Senators in the US state of New York have voted against legalising same-sex marriage.
The New York state Senate, in which Democrats have a majority, voted down the legislation by 38-24. Governor David Paterson had said he would have signed the bill into law if it had passed.
“This is an enormous victory,” said Maggie Gallagher, the leader of the National Organization for Marriage, which opposed the law. “What you saw was the will of the people. …. The culture really hasn’t shifted on gay marriage.”
Iowa, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont have legalized same-sex marriage, while 40 U.S. states have specific laws that ban same-sex marriage. Last month, voters in Maine chose to repeal a law that had legalised gay marriage.
New York is one of the most politically liberal states in the country. Recent polls showed a majority of New York voters favored allowing same-sex couples to marry, but one poll showed the public evenly split. However, although polls in the US sometimes show majority support for gay marriage, in all 31 states where the issue has been put to a referendum, gay marriage has been defeated.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he was “deeply disappointed” the Senate had not legalised gay marriage.
“Historic change does not come easily, but this vote was a crucial step that, I believe, will ultimately lead the state to extend full marriage rights to all couples,” he said.
New York’s Democratic-controlled state Assembly has easily passed the bill legalising same-sex marriage three times, but the legislation had not been voted on in the Senate until now.
The Democrats hold a Senate majority of 32-30, but several Democratic senators opposed legalising gay marriage.
“Put the issue to a referendum and let the people vote,” said Ruben Diaz, a Democratic state senator and Pentecostal minister who opposed bringing the bill to a vote.
“Where you give the people the opportunity to vote for it, the people will reject it,” he said.
Homosexual rights activists were disappointed by the result. “This is a painful loss for loving and committed same-sex couples in New York who want the same things all Americans do: to take care of each other and their families,” said Jarrett Barrios, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
The result in New York has worried same-sex marriage activists in New Jersey, where the Democratic-controlled state Legislature is considering taking up the issue before Democratic Governor Jon Corzine leaves office in January.
Corzine has said he would sign a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. He was defeated in November by Republican Chris Christie, who has said he would veto such a bill. New Jersey already permits same-sex civil unions.
However, recent polling shows that more New Jersey voters now oppose same-sex marriage than support it.
The Quinnipiac University survey carried out last month found 49 percent of voters oppose a law allowing same-sex couples to marry, while 46 percent support such legislation, reversing an April poll that found 49 percent supported it and 43 percent opposed it.
