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NY Governor to Introduce Homosexual "Marriage" Bill

By Kathleen Gilbert

NEW YORK, April 15, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - New York Gov. David Paterson has announced he will introduce a bill Thursday that would legalize same-sex "marriage."

"The timing was always right. It's just who is willing to take that step, and I am," Paterson said. "I think it is, as other states are showing, the only ethical way to treat people who want to live together in peace under the civil law. So my general feeling about all these issues is the right ethical decision will inevitably be the right political decision."

New York's last attempt to pass the same legislation faltered in the Republican-ruled senate two years ago, after the Democrat-controlled assembly had passed it 85-61.

Although Democrat senators gained a 32-30 majority in the last election cycle, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith indicated that support for the legislation is still dubious, and thus the bill would not be put up for a vote until enough senators pledged support.

"I think this is an attempt to gain momentum," Rev. Jason McGuire, legislative director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, told the Associated Press. "But the simple reality is this is a very controversial issue, especially with this talk about the Senate majority being as razor thin as it is."

The legislation would make New York the fifth state to alter the legal definition of marriage.

The new leader of the Catholic Church in New York, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, said at a press conference today before his installation Mass that he would challenge any effort to legalize same-sex "marriage" in New York.

Last week's Quinnipiac University showed that only 41 percent of New York voters support same-sex "marriage."

"Why is Governor Paterson trying to force feed legislation the people don't want?" objected Catholic League president Bill Donohue. 
 
"Paterson has received bad advice on many matters, and that is why his poll numbers are at record lows. But this advice is the worst yet. If two guys can get married, on what principle can the state deny three guys? It can't.
 
"For all the happy talk about inclusion, gay marriage is positively exclusionary in its effects," Donohue continued, noting that "gay-friendly" schools in New York City have already banned Mother's Day and Father's Day because children adopted by homosexual couples are "excluded from celebrating this special day."

"So not only will New Yorkers be force fed gay marriage, they can look forward to the time when the despots censor Mother's Day and Father's Day in the schools," said Donohue.  "All in the name of tolerance, of course."

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