Motor mouth

Lots of commentary and a behind-the-scenes story about the gay marriage win in New York

Frank Bruni, gay op-ed columnist for the New York Times, comments that one reason why we won in New York is because so many gay people have stepped out of the closet. "Over the last quarter-century the love that dared not speak its name turned into a veritable motor mouth..."



Michael Barbaro wrote a lengthy article for the New York Times about how the gay marriage vote in New York came to pass. The path had several milestones:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, working through aides, asked several wealthy GOP donors if they would support gay marriage. In particular, their involvement would give GOP senators a bit of cover to support the bill. The donors, including one with a gay son, agreed to the tune of a million dollars for the lobbying campaign.

Cuomo invited gay rights organizations to a meeting. He told them one problem with the vote two years ago was the infighting and badly coordinated efforts between the various groups. Solution: unite and get yourselves competent consultants. They did. But Cuomo was rather late to endorsing gay marriage (only in 2006) so had some convincing of his own to do. He campaigned on this issue yet many gays weren't sure he would stick to his word.

The first job was to convince the few Democrats who voted no last time around. Senator Kruger was prompted to switch by the woman he was living with (no comment) who has a gay nephew.

Senator Addabbo wanted to do what his constituents told him to do. At first gay activists didn't want to annoy him by inundating him. Then he reported that his tally of constituents leaned towards voting no. Cuomo told activists and he was soon flooded with postcards urging a yes vote. Final tally was 80% yes.

Though the GOP controlled the senate, barely, and most GOP senators didn't want to face the issue (not enough support in rural districts), the caucus was not united. Cuomo set about peeling off a few votes. The first was James Alesi, who seemed embarrassed about his no vote two years ago. He was the first target of the wealthy donors and the first to announce a yes vote.

Gay advocates were surprised that the head of the Catholic Church in New York, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, was rather meek in taking up the battle. It appears Cuomo worked behind the scenes to tell church leaders to pull in their claws.

For several days just before the vote the GOP senate caucus debated whether to allow the vote. Many brought up the claim that being gay was a choice. Again, Cuomo intervened and invited the whole caucus to the Governor's Mansion and told them "Their love is worth the same as your love." He got enough votes.

Thank you, Governor!



Jim Burroway of Box Turtle Bulletin contrasts two senators who changed their vote after the 2009 defeat. Carl Kruger, Democrat, tried to say that he had always been a friend to gays. Keep talking. In contrast, Mark Grisanti gave a stirring speech on the research and discussions he worked through over the last six months that prompted him to become wiser and vote yes in spite of his Catholic upbringing. Kruger did political posturing. Grisanti proved to be a statesman.



Burroway summarizes several historic firsts with this victory.

* A Republican led chamber passed a marriage equality law.

* Cuomo was a governor who championed the bill, being heavily involved the whole way.

* A large number of businessmen and labor leaders urged its passage.

* Numerous New York pro athletes spoke out for the bill, beginning to break down the image of sports as a bastion of homophobia.



James Peron, writing in the Huffington Post, recalls George Wallace and blatant racism. He says history (and descendants) will not look kindly on the last homophobe standing.



Keith Olbermann, in his reincarnated Countdown program, had a few things to say about homophobic churches. This was broadcast before the vote was taken and the video is just under 4 minutes. We'll soon have gay marriage (and gay rights) across the country because the arguments against it don't matter to the younger generations. Want to categorize people? Do it according to honesty, sincerity, and generosity.

If we are to protect children from things their parents might do, the list is nightmarishly long. Being gay around kids won't rank very high. Churches, says Olbermann, oppose gay marriage because that represents diversity. That means peaceful interactions between different groups and religions. And that means fears and prejudices are diminished. Too many churches are in business because they can keep their members fearful.

The issue isn't about orthodoxy, but love. Gay people want as much chance to love as straights enjoy. And straight acceptance of gay love is another expression of love towards fellow humans.