Last month, newly-elected NY Governor Eliot Spitzer introduced a "civil marriage equality" bill in the legislature. He admitted at the time it probably wouldn't pass this session which ends at the end of June.
My State Assemblymember Ron Canestrari, who is the Majority Leader, says he favors the concept of marriage equality and says it is only a matter of time before a gay marriage law is adopted. Previously in favor of civil unions, he has changed his position to support full marriage equality because there are too many laws on the books that mention marriage and spouses to simply offer people a civil union. He wants legislation that would ensure people are afforded rights while at the same time not force religious institutions to perform any ceremonies not in line with their beliefs.
My State Senator Joseph Bruno, who is the Majority Leader, is still saying he opposes "gay marriage" but may be pursuaded with a nuanced civil version of it that exempts churches.
According to a recent poll by the Siena Research Institute (my alma mater), 47% of New Yorkers oppose marriage equality while 43% support the idea.
New York has come a long way, now with a Governor that is pro-actively introducing such legislation and an Assembly Majority Leader that says such a law is inevitable. If New York goes, expect the rest of New England to update their civil union laws to be full marriage — and depending on the timing, could affect the issue pending before the California Supreme Court!
In the above map, I've made a rough outline of the Capital District in red. Some time in the past 20 years they've started calling it the Capital Region...but I'm sticking with tradition. The Vermont city of Bennington and Massachusetts city of Pittsfield are often included because they are served by the same television channels. In fact, the NBC affiliate broadcast tower and doppler weather radar are within view of my house.
Trivia 1: Did you know that the CBS (formerly NBC) affiliate WRGB Channel 6 was the first broadcast station in the country? WRGB — Red Green Blue — is based in Schenectady which is the former home of General Electric (it's called The Electric City) and home town to fictional Grace Adler.
Trivia 2: Did you know that television and radio station call letters start with a "W" in the East and "K" in the West?
Trivia 3: Did you know that Hellmann's mayonnaise (food of the Gods as far as I'm concerned and a personal food group) is known as "Best Food's" West of the Rockies? Check the label. And the television commercial jingle is different too: "Bring out the Hellmann's/Best Food's, and bring out the best!]
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1 comment:
This is completely off topic, but as a little boy in Bomoseen, Vermont we used to watch channel 6. Good lord! This was back in the days of local programing.
I've been in Boston for over 30 years now. Good luck with the legislation. As you know, we have same sex marriage on the books here in Massachusetts, and it's looking like it will stay that way, in spite of that dirtbag Mitt Romney's best efforts.
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