whatNOW - Fall 2011 e-Newsletter

Equal Marriage Victory for New York State

By Keira Carver

 
Becoming the sixth and largest state to legalize same-sex marriage, New York’s  passage of the historic Marriage Equality Act marks a major advance in the march towards full equality for LGBTQ people. The Act was passed by a vote of 33-29, giving the bill one more vote than needed to pass. Leading up to the bill’s passage, NOW-NYC members were on the phones calling on-the-fence State Senators and urging their support. Governor Cuomo, who made equal marriage a cornerstone of his agenda, signed the bill into law on June 24.
Immediately after the law was passed, marriage proposals were made and accepted and weddings excitedly planned. The first couples said “I do”—from Niagara Falls to NYC—at the stroke of midnight on July 24, and weddings continue across the state.  After a long wait, Phyllis Siegel, 77 and Connie Kopelov, 85, who have been together for 23 years, became the first same-sex couple to wed in New York City. “This is the first day of the rest of our lives,” said Siegel.

The new law entitles same-sex couples to all of New York State’s rights and protections of marriage, including inheritance and taxation rights. Same-sex couples gain access to the hundreds of other state benefits granted to married couples, including access to employer provided health and retirement benefits for spouses and inheritance rights in the absence of a will.

Lesbian and gay couples still won’t be eligible to claim federal benefits, because the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defines marriage as between a man and a woman. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has just taken legal action to challenge the constitutionality of DOMA. Still, this is a hugely proud moment for New Yorkers, a majority of whom support same-sex marriage, and an important message of acceptance from the state.
The passage of the Act followed an intense campaign for equal rights spearheaded by gay rights groups and the Governor’s office.  Five groups who had been campaigning for same-sex marriage for years formed a coalition, New Yorkers United for Marriage, in a renewed push to get over the last hurdle of passage in the State Senate. (The bill first passed in the Assembly in 2007.)

NOW-NYC joined with major LBGTQ community groups in heralding the law’s passage at this year’s PRIDE parade, which turned into a celebration of same-sex marriage as hundreds of thousands of supporters rejoiced at the victory. NOW-NYC Board Member Rebecca Rafelson, who helps organize the chapter’s contingent in the parade every year said, “It was very moving. You could really feel an atmosphere of love.”