Tonight the New York Assembly became the first house in any state legislature outside of California to pass marriage equality legislation. The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell, passed 85-61, including the support of four Republicans. O'Donnell cited New Jersey as proof that civil unions don't work:
He also talked about evidence emerging from New Jersey's four-month experience with civil unions, in which both gay advocates and state officials have received hundreds of complaints from gay and lesbian couples who say that employers and institutions such as hospitals have not treated them as spouses, as the law requires.
Garden State Equality has reported that the civil unions law has a 13% failure rate.
This is what courage and leadership looks like. While our legislature blew their chance at equality, other states are learning from our very predictable mistakes and leading the way.
