Deep South Radio

The fate of same-sex marriage in New York hinges on the fate of negotiations between Senate Republicans and Gov. Andrew Cuomo over protections for religious institutions – after similar changes were able to win three “yes” votes from former opponents in the Assembly.

Assemblyman Nelson Castro was one of three religious Democrats who changed their position last week as the Assembly passed a gay marriage bill 80-63 and sent it to the Senate, where it remains one vote shy of approval.

“I think marriage should be between a man and a woman, but I don’t have the right to prohibit others to have the right to get married,” said Castro, 39.

Negotiations on the marriage bill continued through the weekend, as opponents talked with the Cuomo administration about what religious exemptions would make them not feel compelled to assist marriages they cannot support. Advocates indicated they would not oppose those changes, and several wavering Senate Republicans have said religious concerns are their main objection to the bill.

Castro, who represents a western Bronx district, is the only Seventh-Day Adventist in the state’s legislature. Raised Catholic in the Dominican Republic, Castro voted “no” on a same-sex marriage bill in 2009 for religious reasons, but talks with gay activists, constituents and his pastor changed his mind this year, he said.

With his pastor, Castro “spoke about the fact that I thought it was the right thing to do. But religiously I was definitely torn. He said to me, ‘Look, civically, you have a responsibility to represent your community. That has nothing to do with God.’”

The bill’s language makes some exemptions for religious institutions – they aren’t required to officiate the vows of same-sex couples. Those exemptions allowed two other former Assembly “no” votes, Karim Camara and Nick Perry, to vote for the bill, Castro said.

Camara is a senior pastor at Abundant Life Church in Brooklyn, and Perry, who was born in Jamaica, is a Catholic. Neither could be reached for comment.

“They’re not asking religious institutions to marry them,” Castro said. “That made a big difference.”

Another big difference, Castro said, is that marriage-equality activists were more organized this year. In 2009, “the LGBT community never showed up to lobby me,” he said.

Late Friday Cuomo said he was open to changing the language in the bill passed by the Assembly to include more religious protections, similar to a bill that narrowly passed the New Hampshire state legislature in 2009.

“The issue here is literally of religious freedom,” Cuomo said to reporters Friday afternoon. “This is not about marriage in a religious term. This is a civil law issue, and we want to make sure we keep it separate.”

He added, “I happen to be a Catholic, and that’s my business. That’s my religion. This is about marriage as defined by government not by religion.”

Changes to the bill would probably come in the form of a chapter amendment, Cuomo said.

New Yorkers United for Marriage organizer and Empire State Pride Agenda executive director Ross Levi said his advocates had no problem with strengthening the religious carve-outs, if it would help the Republicans agree to pass the bill.

“I remain confident,” Levi said, “that an appropriate balance can be struck.”

(Source: nycapitolnews.com)