If it walks like a ......

Ever ever ever the tiniest little crack in that 50 foot high closet door belonging to my state senator, Jim Alesi, and yes, it feels like we have been fighting this same senseless battle for years! The man is as gay as a flaming Fire Island florist, but at 63 years old and an entrenched Republican state senator, not much is going to happen. Senator Alesi was at the local Empire State Pride Agenda dinner up in Rochester , and that set all sorts of tails a wagging at every brunch state wide the following morning,

 From yesterday's New York Post ( Fox News in Print ) : "Gay-marriage backers got what they're calling a big boost over the weekend when Republican state Sen. James Alesi appeared at a major upstate dinner held by the state's biggest gay-rights group. The Empire State Pride Agenda dinner in Rochester was called to rally support for the gay-marriage bill, which has already cleared the Democrat-controlled Assembly and will likely be voted on next month in the Republican-controlled Senate, where it was defeated in 2009.

"Having Alesi there was seen as an important development since the dinner was all about marriage equality," a prominent Democrat and gay-rights activist told The Post, noting that the Rochester Republican has long opposed gay marriage.

"While he didn't speak, Alesi was mentioned a couple of times from the stage, and with about 700 people there, there was a good deal of buzz about it."

A second source called Alesi's presence "a big development" in the gay-marriage fight.

Alesi was one of 38 senators, Republican and Democratic, who helped kill the gay-marriage bill when it came to a vote in the then-Democratic-controlled Senate in December 2009.

He ducked repeated questions on his current gay-marriage position but noted that he now attends a church "that blesses gay marriage and calls for marriage equality."

And while he said that, for now, he would keep his position "locked inside my inarticulate skull," Alesi emphasized that because Senate votes are taken alphabetically, he'll be the first Republican to weigh in on the measure when the next vote is taken.

"My vote is probably the most significant vote on this issue, because how I vote will send a message down the line," he told The Post. The Saturday-night event, at the Rochester Convention Center, featured Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a strong gay-marriage supporter, who delivered the keynote address.

Alesi's involvement in the event marked the second time in less than a week that a Republican senator who previously voted no hinted at a change of mind.

Staten Island Sen. Andrew Lanza insisted he now has "an open mind" on the issue.

"I'm listening. I am entertaining all those points of view that are out there. I'm trying to discern why or whether we should make a move from what is the status quo," said Lanza.

The Senate defeated the same-sex marriage law, 38-24, but several Democratic "nos" have since been replaced by "pros."

And while then-Gov. David Paterson strongly backed same-sex marriage, he was an unpopular and unelected governor with little political clout -- just the opposite of the current governor, Andrew Cuomo, who has thrown himself into the approval battle.

"Two years ago, Gov. Paterson was providing support to the effort, but it didn't count for all that much. This time around, Gov. Cuomo is actually coordinating much of the effort," the activist said.

"If it passes this year, it won't be because of what the community did. It will be because of what Gov. Cuomo did."

RUH-ROH!
Can't have that happening, now can we, can't have anyone thinking
you like the gays too much!

Sen. James Alesi, R-Perinton, Monroe County, said this afternoon that his brief stop at the Empire State Pride Agenda annual dinner in Rochester on Saturday night shouldn’t suggest that he’s ready to support the legalization of same-sex marriage. The New York Post this morning reported that Alesi’s stop at the dinner was viewed as a major development by gay-rights advocates. Alesi, however, didn’t see it that way, saying he only stopped at the dinner for 10 minutes at the Rochester Convention Center and also was there to attend a union dinner down the hall.
“These are all my constituents and there is absolutely no way anyone can create a barricade for me when it comes to my constituents,” Alesi said outside the Senate chambers today. “It’s me doing my job.”
Alesi has been heavily lobbied by both sides of the issue, and confirmed that he was contacted by phone recently by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is advocating for the measure’s adoption. But Alesi said his talk with Cuomo was brief, saying he asked the governor for a face-to-face meeting. “I know the governor is a busy person, but I think my vote is pretty significant given the fact that I vote first” among Senate Republicans, he said.


Alesi voted no in 2009 when the same-sex marriage bill came to the floor. He said he’s undeclared now.


We were in the Senate Chamber, when Mr. Alesi, with an "A" was the first GOP Senator to vote no on marriage equality a couple of years ago. The man was a wreck, in obvious physical and emotional pain.




The closet is hell, for everyone. I feel for him but, the thing is he is so popular and entrenched in this gerrymandered district, that he would totally be reelected as an out gay man.