Paterson Puts In Gay Marriage Bill

Gay Socialites is twittering Governor Paterson's introduction of his gay marriage bill at his Manhattan office. The Times has Paterson's comparison of the gay marriage movement to prior civil rights battles ("We have all known the wrath of discrimination, we have all felt the pain and insult of hatred. We stand to tell the world that we want equality for everyone") and citation of Dred Scott (who, you will recall, lost his case); GS also covers remarks by Mayor Bloomberg, who is in attendance ("compares gay marriage bill to women's sufferage and founding of NAACP"; "Mayor Bloomberg calls someone out for having a noisy cell phone at gay marriage announcement in NY. 'Too important to get disruptive.' Lol").

Queerty asks if it's a gimmick ("the question becomes 'Can Paterson rally support for the bill?' All signs seem to indicate that he can't"). As before, we think this is Paterson's chance in a season of heavy reversals to be remembered for what at worst will be a noble failure. No one expects him to succeed; he has nothing to lose.

Or maybe it's a matter of civic pride. The Washington state legislature has approved an "everything but marriage" domestic partnership bill, and the St. Helena, California city council has just passed a gay marriage resolution. Between this and the Iowa, Vermont and D.C. gay marriage victories, New York is beginning to look backwards, marriage equality-wise, and it could be that Paterson is just trying to keep us in the game.