Comparing his crusade to legalize gay marriage to the country's epic civil-rights struggles, Gov. Paterson yesterday hitched his falling star to a controversial, and likely doomed, bill to allow same-sex unions in New York.They should do like the other states and find some judges to just thwart the will of the people. That's how we roll in modern-day America, isn't it?
"We have all felt the pain and the insult of hatred. That is why we are all standing here today . . . We stand to tell the world we want marriage equality in New York state," he said.
If the measure passes, New York would become the fifth state -- after Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa and Vermont -- to allow gay marriage.
But that's a very big if.
Religious leaders will fight hard to defeat the bill. Archbishop Timothy Dolan spoke against gay marriage Wednesday -- the very day he was installed as head of the powerful New York Archdiocese.
The bill also faces an uphill state Senate battle. Several members of Paterson's party have come out swinging against it, including Ruben Diaz of The Bronx.
"It's a challenge the governor is sending to every religious person in New York, and the time for us has come for us to accept the challenge," said Diaz, an evangelical pastor.
Several other Senate Democrats -- whose party has only a two-vote majority -- have said they oppose a same-sex marriage bill.
Even some supporters have questioned the wisdom of bringing it to a vote, fearing failure would ruin chances for future legislation.
As for the tired canard of comparing this to the civil rights struggle, I'd say blacks find that more than offensive, and when you consider they overwhelmingly voted against gay marriage in California, that notion bears itself out.
Considering Paterson's pitiful approval ratings, he'd probably back inter-species marriage if it got him a few votes.
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