...For those who have not followed recent news regarding the so-called “Gang of Three,” Senators Ruben Diaz and Carl Kruger, along with Senator-elect Pedro Espada, declined to pledge their support for pro-same-sex-marriage Senator Malcolm Smith as Senate Majority Leader following the November elections. (While the Democrats have attained a numerical majority in the Senate, Senator Smith does not have the votes to become majority leader without the support of Sens. Diaz and Kruger and Senator-elect Espada.) Some weeks after Election Day, the “Gang of Three” allegedly entered into an agreement with Senator Smith that they would vote for him as Majority Leader in return for certain concessions, including assurances that same-sex marriage legislation would not reach the Senate floor. On December 10, 2008, Senator Smith announced that his agreement with the “Gang of Three” had fallen through; in making that announcement, Senator Smith said, “Real reform cannot and should not ever include limiting the civil rights of any New Yorkers.” This announcement was met with laudatory press releases from NARAL Pro-Choice New York and the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA); ESPA praised Senator Smith for “stating that reform in the Senate cannot include bargaining away civil rights.” (In the 2006 Hernandez v. Robles decision, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the New York State Constitution does not confer a civil right to same-sex marriage. Apparently, neither Senator Smith nor ESPA got the memo.) In stark contrast, Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos has issued a written pledge to leave New York’s current, opposite-sex definition of marriage undisturbed.

Having persuaded Senator Smith to do their bidding, it appears that New York’s left-wing organizations have turned their attention to the “Gang of Three.” Later in December, several organizations that had helped bankroll the Democratic takeover of the New York State Senate – including (you guessed it) NARAL Pro-Choice New York and the Empire State Pride Agenda – reportedly came together to pressure the “Gang of Three” to toe the party line and throw their support to Senator Smith. Senator Diaz, a staunch pro-life and pro-family senator, has remained unmoved; the senator has reportedly said that these organizations are “going to learn” that he does not “bend under pressure.”

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