Governor Paterson did a great thing this month by directing state agencies to observe same-sex marriages that were performed in other states. Too bad the last Republican majority in New York couldn't just leave it be. Senate Majority Leader Bruno has decided to seek legal action against the Governor's memo and his excuse is that the Executive shouldn't have too much power. Of course he really didn't mind it when Pataki was in charge, but that is neither here nor there.
From The Daily Politics:
Bruno, who had just finished singing Paterson's praises for recognizing the need to "partner" with the Senate Republicans (as opposed to waging all-out war against them, as Eliot Spitzer did), admitted the governor had not given him the heads up about the May 14 memo on this topic sent to the agencies by Paterson counsel, David Nocenti.
The majority leader needled reporters about missing this story, saying: "Why didn't you report it? You didn't even know it. Who should I blame?" He said he plans to take up the issue with Paterson when the two speak this afternoon.
"I haven't really seen the directive," Bruno said. "What I do know is that there's a bigger question, and that specifically, that has to do with the powers of the executive, by executive order, versus the Legislature. We went through that with the illegal aliens being licensed. That was that same question.
Unfortunately from a legal standpoint the memo holds less water than the executive order issued by Spitzer over illegal immigrant driver licenses. So expect Bruno to try and gather another win over the Governor's authorities. Of course once we get the majority in the Senate back (psst....here's how) this won't be a problem because we should be able to pass progressive legislation with full control in Albany next year. Equality for everyone regardless of gender preference should not be an issue, and that is something we are determined to see through.
|