes as soon as possible before the end of the legislative session.”
And today, one day after taking power, new Senate President Pedro Espada Jr. spoke about where the gay marriage bill now stands:
“I am for same-sex marriage,” Mr. Espada said. “There will be no guarantees and no quid pro quos, I think there will be a vote of conscience of the senators. And with my partner in government, Senator Skelos, we have not discussed bringing it out to the floor. I’m expressing my own personal desire to see a full debate and decision on this matter.”
The Senate majority leader, Dean G. Skelos, a Long Island Republican who is sharing power with Mr. Espada under the new leadership arrangement, said he and Mr. Espada would discuss the issue of same-sex marriage and other matters later on Tuesday.
The Senate session closes in ten days. I’ll update as more info comes in.
Twitter Users: You can also leave a comment using your Twitter account by clicking the button below.