same-sex marriage
Schumer is 'committed' to a same-sex immigration amendment
Sen. Chuck Schumer was uncharacteristically shy last week, when asked about a controversial amendment to his big immigration bill, which would include certain provisions recognizing same-sex couples. More
Jerrold Nadler, a leading DOMA opponent in the House, is happy right now
"I thought it was a very good oral argument," Rep. Jerry Nadler told Capital this afternoon, after attending the Supreme Court's hearing on the Defense of Marriage Act. "I was encouraged by it. I'm optimistic." More
Supreme Court justices wonder aloud why they 'crossed that river'
The attorneys arguing for and against same-sex marriage at the Supreme Court today agreed on one thing: the justices have it within their power to decide the issue, and they should do it.
"That is the one thing on which I wholeheartedly agree with my friend Mr. Olson," said Charles Cooper, who argued for the California referendum that banned same-sex marriage, referring to his counterpart, former solicitor general Ted Olson, who was arguing against the referendum. More
(1)An all-nighter in Albany, a long wait at the Supreme Court
Sharpton calls for a vote on the "paid sick time" bill, but doesn't mention Quinn. [NationalActionNetwork.net]
NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly said creating an inspector general for his department would make the city "less safe." [Jill Colvin] More
Hanna will 'absolutely' get a primary after supporting same-sex marriage
Only two members of Congress were among the several dozen Republicans who signed on to a legal brief asserting the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, and one of them was upstate Rep. Richard Hanna.
Hanna's signature comes in defiance of last fall's election results, when three the of four Republicans in the State Senate who voted with Democrats to pass same-sex marriage were defeated at the polls. In the eyes of same-sex marriage opponents, what Hanna did was even worse. More
(3)City G.O.P. chairs discuss 7 mayoral contenders, with an eye to avoiding 'divisive social issues'
Manhattan G.O.P. chair Dan Isaacs last night said he and his committee are scheduled to meet with supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis and former M.T.A. chair Joe Lhota in the next two weeks. More
(1)Albany loses another same-sex marriage Republican
State Senator Stephen Saland officially conceded his race to his Democratic challenger Terry Gipson. [Ariel Zangla]
Governor Andrew Cuomo lamented the loss of a pro-gay marriage Republican in "today's political environment." [Nick Reisman]
Bloomberg's super PAC as test-run: 'I'll be freer to do more in a couple of years'
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today that his new super PAC's involvement in this year's election as something of a test run for his post-mayoral ambitions.
"We'll win some races, we'll lose some of these, but it's sort of to get our feet wet," he said during his regular Friday morning radio show appearance. "And then two years from now, when I don't have to worry about just what's good for New York City—I'm gonna live here the rest of my life, my kids are gonna live here, I'm gonna live in New York State, I'm gonna live in America, so I care about all these levels of government—but I'll be freer to do more in a couple of years." More
Ulrich criticizes Addabbo's same-sex marriage accounting
"7,974 people, I'll never forget the number, weighed in on this issue for me," Democratic state senator Joseph Addabbo said. "74 perct wanted me to vote yes. I voted yes."
Republican opponent Eric Ulrich said, "When we make decisions as elected officials, we do not stick our finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing."
(1)In New York, a focus on Maryland's same-sex-marriage vote
"[W]hen Governor O’Malley asked me to support Question 6, I didn’t hesitate," Bloomberg wrote in a letter featured on the website of the main same-sex marriage advocacy group in Maryland. More
Cuomo's unusual endorsement of Joe Addabbo
In retrospect, there was almost no way for Governor Andrew Cuomo not to endorse incumbent state senator Joseph Addabbo. More
'Help Maryland become the first state ever to pass marriage equality'
Here's a page from the Marylanders for Marriage Equality web site, urging supporters to help make Maryland "the first state ever to pass marriage equality." More
'Shove it': A portrait of a gay-marriage Republican in limbo
BALLSTON SPA—The next paragraph in the gay rights narrative will be written here, in a windowless vault filled with old paper and softly quibbling lawyers, next week. More
Anti-gay-marriage reverend says Cuomo would have been 'the kiss of death'
"I was praying, I was praying, I was praying he was going to come in," McGuire said. "I mean, it would have been the kiss of death. He wisely said he's no assistance to these Republicans, and chose to stay out." More
Martin O'Malley, in New York, on the hardest same-sex-marriage feat of all
Dozens of the celebrities, big-money donors and political operatives who teamed up on the successful push for a gay-marriage bill in New York assembled for cocktails on Thursday night at Jimmy, the lush rooftop bar of the James Hotel in Soho, where they listened carefully to a governor whose name is not Andrew Cuomo. More
