New York lawmakers changed rules to ram through gay marriage
Image via Wikipedia State lawmakers backing legalization of same-sex “marriage” in New York last month reportedly outraged even some fellow supportive lawmakers with 11th-hour changes to Senate rules . The changes allowed the bill to be pushed through on a tight schedule, but deprived senators of a chance to explain their “yes” votes to angry constituencies. “Essentially the Senate rules were changed in a backroom agreement before session started and then changed again during the vote to make sure it would be concluded to make the 11 p.m. newscasts,” wrote David King of the Gotham Gazette , just after the bill became law on June 24. King also confirmed reports that the public was shut out of committee meetings on the bill, which one of his sources claimed is illegal. The trouble began when Sen. Ruben Diaz , the only Democrat in the chamber supporting traditional marriage, was preparing to lay aside the bill for debate: a move that would have slowed the process, but was within his