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勢いづく「同性婚推進勢力」－米国 - 世界日報

世界日報　2007年６月28日
勢いづく「同性婚推進勢力」－米国
州憲法修正の州民投票を否決－マサチューセッツ州議会

　米マサチューセッツ州議会は十四日、結婚は男女間の関係のみとする州憲法修正案に対する州民投票は行わないとする決定を下した。この法案は、同州が保障する同性カップルの法的婚姻（同性婚）を違憲とすることを目的にしていたが、同性婚推進勢力の必死のロビー活動で事実上の廃案となった。今後、マサチューセッツ州で結婚した同性カップルが自州に戻ることで、同性婚が既成事実化する可能性が高い。
（ニューヨーク・内藤　毅）

「同性婚」制度各州に拡大か

　二十四日、ニューヨーク市マンハッタンの五番街では、同性愛者の権利擁護を訴える「ゲイプライド」が行われた。一九六九年にグリニッジ・ビレッジで発生した抗議運動に端を発するこのデモ行進。今年も参加者、観客合わせて百万人近く集まり、同市のブルームバーグ市長と自身も同性愛者のクリスティーン・クイーン州下院議長がパレードに参加するなど、例年通りのにぎわいを見せた。

　ゲイプライドに前後して、全米各地では同性愛者や支持者らのデモ行進が行われる。しかし、今年、ニューヨークで行われたパレードは、マサチューセッツ州議会の決定のほか、十九日にはニューヨーク州下院が同性婚認可法案を可決するなどの出来事が重なり、以前にも増して高揚した雰囲気に包まれていた。

　共和党が過半数を占める州上院は、この法案を通す可能性は全くないものの、同性婚の導入に積極的なスピッツァー・ニューヨーク州知事はこの動きを歓迎。来年以降、州上院の議席構成が大幅に変わることも予想されており、マサチューセッツ州に続き、ニューヨークが同性婚を認可する州になる恐れが出てきている。

　そのマサチューセッツ州では二〇〇四年五月以来、少なくとも八千五百組の同性婚が挙げられている。これに対し、カトリック教会などのキリスト教保守派は、「結婚は男女の関係のみ」とする州憲法改正案を制定すべく、署名運動やロビー活動などを展開。当時の州知事だったロムニー氏やボストン市長のフリン氏が先陣を切って、同性婚に同情的な州議会に切り込みを掛けてきた。

　その結果、今年一月に行われた州議会の採決で、州憲法改正のための州民投票を行うため、必要な四分の一以上の賛成を獲得。今月十四日の再採決で同様の賛成を得れば、来年十一月に州民投票が行われるはずだった。

　これまでの動きを見ると、「州民の意見を問うべきだ」との声が強まっており、州民の信が問われるのは確実視されていた。しかし、今回の採決では州議員二百人のうち、投票に賛同したのは四十五人のみ。同性婚推進派のパトリック・マサチューセッツ州知事や州民主党執行部が激しいロビー活動を展開したため、ひっくり返る議員が相次いだとみられている。

　パトリック知事は州民投票案が否決されたことを受け、「結婚の自由が守られた」と宣言。同性愛者の権利擁護団体「ゲイ・アンド・レズビアン・アドボケイツ・アンド・ディフェンダー」（ＧＬＡＤ）も「マサチューセッツ州議会が確固たる公平の概念の下、行動したことを心から称賛する」との声明を出した。

　一方、ロムニー前知事は、「伝統的な結婚制度を守るべく運動してきたわれわれの努力を水泡に帰す合意」と落胆を表明。今後は、「合衆国憲法の修正条項制定に力を入れるしかない」と連邦レベルでの動きに力を入れる意思を明らかにした。

