New York is a place of stunning layers, colors, shapes, sizes and textures.
When one thinks of New York, the city or otherwise, it would appear to be the epitome of liberalism – a safe haven for the persecuted, the oppressed, those seeking comfort and refuge. A place anyone would be proud to call home. Jay-Z and Alicia Keys call it an 'Empire State of Mind.'
That is, until last Wednesday.
In a stunning 38-to-24 vote, the New York State Senate voted against a bill that would have granted marriage rights to homosexuals.
The implications of such a vote, especially in New York in 2009, will resonate for a long time, with both the gay community and their allies.
Currently, the right to obtain a gay marriage in the United States is available in five states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa, Vermont and, beginning in 2010, New Hampshire.
Gay marriage had been previously legalized in, but has now been removed from, California, thanks to the wonderful Proposition 8.
As the cover of the children's magazine 'Highlights' asks, 'What's wrong with this picture?'
In what alternate universe has Iowa, a state made up of more cornfields than people, allowed gays the right to legally marry when New York and California, the epitome of class, sophistication and liberality, not to mention tolerance, have failed to follow through?
It's a sick, sad world with days like Wednesday. When irony becomes tragedy and bigotry prevails. Unfortunate doesn't begin to describe it.
Which begs the question: what went wrong?
The realities of politics are never pretty. In an ideal world, we would be able to line up all 38 New York State senators and demand an individual explanation as to why they chose to take a fundamental human right away from an entire demographic of people.
I try to believe that not every senator who voted against this bill had a particular personal bias against homosexuals. The world of politics is also a world of business. How are we to know whether in exchange for voting 'no' to this bill, a certain number of senators will vote for something that will benefit all of New York State in a different way? A reduction of SUNY budget cuts, for example?
Perhaps this too is just wishful thinking.
Maybe my ridiculous naïveté brought on by years of repeatedly reading 19th century British novels has finally caught up with me. My illusions of people changing, getting past their preconceived fears, and finally coming together in a multicultural society free of racial and sexuality-based discrimination might have been just that.
So where do we go from here, my homosexual denizens of New York State?
For the first time in a long time, I don't really know.
Will all the protesting, marching on Washington, and writing to our local Congressmen really change anything? Are the gays doomed to be a second-class society forever?
The possibility of that kind of reality is, to me, truly dystopian.
It would be too clichéd in my eyes to merely call everyone to arms and urge all the homosexuals in all the land to band together until our demands are met. I'm too annoyed. It's the lack of unity within the community that got us to this point in the first place.
What I'm going to say instead is: thanks a lot, New York State, for absolutely nothing. A state that is home to the greatest city in the world, and people who are considered the most forward thinking around, have instead chosen to take a complete step back at the expense of an entire culture.
My personal regards also go to the Senate for making us all look like complete idiots. A round of applause for you too, guys.
For now, it doesn't look like there's going to be a gay fairytale wedding anytime in the near future for New Yorkers. Not a legal one, at least.
If you need me, I'll be in the drawing room, re-reading Jane Austen.
E-mail: shane.fallon@ubspectrum.com
