New York Lawmakers Reject Same Sex Marriage Bill
December 3rd, 2009 - 6:53 pm ICT by GDBy Gina Gomez
New York, Dec.03, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Gay marriage activists suffered a huge debacle on Wednesday as the lawmakers of New York voted down the gay marriage bill. The legislation was rejected by the New York senate by the vote margin of 38-24 and with it the expectations that the state would turn as the sixth state to legalize same sex marriage came to an end. The other states where same sex marriages are legalized include Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut.
Governor David Paterson, who strongly supported the bill was hugely disappointed and later added that this was probably the saddest day of his life. He even mentioned that they would have readily signed the bill if the law was allowed to pass. The rejection of the bill comes just after a month when the Maine voters came up with a similar verdict.
Maggie Gallagher, the leader of the National Organization for Marriage who had throughout opposed the bill, termed the verdict as an enormous victory and emphasized that the decision was nothing but the will of the people. All those who opposed gay marriages were also delighted about the large margin of votes with which the bill was rejected. At the same time, Thomas Duane, a Manhattan Democrat who is the Legislature’s first open gay member, added that the decision made him feel betrayed. However, the Democrat also emphasized that he would not be giving up and continue his fight.
The same sex marriage bill was rejected following a heated discussion in the Senate that lasted for two hours. With the verdict, New York has added its name to the list of the 31 other states that oppose gay marriages.
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- Obama supports same-sex marriage (Lead) - May 10, 2012
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- NJ Gay Marriage Bill To Come Under The Scanner Of Senate - Dec 08, 2009
- New York Senate legalizes same-sex marriage in historic vote - Jun 25, 2011
- US military chaplains free to perform same-sex marriages - Oct 01, 2011
- New Hampshire rejects Gays - May 21, 2009
- First same-sex couple wed in New York - Jul 25, 2011
- Gay Marriage Law Verdict Makes Queer Couples In California Elated - Aug 05, 2010
- What will Obama's gay turn cost? - May 14, 2012
- US state votes to make same-sex marriage legal - Apr 08, 2009
- US state may ban discussing homosexuality in schools - Apr 28, 2011
- Cynthia Nixon wants to marry her girlfriend - May 27, 2010
- Gay history, rights to be taught in US schools - Apr 17, 2011
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