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Narration:
The marriage debate came to New York State when the mayor of New Paltz performed nearly 30 marriages of same-sex couples. New York State attorney general Elliot Spitzer reacted to the situation by prohibiting same-sex unions on the basis that State marriage law explicitly states marriage is between a husband and wife. David Thompson is co-chair of Marriage Equality New York. He and his partner Steven got married in New Paltz last June. Thompson says recognition from the state would make a big difference for him and Steven… and that without the state's approval, they lack some of the basic rights afforded to heterosexual couples.
ACT: Thompson: Difference (00:14)
When I was working at a large company, I had health insurance. If I had had a wife she I could have gotten health insurance for her… Steven had no health insurance. I couldn't get it for him.
NARRATION:
Healthcare isn't the only reason Thompson wants to be married. He says his partner Steven… who is from the Philippine's… has to leave the country every six months or so to renew his tourist visa… and that when he comes back, there is always the fear that Steven may be denied a visa to reenter the U.S.
In her ruling last week, State Supreme Court Judge Doris Ling-Cohan said the state cannot prohibit same-sex couples from marrying since the State constitution guarantees basic freedoms to lesbian and gay couples. But opponents of same-sex marriage say the issue is not about protecting rights… it's about creating a new legal definition of marriage.
Kerry Gordon-Earl is a spokesperson for Focus on the Family. She says the future of marriage is at stake.
ACT: EARLL: The Debate: (00:19)
The homosexuals are saying this is about ending discrimination. It's really not. It's about dismantling and redefining a basic social institution. And once you start tinkering with that, you're opening the door to everything from polygamy to polyamory also being defined as marriage.
NARRATION:
Polyamory… by the way… is a relationship that involves an open, emotional relationship with multiple partners. The idea that a new legal definition of marriage will open a Pandora's box of social problems is a main argument of the anti-gay marriage movement. Advocates for same-sex marriage say that this position usually stems from a misunderstanding of what it means to be in a committed homosexual relationship.
Ingrid Sarda-Sorensen represents the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center on West 13-TH street in Manhattan.
ACT: Sarda-Sorensen: Families (00:14 sec)
A lot of people don't understand that we just go out and basically do the same things that they do… go to work… pay taxes… have families… it's a lot like doing what heterosexual folks do.
NARRATION:
Kerry Gordon-Earll insists that Focus on the Family is not protesting the gay and lesbian lifestyle… she says that gays and lesbians ought to be held to the same standards as anybody else.
ACT: Earll: Same Rights
Marriage is an institution of criteria. If you meet the criteria, you can have the label of marriage for your relationship. If you don't meet the criteria, you don't, and that's no more discriminatory to people of the same sex than it is to two men and three women who live in a communal relationship who want that to be called marriage as well.
NARRATION:
David Thomson counters, saying that whether he chooses to marry a man or a woman won't affect anyone but the person he marries… that those who argue against same-sex marriage don't understand the extent of the discrimination because they don't have to deal with it in any real way.
ACT: Thompson: Abstraction (00:16)
It's an abstraction to them. Whereas, when I get up in the morning, I realize, 'Oh, gee, I'm alone, there's nobody here,' because my husband is 12 thousand miles away. They've never had to think of it in that way.
NARRATION:
If anything is clear in this debate, it's that… as each side negates the validity of their opponents' arguments… the issue is sure to be around for a while. As for the current ruling, it awaits a hearing in the New York State Court of Appeals.
Michael Rice… Columbia Radio News.