Partnership Rights Legislation Advances in New Hampshire and New York
Tuesday May 1, 2007
Read more: Gay Marriage and Civil Unions
New Hampshire will begin offering civil unions to same-sex couples in January 2008, while the new governor of New York has proposed a bill legalizing full same-sex marriage.
The New Hampshire civil unions bill passed the state senate last week; Governor John Lynch has promised to sign it into law. New Hampshire is home of Bishop V. Gene Robinson (Episcopal), who became the first openly gay bishop of a major Christian denomination in 2003. Bishop Robinson has recently told the Associated Press that he and his partner of 18 years, Mark Andrew, intend to register a civil union as soon as it is possible to do so.
New York represents an interesting contrast with New Hampshire. Some 53% of New Yorkers support same-sex marriage, so supporters intend to make New York the first state in the country to voluntarily legalize same-sex marriage through legislative channels. Last Friday, newly-elected Governor Eliot Spitzer introduced a law legalizing same-sex marriage--keeping a campaign promise he had made last year--but it appears to be caught in a power struggle between Spitzer, a Democrat, and Republican New York State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. There is little doubt that the legislation would pass if brought to a vote, but Bruno has the power to prevent the bill from making it to the Senate.
Whether this represents a permanent obstacle or a temporary delay is not clear. Unlike national Republicans, Bruno has stated no opposition to same-sex marriage--but he is at odds with Spitzer's entire legislative agenda as a unit. Bruno is instead trying to push for a legislative agenda of his own, centering on anti-crime legislation that would toughen domestic violence prevention policies and reinstate the death penalty in capital murder cases. As Bruno said in an interview with New York Public Radio:
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The New Hampshire civil unions bill passed the state senate last week; Governor John Lynch has promised to sign it into law. New Hampshire is home of Bishop V. Gene Robinson (Episcopal), who became the first openly gay bishop of a major Christian denomination in 2003. Bishop Robinson has recently told the Associated Press that he and his partner of 18 years, Mark Andrew, intend to register a civil union as soon as it is possible to do so.
New York represents an interesting contrast with New Hampshire. Some 53% of New Yorkers support same-sex marriage, so supporters intend to make New York the first state in the country to voluntarily legalize same-sex marriage through legislative channels. Last Friday, newly-elected Governor Eliot Spitzer introduced a law legalizing same-sex marriage--keeping a campaign promise he had made last year--but it appears to be caught in a power struggle between Spitzer, a Democrat, and Republican New York State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. There is little doubt that the legislation would pass if brought to a vote, but Bruno has the power to prevent the bill from making it to the Senate.
Whether this represents a permanent obstacle or a temporary delay is not clear. Unlike national Republicans, Bruno has stated no opposition to same-sex marriage--but he is at odds with Spitzer's entire legislative agenda as a unit. Bruno is instead trying to push for a legislative agenda of his own, centering on anti-crime legislation that would toughen domestic violence prevention policies and reinstate the death penalty in capital murder cases. As Bruno said in an interview with New York Public Radio:
We're in a grieving period here, two officers killed in two weeks, four shot. Ten in two and a half years, killed. The governor has got his priorities wrong.It seems safe to say that Spitzer and Bruno are unlikely to become fast friends anytime soon, but the question of whether Bruno will allow the bill to go to a floor vote is another matter entirely. The fact that he has so far been unwilling to speak specifically against same-sex marriage legislation suggests that he wants to leave his options open.
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Comments
pls don’t pretend to address civil liberties
pls don’t pretend to address civil liberties
pls don’t pretend to address civil liberties
Tom Head has sex with animals & is into bestiality.