　しかし、同州のスフォーク大学が四月に行った世論調査では、州民の６３％は州民投票を行うべきだと回答。また、州憲法修正に向けた州民投票を請願する市民が十七万人に達していたことを考えると、同性婚を守ろうとする勢力が行った行為は、民意を反映した民主的な手続きとは言えない。同性婚は、社会で最も基本的な構成単位である家族に対する概念を変えるものだけに、力ずくの政治解決はいただけない。

　ＧＬＡＤは声明で、「（同性婚の制度を維持することは）コミュニティーの結束を強くし、家族をより幸福にするもの」と主張。この決定がマサチューセッツのみならず、同性婚制度とほぼ同等の権利を州民に与えている隣州のコネティカットやロードアイランドなどニューイングランド地方にも強い影響を及ぼすことを期待する。

　同性婚推進勢力は今後、全米レベルで結婚の定義を変えるべく、仕掛けてくると予測されている。十七日付のワシントン・タイムズ紙によると、連邦結婚修正法を訴える「アライアンス・フォア・ファミリー」のマット・ダニエル代表は「同性婚制度が全米の新たな社会基準となることが目的」と危惧（きぐ）の念をあらわにする。

　これは、マサチューセッツ州で結婚した他州からの同性カップルが自分たちの州に帰り、結婚と認められない場合、自治体を相手に裁判を展開。全米レベルに同性婚が定着するシナリオだ。実際に裁判を通じて、ロードアイランド州は同性カップルがマサチューセッツ州で結婚することを認可している。

　現在、米国では同性愛者の人権に対する社会認知は進み、一般生活でも溶け込んでいるように見える。しかし、政治状況を見ると、リベラルな民主党内でも同性婚に対しては、及び腰。これと同等の権利を与える市民結合を支持する向きが強い。

　特に、大統領候補の党指名を争う立場にある人物になるとその傾向は顕著だ。二十四日付のワシントン・ポスト紙によると、指名争いのトップを競うクリントン、オバマ両上院議員は同性愛者の権利擁護に積極的な姿勢を見せるが、同性婚に対しては逆の対応を見せる。

　しかし、同紙は同性婚の制度化に賛成していたブルームバーグ市長（現在無所属）が大統領選に出馬すれば、状況は変わってくる可能性があると示唆している。特に、ヒラリー・クリントン議員は、夫のクリントン前大統領が署名した結婚保護法（ＤＯＭＡ）に反対していることを考えると、場合によっては豹変（ひょうへん）。同性婚推進勢力と軌を一にする可能性がある。

（本紙掲載：６月27日）

米世論調査：リベラルな考えに傾く米の若者

The New York Times
June 26, 2007
Poll Shows Liberal Ideas Gaining With Young People
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and MEGAN C. THEE

Young Americans are more likely than the general public to favor a government-run universal health care insurance system, an open-door policy on immigration and the legalization of gay marriage, according to a New York Times/CBS News/MTV poll. The poll also found that they are more likely to say the war in Iraq is heading to a successful conclusion.

In a snapshot of a group whose energy and idealism have always been as alluring to politicians as its scattered focus and shifting interests have been frustrating, the poll found that substantially more Americans between the ages of 17 and 29 than four years ago are paying attention to the presidential race. But they appeared to be really familiar with only two of the candidates, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, both Democrats.

They have continued a long-term drift away from the Republican Party, and although they are just as worried as the general population about the outlook for the country and think their generation is likely to be worse off than that of their parents, they retain a belief that their votes can make a difference, the poll found.

More than half of Americans between 17 and 29 years old — 54 percent — say they intend to vote for a Democrat for president in 2008. They share with the public at large a negative view of President Bush, who has a 28 percent approval rating with this group, and of the Republican Party. They hold a markedly more positive view of Democrats than they do of Republicans.

Among this age group, Mr. Bush’s job approval rating after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was more than 8 in 10. Over the course of the next three years, it drifted downward leading into the presidential election of 2004, when 4 out of 10 members of young Americans said they approved how Mr. Bush was handling his job.

