Conservative Group Files Suit Against New York Senate Claiming Process By Which Same-Sex Marriage Measure Passed Violated Law

Twenty four hours after a historic same-sex marriage act took effect, a Monroe County, New York-based group announced it will file suit against the Senate in state Supreme Court Monday morning, saying that the way the bill legalizing same-sex marriage was brought to the floor violated the law in a variety of ways, The Journal News reporting that New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, a Spencerport group that helped lead the lobbying fight against the bill, say that the Senate acted against the law by preventing some senators from speaking out against the bill on the floor. The group also took issue with “unprecedented Senate lock-outs” on the day of the vote, when protesters were kept out of the corridor between the Senate chamber and the Senate GOP conference room in the state Capitol, where Republican lawmakers were debating whether or not to bring the bill to the floor. “Constitutional liberties were violated,” said the Reverend Jason J. McGuire, executive director of the group. “Today we are asking the court to intervene in its rightful role as the check and balance on an out-of-control State Legislature.” The lawsuit will be filed in Livingston County, according to the group’s press release. The lawsuits main points appear to be that meetings violated New York State Open Meetings Laws, the suspension of normal Senate voting procedures to prevent Senators who opposed the bill from speaking, the failure to follow Senate procedures that require that a bill must be sent to appropriate committees prior to being placed before the full Senate for a vote, unprecedented Senate lock-outs by which lobbyists and the public were denied access to elected representatives, the Governor’s violation of the constitutionally mandated three-day review period before the Legislature votes on a bill by unjustifiably issuing a message of necessity, and promises (which were fulfilled) by high-profile elected officials and Wall Street financiers to make large campaign contributions to Republican senators who switched their vote from opposing to supporting the Marriage Equality Act. A complete copy of the complaint is available at the source. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has declined comment.