Senator Tom Duane (D-Manhattan) frequently told the media and made public announcements that he had the necessary 32 votes to pass the bill in the Senate, and Governor Paterson had promised to sign it. He stated that he and his partner could marry in New York State before the end of 2009.

This past June, same-sex marriage legislation played a major role in a Senate coup. This coup was about who would be in control of the State Senate, and same-sex marriage legislation played a role in the outcome. The 31-day coup prevented any legislation from passing, including same-sex marriage. In early July, the Senate leadership struggle was settled. The Senate quickly passed necessary legislation, so that they could end the session and go home. Same-sex marriage was not part of this end-of-session legislation.

Beginning in September, Governor Paterson called the legislature back into session several times during the fall. He called them back weekly in the month of November and the first week of December. Paterson wanted legislators to deal with bills that he felt should have been considered in the regular session. One major issue was a budget deficit of $3.2 billion. He included same-sex marriage legislation as part of his legislative agenda.

When the Governor calls a special session, all legislators must return to the capitol for this special, extraordinary session, in which the Governor sets the agenda. The legislators do not have to pass the Governor’s agenda, but they are not allowed to work on any other bills during that time. At several of the Governor’s special sessions, the legislature gaveled into session, laid aside the Governor’s legislation and gaveled out, not passing the Governor’s legislative agenda.

During the regular legislative session (January through June), New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms felt that supporters of same-sex marriage did not have the 32 votes necessary to pass the legislation. It appeared that all 30 Republican senators and a handful of Democratic senators would vote no. Yet other people on both sides of the issue thought it would be a close vote. The senators who were against same-sex marriage did not want to vote on the issue in case someone changed their mind at the last minute and the bill would pass. By late October and early November, opponents of the legislation were feeling more confident that they had the votes to defeat same-sex marriage legislation. They were not sure by what margin.

Help in defeating it came from an unexpected source. In the November election, nationwide attention was drawn to New York’s 23rd Congressional District race. A third party candidate, Doug Hoffman, representing the Conservative party, attracted so much attention that the Republican candidate, Deidre Scozzafava, a member of the New York State Assembly who had twice voted for same-sex marriage, dropped out of the race, less than a week before the election. The district was very heavily Republican by voter registration, but the Democratic candidate won by a very small margin. This outcome sent shock waves around the country, because they knew that the Republican candidate had to leave the race due in large part to her vote in favor of same-sex marriage. This caused some additional New York State senators to oppose same-sex marriage legislation, believing that it would not be wise to vote in favor of the legislation.

By the time the Governor called for a special session in December, senators against same-sex marriage were fully in support of taking the vote, knowing they would win by a comfortable margin.

The New York State Assembly had already passed the homosexual marriage bill in May of 2009, but in special session, bills take on new numbers. For a bill to become a law, it must be passed in both houses with identical wording and compatible bill numbers. This required that the Assembly pass the legislation again—this time during special session. If the Senate passed the bill, it could then go on to the Governor for his signature.

The New York State Assembly stayed in session all night December 1, 2009, finishing at 7:00 AM on the 2nd. During that night, they passed the same-sex marriage bill.

It is interesting to note though, that the bill passed the Assembly with three fewer votes than it did in May.

Click here for Assembly Voting Record.

A State Senate vote was also taken on, December 2, 2009. The legislation was defeated by a vote of 38 to 24. This was a landslide defeat for homosexuality and a victory for morality. Both sides were surprised that the bill was defeated by such a large margin. All 30 Republican senators voted no on the legislation, and 8 Democratic senators voted no. 

Click here for the Senate Voting Record. 

In the November 2009 election (which took place 3 weeks before the State Senate voted on this issue), the people of Maine voted down same-sex marriage (that had already been approved by their State Legislature) in a ballot initiative. This was a serious blow to the homosexual movement in America. Three weeks after that, the New York State Senate defeated gay marriage by a wide margin—another major blow. Until the New York vote, same-sex marriage advocates expected the New Jersey Legislature to pass same-sex marriage legislation, and their governor had promised to sign it. After the New York defeat, several Democrats in the New Jersey State Legislature no longer wanted to deal with the issue, and it stalled. The vote in New York had ramifications beyond our border.
But with a governor that favored gay marriage leaving office (John Corzine), and a pro-family governor (Chris Christie) replacing him soon, the Democratically-controlled Garden State Senate decided to take up the legislation and see where the chips would fall. On January 7, 2010, the New Jersey State Senate defeated same-sex marriage legislation by a vote of 20-14.

I am frequently asked if the New York State Senate will have to vote on same-sex marriage legislation in 2010. I expect that it will be reintroduced in 2010, but I do not expect a vote to be taken. It is an election year for all legislators, and they prefer not to deal with such controversial issues during an election year. They know that same-sex marriage will play a major role in many of the legislative races in November.

Various homosexual rights organizations, both statewide and national, have stated that they will be finding candidates to run against every legislator that voted no on the same-sex marriage bill, and they will fund those candidates.

All New York State Legislators, Senate and Assembly, are up for reelection this coming November. Each of the senators who voted no on same-sex marriage knew that they were putting their career on the line when they cast their vote. Several said to me that they voted no because it was the right thing to do, regardless of the political consequences.

If you agree with the way your legislator voted on this issue, you need to let them know that you support them. You should consider helping them in their reelection effort this fall.

Gay-rights activists will not give up on this issue and will take every opportunity possible to have the bill reintroduced and moved in the New York State Legislature. They will work very hard in the fall elections to gain enough votes to pass the bill in the future. They will not give up until they are victorious. Christians should take this opportunity to stand for Biblical morality, and support candidates who support their position on same-sex marriage.