Tuesday saw New York Governor Andrew Cuomo introduce the Marriage Equality Act into the state Assembly. A bill must be passed by both the Assembly and the Senate by the end of the legislative session on June 20. As proposed, the bill contains explicit exceptions for religious groups, however this has not prevented one Republican senator seeking further concessions.

First, Cuomo’s press release:

Governor Cuomo Proposes Marriage Equality Act

“From the fight for women’s suffrage to the struggle for civil rights, New Yorkers have been on the right side of history. But on the issue of marriage equality, our state has fallen behind,” Governor Cuomo said. “For too long, same-sex couples have been denied the freedom to marry, as well as hundreds of rights that other New Yorkers take for granted. Marriage Equality is a matter of fairness and legal security for thousands of families in this state – not of religion or culture. When it comes to fighting for what’s right, New Yorkers wrote the book, and Marriage Equality is the next chapter of our civil rights story.”

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The Marriage Equality Act would remove these barriers by amending New York’s Domestic Relations Law to state:

• A marriage that is otherwise valid shall be valid regardless of whether the parties to the marriage are of the same or different sex
• No government treatment or legal status, effect, right, benefit, privilege, protection or responsibility relating to marriage shall differ based on the parties to the marriage being the same sex or a different sex
• All relevant gender-specific language set forth in or referenced by New York law shall be construed in a gender-neutral manner
• No application for a marriage license shall be denied on the ground that the parties are of the same or a different sex

To ensure that the bill does not intrude into matters of religious belief, the Marriage Equality Act affirms that no member of the clergy can be compelled to solemnize any marriage. This bill grants equal access to the government-created legal institution of civil marriage while leaving the religious institution of marriage to its own separate and fully autonomous sphere. The bill also guarantees that religious institutions and benevolent organizations such as the Knights of Columbus remain free to choose who may use their facilities for marriage ceremonies and celebrations or to whom they provide religious services, consistent with their religious principles.

New York has always been at the forefront in advancing equal rights. In 1983, New York banned discrimination based on sexual orientation in state employment. In 2002, the state extended the same principle to the private sector by enacting the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act. That same year, the state recognized same-sex relationships by extending workers’ compensation benefits to all those who lost a partner on 9/11. Passage of the Marriage Equality Act represents yet another significant step in granting full and equal rights to all citizens of New York state.

The Marriage Equality Act bill memo is available here. The bill text is available here.

The aforementioned religious exemptions are not enough for Republican senator Greg Ball however. Ball, who has gone on record saying that he would support a civil unions bill, reiterated yesterday that the bill must have broader religious exemptions in order to gain broader Republican support.

LGBT rights groups have said that this is unnecessary. Constitutional freedoms guarantee religious rights to freedom of expression and any mention of exemptions in marriage equality legislation, they say, is simply to reinforce the point that, for instance, churches can not be required to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies. Yet, Senate freshman Ball is quoted by the AP as saying that if broader exemptions are not made, he believes Republicans will not support the bill.

From NY Daily News:

“If you’re going to pass a marriage bill, real religious exemptions and carveouts to protect the Catholic Church and other religious groups need to be included,” the freshman senator told the paper.

“Short of that, I don’t think you’ll see a marriage bill pass,” Ball added.

While any grandstanding at this stage is troubling, Ball’s words may be particularly concerning. Senate Republicans, who have a slim majority in the upper chamber, have not formally committed to bringing the bill up for a vote, though reports suggest they will be discussing the bill in conference on Wednesday ahead of a possible vote Thursday or Friday.

Yet, it may be that Ball has overestimated opposition. As of Tuesday, 31 votes for the bill have been secured with two Republicans having made a commitment to passing the legislation. One more vote is needed to pass the legislation and other Republican senators have reportedly admitted that four or possibly five conservative senators may vote for the bill if it is brought to the floor. Read more on that here.

TAKE ACTION: Live in New York? Contact your senators today and tell them you support marriage equality.

For previous coverage of efforts to legalize marriage equality in New York, please click here.