At a time when Democrats have made gains after years in which Republicans have dominated Washington, young Americans appear to lean slightly more to the left than the general population: 28 percent described themselves as liberal, compared with 20 percent of the nation at large. And 27 percent called themselves conservative, compared with 32 percent of the general public.

Forty-four percent said they believed that same-sex couples should be permitted to get married, compared with 28 percent of the public at large. They are more likely than their elders to support the legalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The findings on gay marriage were reminiscent of a survey of voters leaving the polls on election day 2004: 41 percent of 18-to-29-year-old voters said gay couples should be permitted to legally marry, according to an exit poll at the time.

In addition, 62 percent said in the current poll that they would support a universal, government-sponsored national health care insurance program; 47 percent of the general public holds that view. And 30 percent said that “Americans should always welcome new immigrants,” while 24 percent of the general public holds that view.

Their views on abortion mirror that of the public at large: 24 percent said it should not be permitted it all, while 38 percent said it should be made available, but with greater restrictions. Thirty-seven percent said it should be generally available.

In one potential sign of shifting attitudes, respondents, by overwhelming margins said they believed that the nation was prepared to elect as president a woman, a black or someone who admitted to having used marijuana. But they said they did not believe Americans would elect as president someone who had used cocaine or a Mormon.

Mr. Obama has suggested that he used cocaine as a young man. Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and a candidate for the Republican nomination, is a Mormon.

By a 52 to 36 margin, young Americans say that Democrats, rather than Republicans, come closer to sharing their moral values, while 58 percent said they had a favorable view of the Democratic Party, while 38 percent said they had a favorable view of Republicans.

Asked if they were enthusiastic about any of the candidates running for president, 18 percent named Mr. Obama, of Illinois, and 17 percent named Mrs. Clinton, of New York. Those two were followed by Rudolph W. Giuliani, a Republican, who was named by just 4 percent of the respondents.

The survey also found that 42 percent of young Americans think it is likely or very likely that the national will reinstate a military draft over the next few years — and two-thirds said they thought the Republican Party was more likely to do so. And 87 percent of respondents said they opposed a draft.

But when it came to the war, young Americans were more optimistic about the outcome than the population as whole. Fifty-one percent said the United States is very or somewhat likely to succeed in Iraq, compared with 45 percent among all adults. Contrary to conventional wisdom, younger Americans have historically been more likely than the population as whole to be supportive of what a president is doing in a time of war as they were in Korea and Vietnam, polls have shown.

The nationwide telephone poll — a joint effort by the New York Times, CBS News, and MTV — was conducted from June 15 to June 23. It involved 659 adults from the ages of 17 to 29. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points for all respondents.

The Times/CBS News/MTV Poll suggests that suggests that Americans are conflicted in their view of the country. Many have a bleak view about their own future and the direction the country is heading: 70 percent said the country is on the wrong track, while 48 percent said they fear that their generation will be worse off than their parents But the survey also found that this generation of Americans is not cynical: 77 percent said they thought the votes of their generation would have a great bearing on who becomes the next president.

By any measure, the poll suggests that young Americans are anything but apathetic about the presidential election. Fifty-eight percent said they are paying attention to the campaign. By contrast, at this point in the 2004 presidential campaign, 35 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds said they were paying a lot or some attention to the campaign.

Over the past half century, the youth vote has, more often than not, gone with the Democratic candidate for president, though with some notable exceptions. In 1984, Ronald Reagan won his second term as president by capturing 59 percent of the youth vote, according to surveys of voters leaving the polls, and George H.W. Bush won in 1988 with 52 percent of that vote. But this age group has supported Democratic presidential candidates in every election since.

The percentage of young voters who identified themselves as Republican grew steadily during Reagan administration, and reached a high of 37 percent in 1989. That number has steadily declined ever since, and is now at 25 percent.

