Gov. Andrew Cuomo Leading Gay Marriage Fight In New York, Bill Could Pass This Week
This is the news that advocates of justice and fair play can rejoice in.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has become a prominent champion of legalized gay marriage, pushing his state into the center of the national debate over an emotional and divisive issue.
In the past week, the Democrat has personally lobbied wavering Republican lawmakers and has said the extension of marriage rights to gays and lesbians is “a matter of principle, not politics.”
“This state has a proud tradition and a proud legacy as the progressive capital of the nation,” he said Friday. “We led the way, and it’s time for New York to lead the way once again.”
“It looks like a profile in courage, and maybe it is,” said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. “But it also may be politically smart in the long run.”
Cuomo’s support for gay rights is already known to New York voters. His efforts this past week to get the bill through the Republican-controlled state Senate — the lone roadblock to passage — make good on an issue he ran on last year. During that campaign, he took his daughters to a gay pride parade in New York City, drawing sharp criticism from his Republican opponent.
“The governor is putting skin in the game and has a steadfast commitment to the issue,” said Kevin Nix of the Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights group. “That he’s made marriage equality a priority for this legislative session speaks volumes about his commitment.”
He is opposed, though, by some conservative groups and religious leaders. Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York last week in a blog likened the effort to “redefine” marriage to something that would be done in China or North Korea.
Still, polls this year have shown that more than half of voters in New York support gay marriage, with backing heaviest among Democrats. Cuomo’s position is also in line with New York’s last two governors and its two Democratic U.S. senators. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has been a high-profile advocate of gay rights issues, and Sen. Charles Schumer came out in support of gay marriage in 2009.
A Gallup poll last month found national support for same-sex marriage going up 9 points from the previous year to 53 percent (support was at 27 percent in 1996). Support is highest among younger people, a major reason why many analysts believe the trend will continue.
And Sabato said that could make Cuomo’s issue a winner for him in the coming years, particularly since many Democratic constituencies who will choose the party’s nominee favor same-sex marriage.
“The earliest he could run is 2016,” Sabato said. “And I think his gamble is that the country is evolving on this issue and moving in New York’s direction.”
