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Good Thursday Morning,
Yesterday was one heck of a day. It was one of those days where I run all over the place doing PlanPutnam type things and wondering why no one has sent me to Spain for the Water Expo and how come I can't find a benefactor so I can do all this full time! You rich, caring, wonderful people, you know who you are...
The booming you hear in the distance this morning is mortar training at West Point. Relax. It's not the next American Revolution... at least not yet.
Michael Lalor's campaign signs are now gone from both Kent and Carmel. Thanks to your help in ridding our roadsides of the constant advertising. Are they still up in your town? If so, do something now: write your town hall and demand that your local laws be enforced. If you have written and they still remain, write to let me know and I'll step in.
I went to the County office building for the 2pm public hearing on the Domestic Partner Registry, passed recently in a brave and bold move by the Putnam County Legislature to find the room full. At first glance, half were clearly supporters who had found out about the meeting via this list and from emails sent out by you. Others in the room were personally invited by the County Executive, others such as ministers and pastors and the like. Mr. Bondi personally invited minsters and justices of the peace in a letter that stated, "I thought that you, as someone who is involved in performing marriage ceremonies, would be interested in providing your feedback... I hope that you will make it a priority to attend."
But no one else I know, not any civic or community leader, not PlanPutnam nor anyone who might predictably speak in favor of this bill was invited by the County Executive. The hearing, though legally noted in newspapers as required by law, was also not posted to the county calendar, nor on the County website. Several attendees thanked PlanPutnam for posting the meeting for they would have not known from any other source.
Todays' column is going to focus specifically on that meeting because something this important happens only rarely in a place like ours. It was difficult to hear some of the names of speakers and their affiliations properly so I'll do my best to note this below with "(?)" afterwards. If you spoke and I referred to your comments incorrectly or misheard your name or affiliation, please let me know. This is not an article in a journalistic sense, but a personal editorial opinion about the meeting and you should read the rest of this piece with that in mind. While I do strive for accuracy and inclusiveness, my personal opinions are scattered throughout.
 Mr. Bondi could not make the public hearing yesterday and according to what you heard or thought you heard, he was either in his office holding other public hearings or had a family emergency and was dealing with that. Though not surprised, I was disappointed with his absence and my comments to the record reflected this.
Deputy County Executive John Tully (pictured here) handily ran the meeting which started on time. He was calm and even handed, looked interested at what each person had to say and only once had that "Oh my, here we go again," look on his face. There's a skill in that and he deserves credit for keeping the meeting moving smoothly over a subject that could have - and in some instances did - reach across the emotional divide from calm to impassioned.
More than 20 people took the lectern to speak on the issue.
With few exceptions, those from the clergy predictably spoke about how a Domestic Partner Registry would weaken marriage. With marriage, they say, you make a commitment to the other person that is hard to break but that with the registry all you need do is go to the Clerk's office and dissolve it with a form. This is not entirely true, marriages are easily broken and more than 50% of married couples in this country seem to have no problem dissolving their commitments. The difficulty, I assume, arises from the cost of such, what with lawyers and whatnot. But this impediment doesn't seem to be able to keep people together for very long, regardless of what the clergy had to say.
Thankfully, few in the ministry spoke about how marriage is defined as a union between one man and one woman. One minister asked, if we allow same-sex couples to marry, where will it end? We've heard this before coming from the fundamentalist Christian movement with some pastors suggesting that people would marry their pets and farm animals and it makes me wonder what kind of fantasies these guys harbor deep within their (im)mortal souls.
Thomas Jackson from the Second Baptist Church was one who used the man-woman story (Leviticus 20:13 or Leviticus 18:22 and 29 depending on which version of the bible you're reading,) as a reason the domestic partner registry should be vetoed. Reverend Tony Colbert(?) from the New Life Christian Church claimed the registry was an "end run to gay marriage", that if we were "one nation under god," that we should heed god's word on these matters. And Dr. Phil Doctrow(?) from Mahopac gave us a long dissertation on moral values that touched on so many subjects I'm not even sure where to start. FOIL the tape if you're interested.
If you've had the opportunity to read Leviticus, the book upon which those who stand against same-sex marriage and homosexuality in general use as a basis for their objections, you'll know that the same chapters include a prohibition against mixing cattle in fields (sheep and cows together is a no-no!), mixing fibers in clothing (a wool-cotton blend? Bad!). You should never shave your beards or your hair, you should never pierce your ears (nor any other body part), you should never mark your body in any way. You should be kind to immigrants since you were once yourself an immigrant in Egypt. Cursing your mother or father is met with the death penalty. You may only marry a virgin. That if your hand or foot is broken or you have any physical disability you are forbidden to approach God. That you should leave the corners of your fields unharvested and some grapes on your vines for the poor and needy. That your employees should be paid every day - on the day - for their labor.