“I think the Democratic Party is now realizing how big an impact my generation has and they’re trying to cater to that in some way,” Ashley Robinson, 21, a Democrat from Minnesota, said in a follow-up interview after she participated in the poll. “But the traditional Republican Party is still trying to get older votes, which doesn’t make sense because there are so many more voters my age. It would be sensible to cater to us.”

The fact a significant number of respondents said they were enthusiastic about just two of the candidates — Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton — to a certain extent reflects the fact that both candidates have been the subject of a huge amount of national attention and have presented the country with historic candidacies: Mr. Obama is running to be the first black president and Mrs. Clinton to become the first woman. Other candidates could begin drawing attention from this group as the campaign takes a higher platform.

More significant, though, at least for Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama is the impression this group has of them. In the poll, 43 percent of respondents said they held an unfavorable view of Mrs. Clinton, a number that reflects the tide of resistance she faces among voters nationwide. By contrast, only 19 percent said they had an unfavorable view of Mr. Obama.

Marjorie Connelly, Dalia Sussman and Marina Stefan contributed reporting.

NY Times/CBS/MTV Poll (PDF)

47. Which comes closest to your view?...Gay couples should be allowed to legally marry, gay couples should be allowed to form civil unions but not legally marry, there should be no legal recognition of a gay couple's relationship?

3/7-11/07 All adults
Marry 28
Civil unions 32
No legal recognition 35
DK/NA 5

6/15-23/07 Age 17-29
Marry 44
Civil unions 24
No legal recognition 30
DK/NA 3

48. Do you think being homosexual is something people choose to be, or do you think it is something they cannot change?

10/5-8/06 All adults
Choose 34
Cannot change 53
DK/NA 12

6/15-23/07 Age 17-29
Choose 43
Cannot change 50
DK/NA 7

米次期大統領有力候補エドワーズ氏の妻が、同性婚支持を表明

Elizabeth Edwards declares support for gay marriage
Carla Marinucci, San Francisco Chronicle Political Writer
Monday, June 25, 2007

Elizabeth Edwards, starring at the kickoff event of San Francisco's Gay Pride Parade, came out in support of legalized same-sex marriage Sunday -- taking a position that she acknowledged is at odds with her husband, presidential candidate John Edwards.

"I don't know why somebody else's marriage has anything to do with me," she said. "I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage."

Edwards' comments came after her keynote address before a standing-room-only breakfast attended by 300 people at the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club, a key organization in the powerful gay political base in San Francisco.

The appearance by the candidate's wife -- witnessed by many local politicians, including Mayor Gavin Newsom, District Attorney Kamala Harris and City Attorney Dennis Herrera -- was hailed as a milestone in the 30-year history of the Gay Pride event, which had never been visited by a major presidential candidate or spouse.

California's presidential primary is Feb. 5, making it one of the earliest races in the country and a frequent stop for candidates and their families.

Edwards' embrace of same-sex marriage puts her in a position that differs markedly from her husband, the former North Carolina senator. Edwards said her husband, though having a "deeply held belief against any form of discrimination," supports gay civil unions, but does not support gay marriage.

"John has been pretty clear about it, that he is very conflicted," she said. "That's up against his being raised in the 1950s in a rural southern town. I think honestly he's on a road that a lot of people in this country are on. ... They're struggling with this. Most of the gay and lesbian people I know ... have seen their friends and family walking down that same road.

"It's frustrating, I know," she added, "but it's a long distance from where we are now to the pews of a Southern Baptist church. So, John's been as honest as he can about that."

Edwards said she has come to the conclusion that the marriage of another couple "makes no difference to me," just as it would make no difference in her opinion of a neighbor if he painted his house a different color.

"If he's pleasant to me on the street, if his children don't throw things in my yard, then I'm happy," she said. "It seems to me we're making issues of things that honestly ... don't matter."

Many at the breakfast where Edwards was enthusiastically received noted the stark differences between Democratic and Republican presidential candidates on issues that matter to gay and lesbian voters.

