There are few occasions where I am compelled to declare that I am proud to be a New Yorker. I have been conditioned to believe that our elected officials and business leaders are absolutely determined to run this state into the ground, effectively driving out the vast majority of its citizens, the result of one act of cowardice, scandal, and broken promise after another.
And then they go and do something like what they collaboratively did recently, with the eventual ratification of their collective actions playing out on live television this past Friday evening. The fact that we are only the sixth state to approve of same-sex marriages in this country is admittedly a bit gratifying. Yet I'm still in a state of disbelief upon learning that Iowa is one of the five states that preceded New York in passing a similar resolution. Iowa? Who knew that Iowa was a bastion of progressivism?
Who Would Have Thought It?
The fact that New York was capable of pushing through such a socially and politically sensitive measure before California was able to speaks volumes of both states. California, long considered to be a beacon of reformism and free-spiritedness, has essentially imploded governmentally speaking, having fallen victim to its perpetual fickleness and legislative over-officiousness. In New York's case, our elected officials, some of whom had long been conflicted over previously cast disapproving votes for authorizing same-sex marriage, inculcated their fellow members a sense of family and fair-mindedness. It was this relentless across-the-aisle lobbying that stressed the necessity for equality.
Most startling to me was the reported involvement of several well-heeled registered Republicans who provided the requisite seed money to launch a multi-million dollar ad campaign that targeted regions where public sentiment of gay marriage was at least marginally favorable but whose representatives were heretofore hesitant to vote in a positive manner. It was this particular revelation demonstrated to me just how motivated some people were to right a perceived wrong that has deeply and increasingly divided our society.
A Long Look in the Mirror
Ultimately, it required intensive soul searching on the part of a few of our elected officials and some heartfelt pleas from associates whose sons or brothers that are homosexual to basically turn the tide. Governor Andrew Cuomo, the son of former New York State Governor Mario Cuomo, a long-time champion of liberal causes, made it very clear while campaigning for the state's top governmental job that he was going to get this particular law in the books. That and the reportedly ceaseless pleading by his celebrity girlfriend, Sandra Lee, who has a gay sibling, which drove the younger Cuomo to take drastic action in order to eventually realize the passage of such a thorny agenda.
It was purportedly said best by State Senator John Sampson, who encouraged fellow Democratic Senator Carl Kruger to vote with his conscience, and not in accord with political alliances. Kruger had previously voted against same-sex marriage, much to the consternation of his girlfriend and the woman's nephew, who is gay. The strife between Kruger and the remainder of the family had become so cancerous that it was markedly splitting the family apart.
Kruger, under considerable familial distress, sought out Sampson for advisement, with Sampson providing him with what I believe to be sage advice. Sampson suggested to Kruger that he focus on his nephew's plight, and that in the end, all he will have left is his family. For Kruger, the situation had become personal for him, putting things into greater perspective. At the end of the day, Kruger made a decision he could live with, and New Yorkers in general are better for it.
Sources
Barbaro, M. (2011). Behind N.Y. Gay Marriage, an Unlikely Mix of Forces. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
