Gay Marriage Dies in the New York State Senate

The Gay Marriage bill fails in the NY Senate by a wide margin, 42 to 38.

“While the Catholic Church rejects unjust discrimination against homosexual men and women, there is no question that marriage by its nature is the union of one man and one woman,” Richard E. Barnes, the executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference, said in a statement. “Advocates for same-sex marriage have attempted to portray their cause as inevitable. However, it has become clear that Americans continue to understand marriage the way it has always been understood, and New York is not different in that regard. This is a victory for the basic building block of our society.”

The Roman Catholic Church OPPOSED ending discrimination in employment and housing for gays and lesbians in New York City for years. An antidiscrimination bill was first introduced into the city council in 1970 (through the work of gay activist Marty Robinson), and was passed only in 1986 with the support of then mayor Ed Koch. Pressure by the New York Archdiocese, by way of the Firemen's union and the Police Benevolent Association, kept the bill bottled up in committee and off the floor for a vote. The only religious leader to endorse the bill was the late +Paul Moore, and in the face of pressure from Catholic and Jewish hierarchs to oppose it.

Score one for mitered Caiphas and the Roman Sanhedrin.

CORRECTION:

The Senate vote was 38 to 24. You can read about it here. It really was a wide margin.