New York Governor David Paterson introduced a bill to allow gay marriage in the state on Thursday, April 16. Photo Credit: Video GrabApril 16, 2009, (Sawf News) - New York Governor David Paterson introduced a bill to allow gay marriage in the state on Thursday, April 16.
"We have all known the wrath of discrimination, we have all felt the pain and the insult of hatred. This is why we are all standing here today,” the state’s first black governor told a news conference in Manhattan.
“We stand to tell the world that we want equality for everyone. We want marriage equality in New York State.”
If the bill is passed and becomes state law then New York will follow Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont (starting September 1, 2009) and Iowa (starting April 27, 2009 in making gay marriages legal.
"This is a civil rights issue. Civil rights don't wait for the right time," Paterson said.
Paterson was accompanied by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city and state lawmakers and leaders at the time of the announcement.
Paterson attended the 2008 gay pride parade in Manhattan. Within months of his becoming the Governor, Paterson, 54, informed New York State agencies in May 2008 that they were required to recognize same-sex marriage licenses from other jurisdictions for purposes of employee benefits.
As of November 2008, twenty-nine US states had passed constitutional amendments explicitly barring the recognition of same-sex marriage, nineteen prohibit the legal recognition of any same-sex union.
From June 2008 until November 2008, California also authorized same-sex marriages, until voters enacted Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage.
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