Gay City News On Senate Deal Collapse

Gay City News' Paul Schindler has written a great recap of this tumultuous week in the New York Senate. If you've been confused by the alliances, the deals, the un-deals, and where things stand at the moment - read the story. An excerpt:

[Sen. Malcolm] Smith has taken a gamble - he and his fellow Democrats may well be consigned to another two years in the minority. And whether in the minority or the majority, Smith has undoubtedly gotten at least some of his Senate colleagues wondering whether he is the Democrat best suited to lead the caucus. No sure-bet challengers have come forward or even come to mind for most political observers.

If the Democrats cannot hold onto the majority, marriage equality is effectively dead for two years - it was the intransigence of Skelos on that issue and others such as transgender rights that convinced the Pride Agenda that it needed to cast its lot fully and squarely against the Republicans this year. At the same time, Van Capelle is breathing a huge sigh of relief that the potential betrayal has been staved off.

"We applaud Senator Malcolm Smith's ongoing efforts to lead the new Senate majority that voters chose during the recent elections," he said in a written release. "By stating that reform in the Senate cannot include bargaining away civil rights, Senator Smith has once again demonstrated his commitment to standing up for all New Yorkers."

On an upbeat note, Van Capelle continued, "The Pride Agenda looks forward to continuing to work with Senator Smith when the legislative session starts." However, with a bow to the political reality that even if the Democrats run the Senate, GOP votes would be needed to get gay marriage over the goal line, he added, "In the meantime we will be working with legislative leaders - Democrats and Republicans... to earn the votes we need to bring the marriage equality bill to the floor of the Senate for passage."