The marriage equality debate may return to New York sooner than expected. Thanks to warm feelings in the hearts of pols brought forth by our popular and gay-marriage-friendly new Gov, plans to bring the issue back for another vote are moving. State Senator Thomas Duane (D-Manhattan) is already preparing to introduce legislation "within weeks" and hopes to see a vote before the end of June. Of course, that doesn't mean we won't see another embarrassing defeat at the hands of the GOP-controlled Senate, but with public opinion of marriage equality going up, along with Cuomo's numbers, we can hope. more ›

Now that the State Senate has adjourned for summer vacation, Mayor Bloomberg is participating in the time honored tradition of talking smack as soon as someone has left the room. On his weekly radio show yesterday, Bloomberg went off about the fact that the senators left Albany without addressing the issue of mayoral control of the schools, now back with the re-formed Board of Ed until senators return in September. Bloomberg said, "The only thing I can think of is they want to ruin the schools." He also suggested that Governor Paterson "send the state troopers to drag them back" to Albany and added, "Giving them the summer off is, as we say in Gallic (sic), 'Meshughena.'" Senator Bill Perkins referred to the mayor's rant as a "tantrum" and Senator Thomas Duane added that "the threat of troopers knocking on the door" was not the best way to coerce legislators into a vote. A spokesman for Paterson said the governor had no plans to call in state troopers to resolve the matter. more ›

While it's unclear what will happen to the gay marriage legislation with Albany in disarray (there might actually be a vote, but it's questionable whether there will be enough votes to pass it), one thing is for sure: Same-sex New York couples are heading to Connecticut to get married. A Westchester couple tells the NY Times that they would have loved to have a New York wedding—"Our lives are here; our friends are here"—but "It got to the point where it doesn’t look 100 percent good right now. When you have Greenwich, Conn., 20 minutes away, I said, 'Why are we waiting?'" more ›

With a controversial bill to legalize same-sex unions still waiting in the wings for a Senate vote, Republicans and Democrats in Albany are bickering like an old married couple. Earlier this week, openly-gay Democratic Senator Thomas Duane—the bill's prime sponsor—predicted he had enough votes to pass the measure, but a survey of all State Senators contradicted that assertion. And yesterday Bronx Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., who opposes the bill, blasted Duane's loose talk: "If Senator Tom Duane has the necessary Senate votes to pass the homosexual marriage bill in New York State, then he should release the names of those Senators who are supporting the bill. If not, he should shut up." more ›

New York State's only openly gay Senator, Thomas Duane (D-Manhattan), is telling the media that if the Senate votes on a bill to legalize same-sex marriages, it will pass. Duane, who is the bill's primary sponsor, tells Newsday, "Already there are enough votes for it to pass and a cushion." But that view was hotly disputed by other Senators, including Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, who supports gay marriage but refuses to bring the bill to the floor before the legislative session ends on June 22nd unless it's clear there are enough votes to pass it. Smith insists, "I don't have 32 votes that I know of." Senator Frank Padavan (R-Queens) says Duane's "dreaming," and Senator Ruben Diaz Sr., a fierce opponent of same-sex marriage, slammed Duane's prediction, telling the Daily News "It's unprofessional to be playing with people's minds." Governor Paterson, who'll sign the bill if it reaches his desk, is urging the Senate leadership to put the bill to a floor vote, regardless of the vote count. But openly voting on such a divisive issue would take political backbone, so Duane can probably just keep dreaming. more ›

Yesterday's protest in front of Mayor Bloomberg's residence at Gracie Mansion seems to have drawn the attention that demonstrators were hoping for after weeks of growing anger from within the gay community over claims that the NYPD has been targeting gay men and the porn shops they patronize under trumped up charges of prostitution. Activists compared the situation with the Stonewall raid of 1969. Attorney Bill Dobbs said, “Forty years later, the NYPD is still targeting gay men and places we gather." more ›