N.Y. says ‘yes’ to marriage equality

With a State Senate vote of 33-29, New York became the sixth state in the nation to allow same-sex marriage — but the nine senators from Long Island, all of them Republicans, voted against the bill, which Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law shortly before midnight on June 24.

“With the world watching, the Legislature, by a bipartisan vote, has said that all New Yorkers are equal under the law,” Cuomo said. “With this vote, marriage equality will become a reality in our state, delivering long-overdue fairness and legal security to thousands of New Yorkers.”

For East Meadow resident Rebecca Goldberg, the issue was simple. “It’s about equality and nothing else,” said Goldberg, who spent five years of her youth in East Meadow and has since returned to live here with her husband.

The Empire State joins Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia in allowing gay couples to legally wed. The Marriage Equality Act grants same-sex married couples hundreds of rights, benefits and protections that until now have been limited to traditional married couples.

“I was there for the past two weeks up in Albany, and I went up there every week from Monday through Thursday when they were in session,” said Rockville Centre resident Jeff Friedman, president of Marriage Equality New York, a political action committee. Friedman married his high school sweetheart, Andrew Zwerin, in 2008 in California. “Finally, after the 26 years that Andy and I have been together,” Friedman added, “New York state has finally recognized our love and commitment and put our family on equal terms with other families.” The couple has a son, Josh, who will be 8 in August.

“Today’s historic legislation on marriage equality is a resounding victory for justice,” said Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman. “It means that every single New Yorker will have access to the full rights and responsibilities that come with a marriage license.”

Todd Weinstein and his wife have lived in East Meadow for 10 years, and have two children in the Barnum Woods School. Weinstein, like other local supporters of marriage equality, said he was disappointed that every senator from Long Island voted against the measure. “I’m sure 50 years ago, these guys would’ve still been supporting Jim Crow laws,” he said.

The Long Island senators who voted against the bill were John J. Flanagan, Charles J. Fuschillo Jr., Kemp Hannon, Owen H. Johnson, Kenneth P. LaValle, Carl L. Marcellino, Jack M. Martins, Dean G. Skelos and Lee M. Zeldin. “I have always said that the vote on same-sex marriage should be a vote of conscience,” said Skelos, the Senate majority leader, “and that people are elected to make tough decisions.”

Rabbi Judy Cohen-Rosenberg of the Community Reform Temple in Westbury said she has spent years fighting for this cause with her daughter as well as several groups, including the Pride and the Pulpit, an interfaith group of clergy and lay people who are affiliated with churches and synagogues and who believe in equal rights. Cohen-Rosenberg described herself as “elated” that the bill had passed but disappointed in the Long Island senators’ votes. She said she believed their opposition was a political move.

“I truly believe what it says in the prayer book of the reform movement, that we are not all free until everyone is free,” said Cohen-Rosenberg, who has lobbied on Long Island as well as in Albany for passage of the bill. “And until everyone has equal rights, we don’t live in the society we should.”

Fran Berkman contributed to this story. Comments? MMalloy@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 202.