Video: Raw Video: New York Senate Rejects Gay Marriage

Oneida County’s two state senators split their votes Wednesday on a rejected bill to legalize gay marriage in the Empire State.

Joseph A. Griffo, R-47, Rome, was among the 38 senators to vote against the measure while David J. Valesky, D-49, Oneida, was one of the 24 supporters. Every one of the Senate’s 30 Republican members voted against the bill, as well as eight Democrats.

Griffo today said that he believes New York should continue to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

"Marriage is one of the most valued and sacred aspects of our society," he said. "It is more than just one of the basic civil rights to which all people are entitled. Marriage between a man and a woman is one of the cornerstone institutions in our culture."

He said he did not believe that changing its definition under state law was appropriate.

"Traditional beliefs that define a family structure as based on marriage between a man and a woman are part of the bedrock values in the region I serve as senator," he said. "Although I believe in the traditional definition of marriage, I also believe that there should be no discrimination based on sexual orientation. All people have value in our society, and no one should be treated unfairly because of their sexual orientation, race, gender or any other category."

But, he said he has not been "persuaded that preservation of marriage in its current form is a denial of basic rights."

Valesky said he has met with and spoken to hundreds of constituents on both sides of the marriage equality issue in recent months. "While considering both sides of the debate and discussing this matter thoroughly, I have come to believe that the civil rights afforded by this legislation do not breach the basic religious freedoms that I so strongly support," he said. "In fact, this legislation specifically states that no member of the clergy can be required to solemnize any marriage, thus affording a church the right to define marriage on its terms and according to its tenets. The state, however, should not, and cannot, determine its definition of marriage based on the definitions of any church. This, too, is one of the core foundations of our democracy, the separation of church and state."

Vaslesky said, in the end, he voted for the bill because "it expands civil rights while providing a safeguard for religious freedom."

Yesterday’s Senate action was the final hurdle for the measure to become law. The state Assembly has passed the measure three times and Gov. David A. Paterson, a longtime supporter of gay rights, had championed for passage.

The Senate vote followed more than a year of lobbying by gay rights organizations. The state’s Roman Catholic bishops had consistently lobbied for its defeat,

Previously, the legislation had stalled in the Senate since it was first passed by the Assembly in 2007. Under Republican control, Senate leaders never brought the issue to the floor for a vote. But Democrats won control of the chamber in 2008. Since then, advocates have been pushing for a vote.

A poll released Wednesday by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion in Poughkeepsie showed that 51 percent of registered voters supported same-sex marriage while 42 percent opposed it.