It's time, N.Y.

Hear that, New York? The Obama administration says the federal law that banned recognition of same-sex marriage -- and with it, denied health and pension benefits to countless Americans -- is unconstitutional.

Unusual, if long overdue, clarity came Wednesday with the concession that a law passed 15 years ago, in a very different climate for sexual politics, couldn't pass constitutional muster. It's legally indefensible, to be quite blunt about it.

Politically difficult, too. The President, who says his personal position on same-sex marriage is an "evolving" matter, has given further momentum to the push for equal rights for gays.

In Albany, not even the most socially conservative or politically tone deaf state lawmakers can deny that continuing to prevent gays from legally marrying just got noticeably harder. So much so that its advocates -- from Governor Cuomo, in his position of resounding popularity, to Thomas Duane, in the trenches of the state Senate -- should push for another vote on gay marriage.

The 38-24 vote against same-sex marriage in the state Senate two years ago just might represent politics as obsolete as the Justice Department's vow last month to keep fighting in court against the very forces it's now joined in opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act. Even a closer, albeit losing vote, could upend the political dynamics.

It's a different Senate, remember, than the one that voted down gay marriage in 2009. The Republicans who voted unanimously against it have seven new members.

There will be more pressure to put on the old members, too. That means you, Roy McDonald of Wilton. You, too, Hugh Farley of Niskayuna.

As for the Democrats, there's little reason to think that eight of their members would oppose gay marriage, as was the case in 2009. Five of the 30 Democrats now in the Senate hadn't been elected then.

Keep in mind, too, the 50,000 or so gay couples who would be able to legally marry in New York if the Senate rewrote the law to reflect a more tolerant era. They have the public on their side. A Quinnipiac University poll last week showed that New Yorkers favor same-sex marriage, 54 percent to 39 percent.

Among them is Edith Windsor, an 81-year-old widow who filed a federal lawsuit seeking reimbursement of $360,000 she had to pay in estate taxes because the federal government did not recognize her marriage.

"I think it removes a great deal of the stigma," she said of the Obama administration's abandonment of a misguided law. "It's just great."

Imagine, New York, what Ms. Windsor might say when justice prevails here.

THE ISSUE:

The Obama administration's change in its position on gay marriage creates an opening.

THE STAKES:

It will be harder to resist equal rights here.

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ORIGINAL SOURCE

Cuomo Calls for Marriage Equality in 2011

By Julie Bolcer

New York governor Andrew Cuomo delivered his first State of the State address Wednesday and called for the passage of the marriage equality bill in 2011.

Governor Cuomo spoke only one line about marriage equality in the hour-long address in Albany, but the message was emphatically clear.

“We believe in justice for all, then let’s pass marriage equality this year once and for all,” he said.

Success depends on a vote in the state senate, where the bill failed by a vote of 38-24 in 2009. Republican majority leader Dean Skelos has pledged to allow another vote on the bill, although he personally opposes marriage equality, and no Republican voted for the bill two years ago. Since then, gay groups including the Human Rights Campaign, Fight Back New York, and the Empire State Pride Agenda have demonstrated the electoral power to remove incumbent senators who voted against the bill and replace them with pro-equality lawmakers.

In his address Wednesday, Governor Cuomo, a Democrat and former attorney general, expressed goodwill toward Senator Skelos as both prepare to work on the state’s budget crisis in the coming months.

Ross Levi, the executive director of the Pride Agenda and a member of the Cuomo transition team, praised the governor for his speech in a news release.

“The Pride Agenda is very pleased that Governor Cuomo in his State of the State address specifically included LGBT New Yorkers in his vision of a great Empire State,” Levi said. “He has strongly and repeatedly shown his support for LGBT fairness and equality, and the affirmation today of his commitment to see marriage for loving same-sex couples become law in New York State is another indication of that support. We look forward to working with Governor Cuomo and Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy — and elected officials throughout the state — to move forward on marriage equality, fighting transgender discrimination and the many other LGBT issues that are supported by a majority of New Yorkers.”

The Pride Agenda also noted two other positive steps taken by Governor Cuomo in recent days. Those include the continuation of an executive order first signed by Gov. David Paterson to prohibit discrimination in state employment based on gender identity and expression, and the appointment of Alphonso David, who served as special deputy attorney general for civil rights under Cuomo, to the newly created position of deputy secretary for civil rights.

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Cuomo Inaugurated as N.Y. Governor

By Julie Bolcer

Andrew Cuomo, who called marriage equality a priority issue during his campaign, was inaugurated as governor of New York on Saturday.

Although he did not mention marriage equality specifically in his inaugural address, which focused largely on fiscal challenges, the new Democratic governor reached out to Republican leaders and called for more cooperation. The fate of the marriage equality bill depends on action in the New York state senate, where the GOP holds a slim 32-30 margin.

“Rather than seek the apparent safety of the lowest common denominator, we must strive to reach the highest possible goal,” said Cuomo. “We must realize that achieving political consensus in a political conference is different than providing government leadership for the people of the state of New York.”

Sen. Dean Skelos, the majority leader, has said that he would recommend bringing the marriage equality bill to the floor for a vote subject to speaking with his Republican conference. The bill failed by a vote of 38-24 in the senate in 2011, with no Republicans voting in favor, but polls show more voters in support now, and gay groups have achieved high-profile electoral defeats of three lawmakers who voted against the bill.

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