Capitol Bureau

ALBANY — New York's capital today will be battleground for civil rights and the political fringes, where gays, lesbians and cross-dressers will square off against the religious right.

And through it all, a rare moment in Albany will emerge as a bill whose vote has yet to be determined hits the state Senate floor.

New York is now the closest it's ever been to joining a dozen other states outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation. The state's Republican-controlled upper house is due to vote this afternoon on the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act, a bill first introduced more than three decades ago and passed each of the last 10 years in the Democrat-controlled Assembly.

Gov. George Pataki promised he'd sign the bill into law if it passes, adding gays and lesbians to groups protected from discrimination in employment, housing, education, public accommodation and credit.

Such protections already exist in New York City and Long Island.

For those who have fought for the bill's passage, like Plattsburgh's openly gay Mayor Daniel Stewart, today "can be a very historic day in equal rights."

And to some, it shows a state with decaying values.

"It's morally wrong to give people special rights and privileges because of a sexual behavior," said the Rev. Duane Motley of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, a conservative group representing evangelical churches planning to rally against the bill today.

"Next year, you could have pedophiles, gamblers, alcoholics, any other kinds of sexual perversions you could think of," looking for protections, Motley said.

As of Monday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Rensselaer County, said he'll likely vote for the measure, but he doesn't have enough Republicans in his house to carry it without most Senate Democrats voting for it too.

The state Conservative Party stands opposed to the bill.

"Right now, I think the vote looks very close. We're very hopeful," said Matt Foreman, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, the state's largest gay and lesbian lobbying group.

Before this week, the bill's fate was more tenuous as transgender groups, representing transsexuals and cross-dressers, among others, threatened to have the bill axed unless they too were specifically included. Many from those groups are expected in Albany today to continue their push with protests, but the bill to be voted on isn't expected to change.

"We don't delay getting people their rights until we have a perfect bill," Foreman said. "We're not going to not jump at this chance to extend protections to all our upstate gay and lesbian brothers and sisters."

———

John Milgrim can be reached at jmottaway@aol.com or (518) 463-1157.