All Democratic candidates support the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gay people in the military, while none of the Republican candidates said they would support such a change.

All Democrats also support a measure recently passed in New Hampshire that allows civil unions. But the leading candidates -- Edwards, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama -- remain opposed to same sex marriage.

Only Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Ohio, and former Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska support same-sex marriage, but they are considered to have virtually no chance of winning the Democratic nomination.

In 2004, Mayor Gavin Newsom decided to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in defiance of the state law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The state Supreme Court has barred such marriages until it issues a final decision in the case. That decision is still pending.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/25/EDWARDS.TMP

This article appeared on page A - 9 of the San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Chronicle Sections CommentaryNews

米シカゴ・プライド 45万人を動員（市当局者発表）

Chicago embraces Gay Pride
By Jeff Long
Chicago Tribune staff reporter
June 24, 2007, 6:14 PM CDT

Mike Erickson stood with his two young daughters in the heart of Boystown on Sunday, enjoying the Gay Pride Parade for the first time-even though his brother had come out to the family more than 10 years ago.

Erickson, 49, of Evergreen Park, and his daughters, Ceili, 12, and Phoebe, 10, watched the dancers and marchers and floats, and wandered through the friendly crowd with grins of appreciation.

"I haven't seen anything yet that I wouldn't want them to be exposed to," said Erickson, as a float with bare-chested men dancing in tight shorts cruised by. "If you want to see a wild parade, come down to the South Side St. Patrick's parade."

"It's fun," Phoebe said of her day at Pride.

The girls' grins seemed to have as much to do with having a fun day in Chicago with their uncle Jon as anything else. They stayed with their dad at their uncle's place the night before, watching movies and visiting.

Jon Erickson, who would only say he is not yet 50 when asked his age, has lived in the Boystown area for about 15 years. He said Sunday that he was proud to have his nieces and brother there with him amid a crowd that city officials estimated 450,000.

"It's really more than a family thing," Jon Erickson said of having his nieces attend Pride. "Their first question was, 'What does the rainbow flag mean?' And I told them how everyone's welcome. And that gay people are everywhere. So, to have my family join me along with my larger family is what the Pride Parade is all about."

Police and organizers said Sunday afternoon that they knew of no major problems or disturbances during the parade, which began at about noon, wending north on Halsted Street from Belmont and back south on Broadway.

There were 250 registered entries for the 38th annual event-floats, decorated vehicles, and marching groups-according to parade coordinator Richard Pfeiffer.

Former NBA center Jon Amaechi, who retired in 2004 after five seasons in the league and came out earlier this year in an autobiography titled "Man in the Middle," was the parade's grand marshal. The theme of the parade was "United for Equality."

Mike Erickson had always talked about attending the Pride Parade with his brother, but just never got around to it. He's glad that he did this year.

"I do things with my other brothers," he said. "This is a chance to do something with him, in his neighborhood." Elsewhere on the parade route, Taysha Bronaugh, 34, was enjoying the sights with her girlfriend, Demetria Jamison, 26.

"I come out here to show support," said Jamison. "And get support. I love the parade."

"I love it," added Bronaugh. "I love coming down. I like looking at the half-naked bodies, I'm not going to lie. Everybody's enjoying themselves. They're having fun."

jjlong@tribune.com
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

NY市：宗教グループが先導するNYゲイ・プライド・パレード

Religious groups lead New York gay pride parade
The Associated Press
Sunday, June 24, 2007

NEW YORK: Religious groups including Christians, Jews and Buddhists led the New York gay pride parade, lending gravity to the often outrageous event that celebrates the night patrons of a gay bar in Manhattan resisted a police raid.

"We stand for a progressive religious voice," said Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of New York City's Congregation Beth Simchat Torah. "Those who use religion to advocate an anti-gay agenda I believe are blaspheming God's name."

