GOP NY Lawmakers: Marriage Parity for Religious Protections

The question of whether gay and lesbian families in New York may enjoy the same state-level marriage rights as their heterosexual peers might boil down to a question of how willing and able lawmakers are to adjust the marriage equality bill to protect those whose religious beliefs write gays and their families off as "immoral."

The marriage equality bill now in play in Albany provides protections for religious institutions that former versions of the bill lacked, including a guarantee that anti-gay churches will not be forced to provide wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples. But for some Republican lawmakers, that's not enough. They've indicated that even stronger protections for the anti-gay religions will have to be included in the bill if it's going to stand a chance to winning them over.

A similar bill attracted no support from Republican state senators in 2009, and a handful of Democrats who had voiced support for the measure previously defected, voting against the bill and helping sink it.

But two years later, the situation has changed dramatically: All but one Democratic state senator, Reuben Diaz, Sr., are in favor of extending marriage parity to same-sex couples. Diaz is a Pentecostal minister.

Two Republican state senators have also thrown their support behind the measure. Other GOP lawmakers have indicated that the bill could draw even more bipartisan support if it's calibrated to allow businesses and individuals to deny services and accommodations to gay and lesbian wedding celebrants if they decline on religious grounds, the New York Times reported on June 16.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has had at least two meetings with Republican lawmakers looking for the bill to include faith-based exceptions to anti-discrimination laws. Among those with whom the governor has met is State Sen. Andrew Lanza.

"The concern that I have expressed, and others have expressed, is that we don't want to create a vehicle that will allow anyone to make a challenge, to erode, what I think is a fundamental American freedom, and that is the freedom of expression when it comes to religion," Lanza told the Times.

"Our courts are filled with litigants and lawsuits," Lanza went on to say, "and if we get the language right, we've got a better chance of protecting that which we seek to protect. If you get it wrong, then you expose our religious organizations to litigation."

The Capitol, a news publication focused on the state's government, reported on June 17 that Lanza reiterated his concerns.

"I don't know anyone, any good person, who would disagree that we wouldn't want to create a situation where people's beliefs are threatened or challenged by anything we do," Lanza said.

Republican State Sen. Greg Ball expressed strong agreement with that view, calling the current version of the bill "an affront to religious organizations" with the potential to "open up a new era of lawsuits against individuals and religious organizations," the Times article said.

"Some of the people, in fairness, that were asking questions yesterday said, 'Why don't we take time and make sure it's right?'" noted GOP State Sen. William Larkin, Jr., who does not believe that gay and lesbian families should have the same access to marriage as straights.

"Without naming names, I can tell you I believe some of them will vote for it, but they want to make sure while they're voting for it they're not punishing the synagogue, the Catholic church, the Baptist church," added Larkin.

The State Assembly has already passed the bill in its current form. With time running out on the current legislative session, pressure from both side is high -- and mounting, especially on the two Republican senators who are still undecided.

For some who are set to vote "No," however, a change in the bill's language to protect those whose faith holds that same-sex relationships are "immoral" might be enough to switch their votes to "yes."

Meanwhile, anti-gay religious groups have also been lobbying hard to ensure that same-sex couples are left without the legal status and recognition that marriage automatically confers. The New York State Catholic Conference has kept up pressure on lawmakers, the Times said. For that group, even a guarantee of an exemption based on religious belief would not be enough to soften their views against supporting same-sex families by allowing them to marry.

"It should be noted that we will continue to strongly oppose any redefinition of the historic understanding of marriage, regardless of the strength of the religious liberty protections," said spokesperson Dennis Poust.

"However, should the bill pass without adequate protection, it will have potentially far-reaching consequences for our ministries, both in terms of contracts to provide services and potentially to challenges to not-for-profit status."

Anti-Gay Elements Keep Up the Pressure

Other anti-gay groups, including New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, the National Organization for Marriage, and the Christian Coalition have also intensified their efforts to derail the bill, reported the Christian Post on June 16.

An anti-gay rally organized by the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization took place on June 16, according to the Christian Post. State Sen. Diaz is the group's leader, the article said.

The group presented arguments against marriage equality that included claims that children with same-sex parents are sexually abused more frequently than children with heterosexual parents, the Christian Post article said.

The group also claimed that by allowing gay and lesbian families to marry, the institution of marriage -- already weakened by heterosexual divorce rates -- would be further "destabilized."

The group also repeated claims that anti-gay proponents of Proposition 8 made in California in 2008: That unless marriage equality is stopped, young children will be "forced" to learn about gays and same-sex relationships in the classroom.

That issue might be enough to stall the bill until the legislative session ends, effectively killing it. The Capitol article said that momentum around the issue was quickly dissipating, leaving the bill's chances for passage in doubt. Gov. Cuomo has said that unless state lawmakers address certain issues, such as laws regarding rent control and property taxes, he will keep the legislature in session past its scheduled end date on June 20. If so, the bill could get a slightly longer lease on life.

Supporters of gay and lesbian families have not given up hope, though time is short and the leader of the state senate, Dean Skelos, has yet to indicate that he will allow the measure to come up for a vote in that chamber.

Among the supporters of the bill is New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has contributed significant sums of his own money to the cause, the New York Times article noted. Bloomberg took stock of the highly emotional nature of the issue and the difficult place into which it has put lawmakers.

"In all my conversations with senators, I could see how personal this was for them and their families, how carefully they were listening to both their parents and children, and how earnestly they are struggling to find the right answer," Bloomberg told the Times.

The Republican lawmakers who have indicated their support for the measure are far from alone in arguing the case for equal access to marriage rights. Acceptance of gays and their families has soared in America in recent years, and along with it another phenomenon has also become more commonplace: Gays who are also political conservatives are now emerging from the closet.

Their argument echoes that of heterosexual conservatives like Theodore B. Olsen, the former Solicitor General under George W. Bush who went on to bring a successful suit against Proposition 8 in federal court. That case led to a verdict that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. The case is under appeal.

"Conservatives should support the Governor's marriage equality bill," Olsen said on June 16. "Equality under the law, nurturing strong families, and religious freedom are bedrock conservative values, and the Governor's bill promotes them all.

"The bill finally ends the State of New York's demeaning treatment of gay men and lesbians as second-class citizens unworthy of the institution of civil marriage," Olsen added. "It stabilizes and strengthens New York families headed by gay men and lesbians by allowing them to marry, delivering untold benefits to the thousands of children raised by those parents.

"And the bill protects religious freedom by ensuring that religious institutions will not be required to perform marriages contrary to their beliefs," Olsen added. "As a lifelong Republican and conservative, I support this legislation. New Yorkers who believe in freedom, respect family values and cherish religious liberty should embrace it as well."

Even if the bill dies, this is the closest marriage equality has come to passage in New York. Currently, the bill is one vote short of clearing the state senate, assuming Skelos were to allow a vote.