2:10PM EST: Legislative leaders said on Tuesday that they had reached a tentative deal with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to renew New York’s rent laws, cap property taxes for homeowners, and raise tuition at state universities, among other outstanding issues.
But the Senate Republican leader, Dean G. Skelos, said his caucus had not yet decided whether to bring to a vote the most contentious issue facing the Legislature: A bill introduced by Mr. Cuomo and approved by the Democratic-majority Assembly to legalize same-gender marriage in New York.
Neither Mr. Skelos nor his Assembly counterpart, Speaker Sheldon Silver, offered any specifics as they emerged early Tuesday afternoon from a private meeting with Mr. Cuomo. Each leader said more details would come after each had briefed his members later in the day. The legislative session technically ended on Monday, but lawmakers are expected to remain in Albany for a few more days to vote on outstanding issues.
“Most of those issues I think we’re going to resolve very shortly,” said Mr. Skelos, a Long Island Republican. “We’re working on the details, but I am very confident that between the governor — and he has shown tremendous leadership once again — and the speaker, showing flexibility, that we will have a session completion by tomorrow.”
Mr. Silver said the rent deal would help the many New Yorkers who live in rent-stabilized apartments.
“It means that they will be able to sleep well,” said Mr. Silver, a Manhattan Democrat. “Hopefully we’ll be able to expand the current protections.”
A deal on property taxes and rent was considered one of the main obstacles to resolving the issue of same-gender marriage, meaning that a vote could come in the next two days if Republican lawmakers agreed to bring it to the Senate floor. Thirty-one of the chamber’s 62 lawmakers — 29 Democrats and two Republicans — have publicly endorsed the measure, leaving it one vote short of the number needed to pass.
“We have not finalized the language in terms of religious protections,” Mr. Skelos said. “That still is being reviewed. This conference meeting was to resolve all the other issues.”
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8 Responses
Why is Mr. Skelos discussing this issue. It’s a joke; a total mockery of marriage; a biological absurdity.
Marriage is there for the protection of women and children–period.
It’s truly a disgrace that the State’s top leaders are pandering to crazy people and taking them seriously.
The politicians in NYS that favor same sex marriage are a disgrace. They are aiding those who think it is perfectly ok to re-write the order of human behavior by making same sex marriage legal and normal.
When we grew up, people with such low behavior were referred to as “it”. They were looked upon as odd and treated as such. What politicians want to legalize is not marriage and it should not be referred to as such. Let the politicians be busy with what is important for us citizens and our families.
Imagine one day you see a monkey and decide to call it donkey, will that be accepted as such!?!?! So this too should not be called marriage because it is not. Chas V’shalom it should pass. Let us remember what was done to Sdom because of such! May Hashem watch over us all!
why do we care what the goyim will do?
If this bill cha’s v’shalom were to pass it would be expected that there will be a ripple effect in other states.
If you look at Rashi at the end of Berashis, Rashi says that the animals became crooked. How can that be, the people we know were crooked but the animals have no yezer hara?
The answer is clear the surroundings they lived in had an influence on them.
We do not want be living and raising our children in an environment where such things are perfectly O.K.
Call you senator expectantly Senator Lanza, be brief and give them your address. To call, call the Senate operator at 518-455-2800.
4. You need to learn chumash to understand that. S’dom (SODOMIZE!! GET IT????) was only punished after they enacted laws permitting unions of such sorts.
The other reason is because we are influenced by the outside world, some more than others. You cannot claim that a billboard proudly featuring a scantly clad women doesn’t affect you. If you do say that, you are either lying or you are a women.
Being the “light” sometimes means you have to FIGHT for what is right and moral.
just thinking out loud! 25-30 years ago when the lubabitcher rebby called out a national call to every one in the world to be mkaiyim the sheve mithvos bnei noach all the chasidisha were against it and laught from him, so what happened now???
why are we all so against gay marriage when we had an oppertunity to prevent this and we didn’t. hu? anybody with an answer?
bsimcha tamid: Make up your mind.