GENDA passes Assembly Codes Committee

The Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) has just passed the Assembly Codes Committee by a bipartisan vote of 16-2. The bill had already passed in the Government Operations Committee on April 30 and now goes to the Assembly Rules Committee, which is chaired by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Thirteen Democrats and three Republicans voted for moving GENDA, while only two Republicans voted against. Democrat Robin Schimminger was the only Assemblymember absent for the vote.

GENDA has 75 co-sponsors in the Assembly and 101 Assemblymembers are on record in support of the bill, according to our Legislative Scorecard.

Below is the Codes Committee vote count.

Voting for:

Joe Lentol (D) (Chair)
Philip Boyle (R)
James Brennan (D)
Vivian Cook (D)
Steven Cymbrowitz (D)
Tom Kirwan (R)
Charles Lavine (D)
Daniel O'Donnell (D)
Nick Perry (D)
J. Gary Pretlow (D)
Dede Scozzafava (R)
Michele Titus (D)
Helene Weinstein (D)
Mark Weprin (D)
Keith L.T. Wright (D)
Kenneth Zebrowski (D)

Voting against:

George Amedore (R)
David R. Townsend (R)

Morning Sweep

Recently shamed Rep. Vito Fossella won’t seek another term in Congress.

The Los Angeles Times interviewed clergy in California to find out which congregations will be willing to marry gays.

The LA Times also has a fascinating story on Chief Justice Ronald M. George, the moderate Republican on the Ca. Supreme Court who tipped the 4-3 marriage ruling in the direction of equality.

A recent web poll found that one in four gay and lesbian adults don’t have health insurance, making them nearly twice as likely as the straight adults polled to be uninsured.

Cancel that vacation you were planning to Gambia. The country’s president has announced that all gays must leave the country within 24 hours “or face serious consequences if caught.”

Morning Sweep

The Wall Street Journal continues to argue that the California marriage decision will hurt Obama and help McCain in the Nov. election.

A New York Times writer examines the pros and cons of a New Yorker going to California to get married.

More than 45,000 walkers at the 23^rd annual AIDS Walk in NYC this past weekend raised $7 million for tri-state area HIV/AIDS organizations.

In an unprecedented show of support for gay rights, hundreds of activists and government leaders came together in Cuba this past weekend for a conference on the International Day Against Homophobia.

The significance of the California Supreme Court’s marriage decision

Lesbian and gay couples in California and nationwide are celebrating the state Supreme Court’s historic 4-3 decision yesterday to overturn the same-sex marriage ban. In as soon as 30 days, gay couples throughout the state will finally be able to publicly and legally declare their love and commitment to each other, just as straight couples always have.

But in addition to the social and political impact of this landmark decision, there is a significant legal impact as well. In making it clear that gay couples cannot be legally discriminated against, the court has established that sexual orientation is a “suspect classification” under the California Constitution. This means that any state laws or policies that discriminate based on sexual orientation are worthy of the same level of judicial scrutiny – the strictest level – as race and gender. This is a monumental distinction – no other state’s highest court has ever before come to this conclusion.

Other highlights of the 121-page majority decision include:

• The decision explains that there is no reason to discriminate against same-sex couples, because “the limitation clearly is not necessary to preserve the rights and benefits of marriage currently enjoyed by opposite-sex couples.” In other words, no one is harmed by gay couples being married. The decision even quotes Chief Judge Kaye’s dissent in the New York Court of Appeals marriage decision: “There are enough marriage licenses to go around for everyone.”

• The court says that assigning different terms for the relationships of opposite-sex and same-sex couples (“marriage” vs. “domestic partnership”) makes gay couples seem like second-class citizens, and that if the state doesn’t want to call it “marriage” for gay couples, they can’t call it “marriage” for straight couples, either.

• The decision explains that the historical definition of marriage is not a valid reason to continue to discriminate against gay couples who, like interracial couples, were not originally included in the traditional definition of marriage.

• The decision debunks one of the most common arguments against gay marriage: that unlike opposite-sex marriage, its primary focus isn’t raising children. This was one of the main reasons that the New York high court gave for ruling against same-sex marriage. But the California court says not only is it flawed to say that the primary purpose of marriage is to raise children (there are many childless married couples), but also, gay couples are just as capable of being loving families as their straight counterparts.

Morning Sweep – California Marriage Edition

The New York Times takes a comprehensive look at different groups’ reactions to California’s Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the same-sex marriage ban.

But with the potential of a marriage ban amendment on the Nov. ballot that, if passed by voters, would overturn the decision, NYT reports the future of gay marriage in California could still be unclear.

And will the Ca. decision rev up the presidential candidates’ discussions of gay marriage or give the Republicans an advantage come November?

Gay City News highlights the significance of the Court’s decision to make sexual orientation a “suspect classification,” meaning that any Ca. law that discriminates based on sexual orientation is now subject to the highest level of judicial scrutiny.

The Sun looks at the national and local implications of the decision.

A Wall Street Journal editorial argues that the decision will bring up the issue of activist judges in the presidential race.

It’s a bit of a downer, but Time magazine points out what the marriage decision doesn’t do for Ca. gays: give them the federal rights of marriage, like filing joint federal taxes and collecting partners’ social security benefits.

The Washington Blade looks at some national reactions to the decision.

365gay.com has reactions of national gay organizations, as well as New Jersey’s Garden State Equality.

The Advocate has several celebrity activists’ reactions to the decision.

Upon hearing the news, Ellen DeGeneres announced on her show that she would marry her girlfriend, Portia de Rossi.

A great day for same-sex marriage

Today is a momentous day for same-sex marriage in our country! Just minutes ago, the California Supreme Court handed down its decision to overturn the state’s gay marriage ban, ending marriage discrimination against the tens of thousands of loving, committed same-sex couples in California. You can read the decision here.

Check back with us soon for more information about how this will affect marriage equality here in New York!

Morning Sweep

In an interview with Queerty, Jim Neal, the openly-gay politician who recently lost his bid for the North Carolina Democratic nomination in the Senate race, says he isn’t bitter.

The New York Times reports that more young viewers have tuned into “As the World Turns” since the Luke and Noah storyline began.

A Catholic priest in Dallas has been forced to resign because of his past affiliation with a website supportive of gay clergy.