Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented today on New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer’s decision to introduce a bill that would legalize gay marriage; the bill is expected to be submitted in a few weeks:
“On February 1, just one month after Eliot Spitzer became governor, I wrote a news release congratulating the new governor on his proposal to allow a $1,000 tax break for families who elect to send their children to parochial schools. But that proposal never made it into the budget.
“Now Governor Spitzer wants to push for the right of two men to marry. In doing so, he shows how wildly out of touch he is with New Yorkers: in 2004, a New York Daily News poll found that by a 47-40 percent margin, Manhattanites were opposed to gay marriage. It stands to reason that if the most liberal men and women in New York State don’t want it, no other borough—and no other part of the state—wants it either.
“By reneging on his pledge to help parochial schools, and by supporting gay marriage, Governor Spitzer has alienated Catholics, as well as the faithful from other religions. If he thinks he can ‘steamroll’ this issue by running roughshod over religious conservatives, he’s got another thing coming.”
NB: Here is the letter Bill Donohue sent today to every member of the New York State Legislature.
Dear New York State Legislator:
As president of the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization, I am troubled by Governor Eliot Spitzer’s determination to push a bill that would legalize gay marriage. New Yorkers, as the attached news release indicates, don’t want it. And there is no doubt about the lack of support such a bill has among religious conservatives from all the major faith communities.
I strongly urge you to reject the governor’s proposal and keep marriage what it has always been in all cultures throughout all of time—a union between a man and a woman.
Sincerely,
William A. Donohue, Ph.D.
President
