In New York, today has been a big one, with two Democrats bolting from the party to vote for Republicans to control the Senate. This, of course, has ginormous implications for the chance of same-sex marriages being legalized in New York this year.
Right?
Well, not necessarily.
As Nate Silver reported previously, one of the two defectors — Sen. Pedro Espada — actually is a marriage equality proponent. The other — Sen. Hiram Monserrate – is listed as being undecided or unknown as to his position.
So, this could have been more about these Dems just not liking Dem leader Sen. Malcolm Smith or advancing their ow interests than a marriage issue. Regardless, Republican control would, it would seem, make a Senate marriage bill vote less likely now than it was this morning.
Sen. Dean Skelos, the new majority leader, is a marriage equality opponent. But, the new leadership structure makes Espada the president pro tempore. So, what this means isn’t exactly clear right now.
Plus, and this is needless to say, this could all change tomorrow.
Stay tuned . . .
[UPDATE: Per the NYTimes, marriage did not figure into the shake-up today:
[New Majority Leader Skelos] said he had not discussed with [President Pro Temore] Espada whether they would bring the same-sex marriage bill to a vote.
Mr. Skelos has said he opposes same-sex marriage, but Mr. Espada is one of the co-sponsors of the legislation, which has been one of the most closely watched issues this session.
So, marriage equality hangs in the balance and is “one of the most closely watched issues this session,” yet, isn’t really something that the new heads of the New York Senate discussed before today’s coup. Grand.]
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Chris Geidner is the award-winning senior political editor at D.C.'s Metro Weekly and has written for The Atlantic Online, The American Prospect, Advocate.com, Salon and other publications, as well as at his blog, Law Dork. In 2011, he received the Excellence in News Writing Award from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his coverage of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal. Prior to moving to D.C. in 2009, he served as an attorney on the senior staff at the Ohio Attorney General's Office and had earlier worked for a leading Columbus law firm. An extended biography can be found
According to the NYTimes, it’s actually all to do with a petulant billionaire who helped the Dems take control of the NY Senate last November, then got pissed off when the Dems decided that the state would need to raise taxes on the wealthy. One of his advisors is a good friend of Espada’s and promised to elevate him in a Republican-run Senate. Espada brought along Montserrate the “alleged” girlfriend-cutter. Best of all, the billionaire went ahead and changed his primary residence to Florida to avoid having his income taxed under the new state rates.