ALBANY—What went wrong? Despite the spin, most everyone pushing for a bill legalizing same-sex marriage privately acknowledges that the 24-38 loss in the State Senate was a whopper, and while theories abound, there's no clear explaination for how the bill was so soundly defeated. Senator Eric Schneiderman started by blaming... READ MORE»
ALBANY—State Senator Tom Duane just shared his feelings on the chamber floor after the failure of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. "I'm angry, I'm disappointed, I'm sad, I'm let down, I'm betrayed, but I am not going away," Duane said. "It makes me angry, but it doesn't in any way make me or anyone in the LGBT community feel the need to back down, because people have been, uh, uh, betrayed. People have been... READ MORE»
ALBANY The debate on same-sex marriage in the State Senate started at 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday, December 2, 2009. Senator Tom Duane, the chamber's only openly gay member and the bill's sponsor, spoke very briefly explaining the measure. "This legislation would merely provide me and tens of thousands of other new Yorkers with equal rights," he said. "It would make me equal in every way to everyone else in this... READ MORE»
ALBANY—A vote on same-sex marriage will be held "at a date not certain between now and the end of the year," David Paterson just promised publicly. "This is the first time the Senate leadership has indicated that it will support a vote on marriage equality," Paterson said. He also committed to putting the bill on the calendar for a special session next... READ MORE»
ALBANY—It's a Hail Mary pass for same-sex marriage. State Senator Tom Duane, the measure's sponsor in that chamber, just walked across the back of the floor trailed by Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson and Eric Adams, his top lieutenant. Along with Senators Malcolm Smith, Eric Schneiderman and Deputy Majority Leader Jeff Klein, they walked down to meet with David Paterson. Duane's hands were clasped and he was pacing. A source familiar with the lobbying effort... READ MORE»
ALBANY—David Paterson officially officially proclaimed a special session on Tuesday to consider his $3 billion plan to bridge a mid-year deficit as well as other miscellaneous legislative business, even though no budget-cutting agreements have been reached among the governor and legislative... READ MORE»
ALBANY—The hospital lobby is using three State Senate Democrats as a shield in their fight against health care cuts David Paterson proposed in a $3 billion deficit reduction... READ MORE»