New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vetoed a popular state bill sponsored by a member of his own party because it would have allowed any federal appellate or district judges, even those appointed by the Trump administration, to officiate wedding ceremonies in the Empire State.
That will show the president who is the boss.
“I cannot in good conscience support legislation that would authorize such actions by federal judges who are appointed by this federal administration,” the governor said in his veto message. “President Trump does not embody who we are as New Yorkers.”
We are all about “diversity, tolerance, and inclusion,” Cuomo’s note continued.
“Based on these reasons, I must veto this bill,” he wrote, adding once more in what I presume is a mistake, “Based on these reasons, I must veto this bill.”
For the record, the list of officials who can legally officiate a wedding in New York is long and comprehensive, and it includes the governor himself. State judges can officiate weddings, but federal appeals and district court judges cannot! Take that, Drumpf!
The bill’s Democratic sponsor, state Sen. Liz Krueger, is equal parts befuddled and annoyed.
“This is the least substantive or controversial bill I have ever introduced,” she told the New York Times. “I did not think the reasoning made sense.”
Her bill passed the state Assembly by a margin of 144-2. It later passed the Senate by a margin of 61-1.
Krueger said she is alarmed by some of the positions staked out by Trump-appointed judges, especially in regard to illegal immigration. However, she added, “I’m not sure my moral outrage extends to refusing them the right to perform weddings.”
Republican state leaders, naturally, are picking apart Cuomo for his decision.
“It’s hard to imagine a more petty, small action from a sitting governor, but that’s Prince Andrew in a nutshell,” said state Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy.
For now, Krueger says she has no intention of reintroducing the bill until she sees a change in Cuomo’s way of thinking. She added that there are enough workarounds for anyone who wants to get married in New York.
“[P]retty much everyone had a way to officiate,” she said. “I actually became a fake minister years ago to marry two friends who met through me. My father felt I should have become a fake rabbi, but there wasn’t a website.”
In other words, the governor’s veto is exactly what we have come to expect from the anti-Trump “resistance” crowd: performative acts of rebellion that are small, weak, and, most importantly, impotent.
