New York State Sen. Nick Spano, left, with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in Feb. 2000. AP Photo: Stephen Chernin.
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By KERRY ELEVELD
Monday, October 23, 2006
State Sen. Nick Spano of Yonkers became the first Republican senator to come out in full support of same-sex marriage.
"Civil unions are fine, but that doesn’t really answer the equality issue. I’m for marriage equality," Sen. Spano said during an interview last Thursday. "There are some 1,143 rights and privileges, I believe, afforded to heterosexual couples in our state, and there is no reason why those same rights and privileges shouldn’t be afforded to people of every sexual orientation."
Sen. Spano is in a tight re-election race where every vote may count—he narrowly edged out Democrat Andrea Stewart-Cousins by a mere 18 votes two years ago. All eyes are on the rematch this year, and the seat is one of a handful that Democratic Minority Leader Sen. David Paterson has identified as a potential takeover.
Republicans hold a 35 to 27 majority over Democrats in the state senate, and many LGBT strategists believe that same-sex marriage legislation will be stalled in the senate as long as Republicans keep their majority. Legislation to legalize gay marriage has been stuck in committee ever since it was introduced in the senate, but similar legislation has also stalled in the Democratically controlled assembly.
The Empire State Pride Agenda endorsed Spano over Stewart-Cousins even before he expressed full support for marriage. He is the only Republican senator to receive their endorsement.
"When we looked at this race, Nick Spano has been a very good and supportive state senator for LGBT people, and he had by far the best candidate questionnaire," said Alan Van Capelle, the Pride Agenda’s executive director.
On his candidate questionnaire, Spano indicated that he would also be the first Republican co-sponsor of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), while Stewart-Cousins declined to co-sponsor GENDA on her questionnaire.
In the past, Spano sponsored the Hate Crimes Act of 2000 and legislation allowing domestic partners hospital visitation rights that passed in 2004.
"It’s important to have a relationship with Republicans who have consistently been good on our issues," Van Capelle said. "The Republicans are going to be the majority party in the state senate come January 1, that’s the reality. Nothing will get done in New York State without bipartisan support."
Spano’s pronouncement may have been influenced in part by the educational outreach of Log Cabin Republicans on the issue of same-sex marriage. "Jointly with our Hudson Valley Chapter, we’ve had ongoing discussions with Sen. Spano about the importance of marriage equality," said Chris Taylor, president of the New York State Log Cabin Republicans.
Taylor noted that Spano has always been a "good friend" to the community, but added, "Nonetheless, we are very pleasantly surprised he is willing to support it so publicly. For a Republican in the middle of a tough campaign, that is not an easy step." Log Cabin has contributed $6,000 to Spano’s campaign.
Still, some gay activists say the fastest way to move on marriage equality is to chip away at the Republican majority over the next couple election cycles.
"On the one hand it is understandable that ESPA wants to reward the handful of Republicans who support a gay rights agenda," said one activist who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "On the other hand, the LGBT community will be significantly better off if Democrats are able to capture the majority in the state senate, and any aid to any Republican senator could prevent the Democrats from achieving that goal."
The activist added that Majority Leader Sen. Joseph Bruno would seek to block gay marriage legislation.
But Spano said one "glaring difference" between having him and having his opponent in that senate seat is that he would be able to open a dialogue with his Republican colleagues.
"I would be an effective voice in a senate majority conference that needs to hear voices of reason sometimes," Sen. Spano said. "I have moved the Senate with my voice, with members who very often were not as sympathetic to issues of marriage equality, gay rights and ending discrimination."
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