Kleinbaum, who heads the world's largest predominantly gay synagogue, and the Rev. Troy Perry, founder of the Metropolitan Community Church, were the parade's grand marshals Sunday, waving from his-and-hers convertibles.

The march took place days after the New York State Assembly passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, which Governor Eliot Spitzer supports. Although the bill is unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled state Senate any time soon, parade-goers said they were cheered by the Assembly's action.

"This is one very important step toward full equality for all New Yorkers," Kleinbaum said.

As in past years, there was exhibitionism on display as the parade inched down Fifth Avenue and into Greenwich Village. Revelers gyrated in bikini briefs and marched in spike heels.

But the placement of the religious organizations near the head of the march — ahead of AIDS service groups and political advocacy groups — gave them unaccustomed prominence.

A Buddhist group carried signs that said "Construct Dignity in Your Heart" and "Don't Block Your Buddha."

The gay Roman Catholic group Dignity had a float and a giant rainbow flag. Jeff Stone, secretary of the New York chapter, said he was hopeful that the church would someday change its stance opposing homosexuality.

"We see that the opinion of ordinary Catholics is changing," he said. "Eventually what happens at the grass roots percolates up in the church."

Toni Cinanni of Perth, Australia, said she was surprised at the prominence of the church groups.

"I thought the religious groups had hijacked the parade," she said. "I couldn't put it together, religion and sexuality."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg marched with officials including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who is one of the most prominent openly gay elected officials in the United States.

There were contingents of gay police officers and firefighters as well as ethnic gay groups including South Asians, Haitians and American Indians.

The annual gay pride parade, one of dozens that takes place around the world, commemorates the 1969 Stonewall riots when patrons at a Greenwich Village gay bar fought back against a police raid.

In California, Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, kicked off San Francisco's annual gay pride parade Sunday by splitting with her husband over support for legalized gay marriage.

"I don't know why someone else's marriage has anything to do with me," Mrs. Edwards said at a news conference before the parade started. "I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage."

She made the remark almost offhandedly in answering a question from reporters after she delivered a standard campaign speech during a breakfast hosted by a local political organization.

She conceded her support puts her at odds with her husband, a former senator from North Carolina who she said supports civil unions among gay couples — but not same-sex marriages.

"John has been pretty clear about it, that he is very conflicted," she said. "He has a deeply held belief against any form of discrimination, but that's up against his being raised in the 1950s in a rural southern town."

No serious presidential candidate for the 2008 election from either major political party has publicly supported gay marriage.

ＮＹで同性愛者がパレード　虹の旗振り、市長も参加
2007年6月25日 10時32分

　【ニューヨーク２４日共同】ニューヨーク市中心部で２４日、同性愛者の権利拡大などを求める大規模なパレードが行われた。色とりどりの衣装で着飾った参加者は、沿道の市民から声援を受けながら、多様性を認める社会を示す虹色の旗を振って練り歩いた。

　パレードにはブルームバーグ市長も虹の小旗を持って参加。大型トラックの荷台をステージに水着姿で踊る女性たちや、同性愛の警官や消防士の姿も見られた。

　ＡＰ通信によると、パレードは毎年開かれているが、ニューヨーク州下院が先週、同性愛者同士の婚姻を認める法案を可決したこともあり、例年以上の盛り上がりを見せた。

　パレードはニューヨークで１９６９年に起きた同性愛者の抵抗運動を記念、世界各地でも毎年開かれている。

The New York Times
June 25, 2007
The Empire Zone
Personal Victory for Assemblyman on Gay Marriage
By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE

ALBANY — His sister Rosie is the celebrity in the family. (You may have caught her in “A League of Their Own” or on “The View.”) But Daniel J. O’Donnell, a Manhattan assemblyman, got his own dose of fame during the climactic Assembly debate last week over a bill seeking to legalize same-sex marriage.

