A ‘Profiles in Courage’ moment for Republicans: New York approves same-sex marriage

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

When President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 he said to his aide Bill Moyers, "We have lost the South for a generation."

Johnson fully understood the consequences of his signing the bill, but he and the members of Congress who voted for the bill did what was morally just rather than what was politically expedient. Many of them paid the price with electoral defeats in elections that followed, but their moral courage to do the right thing advanced the founding principle of this country that "all men are created equal" and made us "a more perfect union."

Yesterday marked another historical moment in the civil rights movement in the state of New York. The Republican-controlled state senate found the moral courage to give full civil rights and equality under the law to gays by approving same-sex marriage in the state of New York. New York Allows Same-Sex Marriage, Becoming Largest State to Pass Law (h/t NYT photo, Governor Andrew Cuomo signs the same-sex marriage bill):

Lawmakers voted late Friday to legalize same-sex marriage, making New York the largest state where gay and lesbian couples will be able to wed and giving the national gay-rights movement new momentum from the state where it was born.

The marriage bill was approved 33 to 29 in a packed but hushed Senate chamber. Four members of the Republican majority joined all but one Democrat in the Senate in supporting the measure after an intense and emotional campaign aimed at the handful of lawmakers wrestling with a decision that divided their friends, their constituents and sometimes their own homes.

With his position still undeclared, Senator Mark J. Grisanti, a Republican from Buffalo who had sought office promising to oppose same-sex marriage, told his colleagues he had agonized for months before concluding he had been wrong.

“I apologize for those who feel offended,” Mr. Grisanti said, adding, “I cannot deny a person, a human being, a taxpayer, a worker, the people of my district and across this state, the State of New York, and those people who make this the great state that it is the same rights that I have with my wife.”

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Leaders of the state’s Conservative Party, whose support many Republican lawmakers depend on to win election, warned that they would oppose in legislative elections next year any Republican senator who voted for same-sex marriage.

But after days of contentious discussion capped by a marathon nine-hour closed-door debate on Friday, Republicans came to a fateful decision: The full Senate would be allowed to vote on the bill, the majority leader, Dean G. Skelos, said Friday afternoon, and each member would be left to vote according to his or her conscience.

The four Republicans who voted for the measure included Senators Mark J. Grisanti from Buffalo, James S. Alesi from Rochester area, Stephen M. Saland from the Hudson Valley area and Roy J. McDonald of the capital region.

For the 29 Democratic senators who voted for this bill, their vote was expected. Since 1964 the Democratic Party has been committed to the principles of civil rights and equal rights, and equal justice under the law. The one Democrat who voted against this bill is an anomaly.

But for the four Republicans who voted for this bill, this was their "Profiles in Courage" moment in history. They are deserving of a new chapter dedicated to them.

These four Republicans fully understood the consequences of their vote. They know full well that there are numerous conservative organizations dedicated to denying gays civil rights and equal rights under the law. Many of these organizations are no better than hate groups. These four Republicans know that they will be targeted for defeat in GOP primaries should they choose to run for reelection. But they displayed moral courage by doing the right thing and voting their conscience for what is morally just. I salute their courage.

New York becomes the sixth, and largest state by population, to approve gay marriage, joining Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia.

More importantly, the state of New York does not have a residency requirement to obtain a marriage license. When this law goes into effect, New York will become a destination for gay couples seeking to marry.

Under the "full faith and credit" clause of the U.S. Constitution, Article IV, Section 1, states within the United States must respect the "public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state." The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) sought to get around this constitutional requirement by having the federal government define marriage (traditionally the prerogative of states) and to permit states not to recognize the marriage license of other states issued to same-sex couples.

DOMA has since been ruled unconstitutional in several cases still pending on appeal. The Obama administration Department of Justice has determined that it agrees with the conclusion of the courts that DOMA is unconstitutional and announced that it will not defend the constitutionality of DOMA in these appeals.

House Republicans in Congress have hired their own attorneys to pursue these appeals – naturally.

They are on the wrong side of history. Public opinion supports civil rights and equal rights under the law for gays, including same-sex marriage. Like laws prohibiting interracial marriage ruled unconstitutional in Loving v. Virginia, laws prohibiting same-sex marriage will soon become a thing of the past. Future generations will look back and wonder "what was all that about?"