RELIGIOUS CARVEOUTS STALLING MARRIAGE BILL; OPPONENTS OF THE MEASURE LOOKING FOR A WAY OUT

IS THIS GUY NO. 32?
NYS Senator Stephen Saland
R,I,C-41st, Poughkeepsie

Albany, N.Y.--  Several Republican senators in New York are urging Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to consider changing his proposed same-sex marriage bill to better protect religious institutions, addressing a concern that has emerged as one of the bill’s chief obstacles as the legislative session comes to an end.

Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat who strongly supports same-sex marriage, met both Wednesday night and Thursday evening in his Capitol office with the lawmakers, who say they are worried that churches and other religious institutions that do not approve of gay marriage could face legal challenges or regulatory conflicts if same-sex marriage is legalized.

Mr. Cuomo’s handling of the concerns will determine the fate of the measure, the Republicans said, which has been endorsed by 31 of the 62 members of the State Senate and cannot pass unless at least one more Republican lawmaker signs on. The legislative session ends on Monday.

Senator Andrew J. Lanza of Staten Island, who, along with Senators Kemp Hannon of Long Island and Stephen M. Saland of Poughkeepsie, met with the governor, said, “The concern that I have expressed, and others have expressed, is that we don’t want to create a vehicle that will allow anyone to make a challenge, to erode, what I think is a fundamental American freedom, and that is the freedom of expression when it comes to religion.”

“Our courts,” Mr. Lanza added, “are filled with litigants and lawsuits, and if we get the language right, we’ve got a better chance of protecting that which we seek to protect. If you get it wrong, then you expose our religious organizations to litigation.”

Senator William J. Larkin Jr., a Hudson Valley Republican who opposes same-sex marriage, said he understood his colleagues’ concerns: “Some of the people, in fairness, that were asking questions yesterday said, ‘Why don’t we take time and make sure it’s right?’ Without naming names, I can tell you I believe some of them will vote for it, but they want to make sure while they’re voting for it they’re not punishing the synagogue, the Catholic church, the Baptist church.”

A spokesman for Mr. Cuomo declined to discuss the negotiations on Thursday.

Neither Mr. Lanza, who said he was still a “no” vote, nor other Republicans would specify the precise changes they were seeking in Mr. Cuomo’s bill. And while Republican lawmakers described Mr. Cuomo as sympathetic to their broad concerns, it was not clear whether Mr. Cuomo would ultimately be open to changes in the language of the bill, which has already been approved by the State Assembly.

The legislation already includes language that exempts broad classes of religious institutions and private benevolent organizations from hosting or recognizing gay ceremonies, while indemnifying such institutions from lawsuits.

Mr. Saland, who met with Mr. Cuomo, is playing a pivotal role for the undecided Republicans, lawmakers and advocates for the bill said on Thursday.

Senator Saland, 67, told a reporter this week that he was undecided on same-sex marriage. Friends and colleagues described Mr. Saland as a legislator’s legislator, soft-spoken and scholarly, known for attention to detail and interested in children’s and family issues.

Senator John J. Flanagan, a Long Island Republican who voted against same-sex marriage two years ago but is thought to be reconsidering this year, praised Mr. Saland’s role in Republicans’ internal debates.

“I would say he’s extremely principled, he’s very thoughtful, and he has the ability to focus on the details-- which, in this case, are extremely important,” Mr. Flanagan said.

photo:  Ove Overmyer

With 29 Senate Democrats and 2 Republicans now supporting same-sex marriage, Republicans continued their private deliberations over the issue for a second day on Thursday. Their leader, Dean G. Skelos, a Long Island Republican, said that no decision had been made on whether to bring the legislation to a vote, and that no further support for the measure had emerged. Conservative religious leaders and representatives of the New York State Catholic Conference made the rounds of the Capitol on Thursday seeking to press their case against the measure.

“We are relaying our very serious concerns to members of the Legislature regarding the religious liberty implications of Governor Cuomo’s bill,” said Dennis Poust, a spokesman for the conference. “It should be noted that we will continue to strongly oppose any redefinition of the historic understanding of marriage, regardless of the strength of the religious liberty protections. However, should the bill pass without adequate protection, it will have potentially far-reaching consequences for our ministries, both in terms of contracts to provide services and potentially to challenges to not-for-profit status.”

New York City Mayor in Albany

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a supporter of same-sex marriage and the biggest single financial supporter of the state’s Senate Republican caucus, addressed the Republican senators privately as they met to discuss the bill. Speaking to reporters afterward, Mr. Bloomberg said he believed that the bill would pass, with several votes to spare.

“I still believe if they do vote their hearts and principles, New York State will become the next state to adopt marriage equality,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “Because based on my conversations with senators, I believe that if the bill comes to the floor, it will pass.”

The mayor did not identify the lawmakers from whom he expected support, but he mentioned three Republican senators he had spoken with in recent weeks: Mr. Lanza, Mr. Flanagan and Mark Grisanti of Buffalo. “In all my conversations with senators,” Mr. Bloomberg said, “I could see how personal this was for them and their families, how carefully they were listening to both their parents and children, and how earnestly they are struggling to find the right answer.”

“This,” Mr. Bloomberg added, “is not an easy issue.”

Some potential votes for same-sex marriage appeared to be slipping away on Thursday. Greg Ball, a Republican senator from the Hudson Valley who had been heavily lobbied by advocates for the bill and Republican donors who support same-sex marriage, called Mr. Cuomo’s bill “an affront to religious organizations” lacking broad enough protections for religious institutions.

The bill, Mr. Ball says, “would open up a new era of lawsuits against individuals and religious organizations." 

Mr. Ball's assumptions and this religious fervor is unwarranted and factually baseless.  There are ample protections in this bill and other civil rights legislation that preclude protections for religious organizations.  The problem with writing specific protections for one class of people in the marriage law will result in a bill that makes discrimination legal against a protected class with respect to the existing Human Rights Law of the state constitution.

The NYS Assembly passed a marriage equality bill on Wednesday's legislative session (80-63), for the fourth time.