New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Sandra Lee march during the 2011 NYC LGBT Pride March on the streets of Manhattan on June 26, 2011 in New York City. — Photo by AFP

NEW YORK: It took New York Governor and Democrat Andrew Cuomo just six months after taking office to score a political victory with the state's approval to legalise gay marriage.

Born in Queens, the son of former New York governor Mario Cuomo served as secretary of housing and urban development under former President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 1991.

When the younger Cuomo won the election for governor of New York in November 2010 aided by his popularity as a state attorney general, he ranked adopting gay marriage among his priorities, a difficult challenge after a failed attempt in 2009 and taking into account the state Senate's Republican majority.

But just six months after he assumed office, the 53-year-old politician launched an offensive on June 14 by presenting his proposed “Marriage Equality Act.”

The bill was quickly approved by the New York assembly, which holds a Democratic majority, but then came under renewed pressure from senate Republicans.

The votes seemed unreachable: the bill needed 32 of 62 votes before the legislature went into recess on June 20.

Cuomo showed political will and participated in arduous negotiations with the state senate president, Republican Dean Skelos, who was forced to prolong the session.

In announcing on Friday afternoon that the gay marriage bill would be brought to a vote, Skelos recognised Cuomo's “cooperation” in accepting the “concerns” of Republicans and amending an original plan in order to protect the rights of religious institutions.

After the victory of 33 votes to 29, Cuomo was flanked on both sides by legislators in the capital city of Albany as he signed the bill into law late Friday night.

“Democracy works when the people speak. And the people spoke in volumes over these past few months. And this legislature responded this week to their calls,” Cuomo said after the vote.

As expected, the New York gay community spared no praise for Cuomo.

“We applaud the governor for his tremendous leadership to make marriage equality a priority,” said the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, one of many gay rights groups that drove the project.

Cuomo's victory elevates him to a possible candidacy for the White House in 2016, said Democratic consultant Jason Ralston.

“It's not just that he delivered on a major civil rights issue for the Democratic base in a huge state, it's how he did it — winning bipartisan support and sticking with it when it seemed it might fail,” Ralston told The Washington Post.

“Combine that with his name and his focus on the middle class and he is at the front of the pack for 2016.”Cuomo was previously married to Kerry Kennedy, a daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy. They have three daughters.

Opinion

A state of chaos

A state of chaos

The establishment’s increasingly intrusive role has further diminished the credibility of the political dispensation.

Editorial

Bulldozed bill
Updated 22 May, 2024

Bulldozed bill

Where once the party was championing the people and their voices, it is now devising new means to silence them.
Out of the abyss
22 May, 2024

Out of the abyss

ENFORCED disappearances remain a persistent blight on fundamental human rights in the country. Recent exchanges...
Holding Israel accountable
22 May, 2024

Holding Israel accountable

ALTHOUGH the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor wants arrest warrants to be issued for Israel’s prime...
Iranian tragedy
Updated 21 May, 2024

Iranian tragedy

Due to Iran’s regional and geopolitical influence, the world will be watching the power transition carefully.
Circular debt woes
21 May, 2024

Circular debt woes

THE alleged corruption and ineptitude of the country’s power bureaucracy is proving very costly. New official data...
Reproductive health
21 May, 2024

Reproductive health

IT is naïve to imagine that reproductive healthcare counts in Pakistan, where women from low-income groups and ...