When Gay Marriage Came to New York 5yrs Ago
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| Gov.Cuomo proudly signs NYS Gay Marriage into Law |
Five years ago, Michael Sabatino spent day after day in the dark and humid halls of the state Capitol pressing for the state legislature to legalize same-sex marriage.
On one side of the hall outside the Senate chambers were gay-rights supporters. On other side, religious groups urged senators to vote no.
When the bill was approved June 24, 2011, Sabatino and other gay-right activists in the Senate chamber broke into cheers and tears, with chants of “USA, USA” spontaneously breaking out in the chamber.
“The feeling of having fought for that at that point for 11 or 12 years, it was just an exhilarating feeling,” said Sabatino, now a Yonkers city councilman, who led a lawsuit seeking gay-marriage rights in New York.
Five years after New York became the largest state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage, the Senate vote that late Friday night still resonates across the state with gay couples who have gotten married.
The vote carries extra meaning, too: A year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal across the nation, and just two weeks ago, an Orlando shooter killed 49 people at a gay club.
“It’s a reminder that there’s still work to do — that our community still needs to remain vigilant,” said Scott Fearing, executive director of the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley.
“We need to keep safety issues in our mind, because the work isn’t all done.”
June is also Gay Pride Month, and the PrideFest parade is Sunday in Manhattan.
Outside New York City, at least 10,000 same-sex couples were married between 2012 and 2014, records from the state Health Department showed, representing nearly 6 percent of the total marriages in the state over those three years.
The number of gay marriages spiked at 4,031 in 2013 and dropped to 3,193 in 2014. There were 2,796 in 2012, the records showed.
New York marriage licenses do not require people to write down their sex, so the same-sex marriage figures aren’t exact.
Fight in Albany
New York was the sixth state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage, and many others soon followed.
But getting New York there was a fight, and it remains one of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signature moments of his six-year tenure as governor so far. The bill initially failed in 2009 in the Senate.
The Democratic governor was able to persuade four Republican senators to vote in favor of the bill, giving it the 33 votes to pass the 62-seat chamber controlled by the GOP. The Democratic-led Assembly had easily passed the measure for several years.
There was political fallout: All four of the Republicans subsequently lost their seats over the next few years.
Sen. James Alesi, R-Perinton, Monroe County, decided not to seek re-election in 2012, and Sen. Stephen Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, lost in a three-way race that November.
Sens. Roy McDonald, of Saratoga, and Mark Grisanti, of Buffalo, also would later lose re-election bids.
Rarely in Albany has a vote carried such suspense: Typically, bills are brought to the floor of the Assembly and Senate predetermined to pass.
With the same-sex marriage vote, it wasn’t clear the bill would pass to just moments before Saland spoke on the Senate floor and expressed his support.
“It was a real statesmen thing for many of the legislators who stepped up to the plate and said, ‘What’s right is right, and we need to act on it,’” said Frederic Mayo, who heads the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center, based in Kingston.
Saland reiterated Tuesday he’s proud of his vote.
“It was an extraordinary moment — unlike any I had witnessed in my 30-plus years in the legislature,” he recalled.
After losing re-election, he essentially retired from politics, except for some part-time consulting work. He was named Friday to the state Thruway Authority board.
“I look back at that point and place in time with enormous pride,” Saland said. “And if I had to do it all over again, even well-knowing the consequences, I would have done the exact same thing.”
Some businesses have sought to attract gay couples and weddings to their venues. The Rochester visitor’s association has ads that try to reach gay couples and families, for example.
“We really see ourselves as the place for LGBT families to visit,” said Rachel Laber, spokeswoman for Visit Rochester.
Couples recall marriage
Wanda Martinez-Johncox, 37, recalled growing up in Puerto Rico and wondering if she’s ever be able to get married.
But after moving to Rochester as an adult and meeting her spouse a year ago, she was able to fulfill her dream.
“When it was passed, it was very exciting because I never thought I would get married. It was a step forward,” she said.
Other gay couples offered similar sentiments.
Lance Ringel, 64, of Poughkeepsie, had been with his husband for 25 years when same-sex marriage in New York passed.
They got married in New York two months after the law was on the books.
“When you’ve been together that long in some ways, it felt to us that it was going to be an afterthought,” Ringel said. “But it was really a positive experience — both for us and seemingly everyone who came. They still talk about it.”
Richard Skipper, 55, and his husband, Daniel Sherman, 62, of Sparkill, Rockland County, were one of the first 100 people to get married at Manhattan City Clerk’s office on the first day same-sex marriage was recognized in New York.
Skipper said he and his husband, who have been together for 26 years, saw the New York bill as an opportunity to finally receive equal spousal benefits, among other things.
The law gave equal rights to gay couples, affording them the same rights as straight couples, such as when it comes to health insurance, hospital visiting rights and income taxes.
“It sheds a light and an awareness of the fact that, for the most part, we are just like any other married couple,” Skipper said. “We deal with the same issues ...We have the same ups and downs that any other couple has had.”
Gay-rights groups in New York said they are still fighting for some rights in New York, such as the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act that hasn’t passed the Republican-led Senate.
Opponents of gay marriages, particularly conservative groups, continue to lobby at the Capitol to block additional measures.
As a result, Cuomo last fall put into statewide regulations a measure that prohibits harassment and discrimination on the basis of gender identity, transgender status or gender dysphoria.
“New York has always been a beacon for the country on LGBT rights,” Cuomo said in a statement at the time. “We started the movement at Stonewall, we led the way with marriage equality, and now we are continuing to show the nation the path forward.”
Also, the massacre in Orlando offered a stark reminder that equal rights is an ongoing battle, said Scott Havelka, director of programs at the The LOFT: LGBT Community Services Center in White Plains.
“In times of tragedy the LGBT community has always come together to show its resilience,” he said in a statement. “We see this resilience now as we gather for local vigils, raise funds for the survivors, and renew our commitments to visibly demonstrate the many facets of our community pride. Orlando will make us stronger as a community.”
Joseph Spector, jspector@gannett.com | @gannettalbany
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