Mr. O’Donnell, the bill’s sponsor, who is gay, fielded more than an hour of questions from his colleagues, many of them hostile. Then he gave an impassioned and highly personal speech that was by turns comic (“I want a license that all of you have; some of you have had it two or three times”) and poignant (“All gay people, when they realize who they are, live in fear”). His companion, John Banta, stood nearby, and they embraced after Mr. O’Donnell, below, finished the speech.

Not everyone was convinced. Assemblyman Brian M. Kolb, a Republican from Canandaigua, said he felt personally “threatened” by the legislation; Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a Democrat from Brooklyn, suggested including a provision to legalize incest.

But the bill passed, 85 to 61, making New York only the second state in which one or both houses of the legislature have approved same-sex marriage legislation without being compelled by a court to do so, according to Empire State Pride Agenda, a gay rights advocacy group. (In the first, California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill.)

Though Gov. Eliot Spitzer supports the bill, Senate leaders declined to take it up. Still, gay rights advocates have hailed the Assembly vote as a huge symbolic victory.

“I mostly just thought about it as I was lying in bed at night,” Mr. O’Donnell, 47, said of his speech. “We walked on the floor with 79 votes. So to get to 85, people who were noes or maybes had to be swayed by the debate.” Afterward, he said, “some people told me that they couldn’t vote against me personally. Some people said they figured out that all the reasons to vote ‘no’ were political, and that they had decided to let their personal views dictate their vote.”

Boons for Consumers

At least two new pieces of law, should the governor approve them, are likely to make New Yorkers happy. One is the Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights, introduced by Assemblyman Michael N. Gianaris of Queens after the nationwide flight delays in February. The bill, sponsored in the Senate by Charles J. Fuschillo Jr. of Long Island, requires that airlines provide water, fresh air, food and clean bathrooms if loaded planes are kept on the ground at New York airports for more than three hours.

“Passengers have long complained about declining service on airlines, but this is ridiculous,” said Mr. Gianaris, above, noting that during the February delays, some passengers were stuck on planes at New York City-area airports for hours at a time. “People in prison camps don’t get treated this badly.”

The second piece of legislation eliminates the 4 percent sales tax the city charges on clothing and shoes costing more than $110. City officials and business leaders argued that the tax gave an advantage to retailers in neighboring states that do not levy such a charge. The bill, sponsored in the Assembly by Herman D. Farrell Jr. of Manhattan and in the Senate by Frank Padavan of Queens, passed on Thursday — and will soon take effect at a department store near you.

City Lobbyists Weigh In

New York City officials managed to stall legislation that would have made it harder for them to lease buildings for school space as part of the city’s five-year capital plan.

Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan of Queens persuaded her colleagues to approve a bill that would require leased school facilities to go through the same approval process as newly built schools — including approval by the City Council and the state’s stringent environmental review process. Community and environmental advocates, citing past cases in which the city leased buildings on polluted or contaminated ground, said the reviews were necessary.

But city lobbyists have insisted that the more than 30 leased facilities in their plan do not require Council or state environmental approval, and that the buildings in question have been carefully inspected for any potential danger to the students who would occupy them. They also said that a lengthy review process would make it impossible to close leasing deals with the property owners. And they persuaded Mr. Padavan, left, the Senate sponsor of the legislation, to hold off.

“Contrary to what has been asserted, the School Construction Authority already conducts thorough environmental reviews as set by the State Department of Environmental Conservation,” said Farrell Sklerov, a spokesman for the city.

Advocates for the bill thought they had reached a compromise in the waning days of the session. The deal would have exempted the leases from the state environmental review process and instead required an expedited review involving testing water, soil and air on the properties.

“We had worked out what I thought was a kind of sensible compromise,” said David Palmer, a staff attorney with New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.

But the city eventually balked again. The sticking point? The bill’s supporters insisted that the City Council have a role in the approval process. “An environmental review process without a political process is almost worthless,” Mr. Palmer said.

Mr. Sklerov said the city “will continue to work with members of the Legislature and the environmental community to address any of their concerns.”