Why then do these assuredly holy men, those who use the word of god to condemn, not obey the very word of their god themselves? According to Leviticus, the punishment for that is - death.
On the other side of the argument, and also from the ministry, was the Rev. Kenneth Mast of First Presbyterian Church who said that this was a civil matter, that there was no official theology on the issue and looked forward to the Registry's passage. Mr. Mast was joined in that sentiment by Karen Burger from Drew Methodist who said that we need "greater justice" for gay and lesbian residents. Following was the Reverend Martin (?) who said that god's law has been used to support slavery, the subjugation of women and Jews and other horrors throughout history and how it was time to take a different view.
Of the residents who came to speak only one spoke against the bill. A gentleman from Put Lake said that we should not legislate immorality, that he'd heard "a lot of smoke..." and that gay "acts and relationships" are not genetic but choices that people opt to make. That unlike being born with blue eyes or with black skin, homosexuals choose that lifestyle.
Hilda Brown, a retired corrections officer from Kent, spoke about her partner of near 4 decades and how she'd like to be able to formally and legally commit that relationship and that through her job in corrections she's seen the results of weak religious marriages.
Others who spoke in favor were Vic Tiship from Kent and Judy Allen from Putnam Valley who read a letter from a neighbor of hers, Craig Lucas, a man in a long-term committed relationship. Cindy Katz, and Jerry Ravnitzky, both from Carmel. Mr. Ravnitzky said that he'd been married for a long time and did not see - or even know - that the registry was going to constitute a threat to his own marriage! Dagmar Swanson, an elderly lady, spoke about the compassion such a registry would create for people as did Edie Keasby a long time Putnam County resident from Patterson. Lynne Eckardt from Southeast, and David Juhren of Cold Spring who wrote me afterwards saying in part,
"...I was moved by how many clergy from various denominations were there in support of the domestic partner registry."
Scott Havelka, a representative from The Loft, A GLBT organization in White Plains, took the podium and and said that there were 1324 different rights that married couples benefit from which would not be bestowed on those on the registry and that Westchester has had a Domestic registry since 2002 and Rockland since 2007(?) and the world did not end.
But the two most interesting speakers were both ministers, Larry Maxwell from Patterson and Brian McIntyre(?) from the Lakeview Church. Both men presented impassioned speeches about how marriage can uplift people, benefit children and lead to healthier and happier lives. Mr. McIntyre quoted from a Rutgers study that pretty much says that marriage is the be-all-and-end-all of happy tidings. Aside from the fact that he selectively quoted from that study, neither man ever used the terms "gay" or "homosexual" or "same-sex" and neither implored the word of god as a basis for denying equal rights. In fact, from both their testimonies they, perhaps inadvertently, gave the impression that they disagreed with the registry since it didn't go far enough, but would support gay 'marriage' since marriage, in and of itself, was the tie that binds families and people together.
At the end of the meeting County Legislator Tony Fusco took the lectern to explain his abstention vote on this matter. He said that there were "holes in the bill" which might inadvertently affect innocent parties though he was not explicit regarding what they were. But he also said that he would support full civil unions and "would fight" to see that passed.
While the County Executive is an ace at walking both sides of any issue, seemingly supporting diametrically opposing positions at the same time, I really don't see that many choices for him. But there are three possible scenarios off the top of my head;
1) He will sign the bill into law bringing Putnam County into the 21st Century,
2) He will veto the bill, await a Legislative over-ride, and then speak about how he supports equal rights but "has problems" with the current bill.
3) He will send the bill back to the Legislature asking for a little touch up here and there, then drag his feet for months while "in negotiations" with them and nothing will happen. He will claim he supports equal rights but do nothing active to prove that support and at the same time be able to show the church that he's on their side, too.
But he's a crafty dude and when dealing with any issue he's always full of surprises and bears an even thicker Teflon coating than Ronald Reagan whose picture hangs proudly on his office wall.
All in all it was an exciting day for Putnam County. The Legislature's bold move, the outpouring of support for such and the civil nature of most of the speakers. (I really don't appreciate being called immoral by anyone with a haircut. See the bit about Leviticus above.) Mr. Bondi says he will make a decision come Tuesday and you can be sure we'll be watching. And for today at least, that's the News That Matters.
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