It is disappointing but not surprising that Senator Morahan will vote against equality for all New Yorkers.
His reason, that he is a “traditionalist,” raised the question…..”A traditionalist to what year?’ To 1860 when slavery was legally and traditionally entrenched in the United States, to 1915 when women couldn’t vote, to 1962 when many states forbid marriage between races, to the 70’s when many states still gave men full power over their spouses? Should we return to the traditional role of women? Stay home and out of the work force, and certainly not in public office?
The save the family group might better serve the cause of preserving marriage by looking at heterosexual marriage. 50% fail and as we have seen in recent weeks with elected officials their marriages don’t seem to have much value.
Equality in the marriage contract does not encompass religious beliefs. The Catholic Church, for example, is not required to marry divorced couples.
The state, on the other, cannot deny marriage licenses to divorced people.
As the mayor of a small village I have officiated at many marriages. Marriage is a legal contract between individuals. The state attached many legal rights to marriage, pensions rights, medical visitation, and decision rights, and responsibilities, including child support when couples separate.
None of the 1500 plus rights that the state has attached to marriage transfer in civil unions.
Since the state decided to impose legal rights and responsibilities on to marriage, and decided to treat it as a legal contract, it has an obligation to honor all such contracts to individuals, regardless of gender. To do any less is to arbitrarily designate rights on citizens base on a tradition and….and what else?
John Shields is the Mayor of Nyack, NY
Nyack News and Views » State Senator Morahan Says No To Gay Marriage says:
[...] “Tradition” And Gay Marriage [...]
July 3rd, 2009 at 9:55 am
Richard Kavesh says:
John’s arguments in favor of the legality, propriety, and downright fairness of the state allowing gay marriage are very convincing; Senator Morahan’s arguments against it are unpersuasive.
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution says: “no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Since when are gay Americans not American “citizens” or “persons?”
I think the people of the United States are way ahead of their leaders on this issue. Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Iowa, Vermont, and Maine have already legalized gay marriage, and it is just a matter of (hopefully not too long a) time before New York and other states see the light – liberty and justice for all, with no exceptions.
July 3rd, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Cliff Weathers says:
Morahan doesn’t understand the subject at all. He says he’s all for civil unions, but not for gay marriage. “separate and equal” is unconstitutional and any politician that doesn’t understand that doesn’t deserve to be in office.
Morahan can do to events like Gay Pride Rockland and tell everyone he’s for gay rights, but when push comes to shove, his allegience lies with the conservatives in the Republican Party. Many people, especially some liberal friends of mine, like to believe that Sen. Morahan is a closet liberal. I’ve been told by some of the most progressive people I know in Rockland County that Morahan is some throwback Rockefeller Republican who’s really on our side, fighting for our values. Democratic politicians in the county like Ilan Schoenberger, Alex Gromack, and Christopher St. Lawrence openly support Sen. Morahan. I admit, Morahan has been good with marketing and that “member items” slush fund he uses to insure his incumbency.
But the truth is, he never has been the progressive or “moderate” that Rockland voters thought that he was. In fact, he rarely has ever stood up for anything that didn’t sound like apple pie Americana. It’s a great way to get elected: sponsor no-brainer legislation about children, keep your mouth shut about everything else, smile, and everyone will think you’re just like them.
This vote that will finally expose Morahan’s real values. All those years of kissing babies and giving out obscene checks just before election time are wasted.
Thank you, Sen. Morahan for finally coming out. Now we can make more informed choices at the polls.
July 5th, 2009 at 3:38 pm