New York State is more than New York City

[MorningGlow]

Dear non-New Yorkers, just thought I'd point out that our state is far larger and more diverse than is often supposed. New York State is not just New York City.

My point: NYC area reps voted for marriage equality? Well duh. But what's really amazing is that the reps for the rest of the state (much of it ultra-conservative, like my area in the west) didn't negate those "yes" votes.

I repeat: A-MA-ZING. :woohoo:

[madmax]

1. Keep up the good fight until it's all 50 states

[Wilms]

2. With a Republican controlled state senate, no less.

I concur. This IS a BFD.

:woohoo:

[Balbus]

3. Not to anybody outside of New York , it isn't.

[Bosso 63]

10. I'm in Minnesota and straight, and it is a big deal.

Whenever and wherever people gain a fundamental right, I will take it as a win. Today a lot of Americans have a basic right that they didn't have yesterday. The tide is turning in a positive direction, not as fast as I would like, but it is turning.

[blueamy66]

19. I'm from Buffalo

which is most certainly part of New York

[aquart]

4. Yep.

[RKP5637]

5. It's incredible, great and wonderful!!!

:) :party: :bounce: :applause:

[TexasProgresive]

6. I agree with you but you might express that to residents of "the City"

I think many New York City residents don't really believe there is life worth living beyond the shores of Manhattan.

[MorningGlow]

11. Au contraire--there's Brooklyn!

:evilgrin:

Actually my post was more inspired by my FB friends who live in other parts of the country. Last night they were posting songs like "New York, New York" and other tunes about the city. I realize they just wanted to post songs with the words "New York" in them (and we sure don't have musical odes to Utica or North Tonawanda!), but it got me wondering if non-Empire Staters realize how conservative other parts of the state really are.

[Chovexani]

14. Hell you don't even have to leave the city

To find knuckledragging RWers. Staten Island is the city capital of hate crimes.

[druidity33]

18. I spent 9 years in Buffalo...

college and a few years tooling around there, before i finally settled here in MA. Upstate NY contains a beautiful and diverse set of communities, the Adirondacks are a National treasure. But it's true, there seemed to be a high proportion of Republicans up there when i was in Western NY... these were the Clinton years, so things were different. Is there a list of how the State Sens voted (and where their Districts are)?

Congratulations!


:)

[MorningGlow]

23. I'm in farm country

Kinda sorta in between Buffalo and Rochester (and a wee bit south). It can be scary (REALLY red) out here! :scared:

I'm on the lookout for a voting list too--it would be interesting to see which parts of the state voted "yes".

Where'd you go to school in Buffalo? My brother went to Canisius for undergrad. :hi:

[alcibiades_mystery]

13. The vast majority of New York City residents don't live in Manhattan

Just sayin'...

[HockeyMom]

7. Younger and older senators

Younger like Grisanti who are the new generation and less stuck in the past. Older like McDonald, who as he himself said that when you reach a certain age, etc.

Although I am NYC born and raised, I lived for 27 years on LI, have friends of 25 years who live in Hamburg, and my family settled in Cold Spring when they came to this country 160 years ago. Yes, New York State isn't just NYC.

[alsame]

8. I'm about 40 miles outside NYC and was polled at least 5 times

in the past few months. There were also very, very good and poignant pro-equality TV ads running for at least the last month.

I think there has been a sea change in this state and support was widespread, far beyond the City. Yes, it was amazing :)

[RoccoR5955]

9. No, and Ithaca, Syracuse and Albany are not NYC either...

There are quite a few Liberal Bastions in the entire state. My condolences that the western part of the state is quite conservative. Perhaps with some education, that might change.

Here in the Scenic Hudson Valley, we have our liberal and conservative areas. Even where I live in Ulster county, we have our conservatives in the southern part of the county, and the ultra-liberals in my town of Rosendale, not to mention Woodstock, and the college town of New Paltz. As a matter of fact, it was Jason West, mayor of New Paltz, who married many gay and lesbian couples a few years back.

Now go across the Hudson, and you will find more conservatives than anything in Dutchess county, where I work. That is changing though.
There have always been many conservatives in Dutchess county, the home county of FDR. FDR never carried his home county in any of his presidential runs, as absurd as it may seem!

[MorningGlow]

12. Ohhh I love Ithaca

:loveya:

When I was younger I tried desperately to get a job there, but no such luck. I've always wanted to live there. Even if it is surrounded by scary redneck country--and I can say that because I lived in Elmira for a year. I KNOW! :D

[alcibiades_mystery]

15. New paltz and Ithaca are probably two of the most "hippy" areas in the country

:-)

[RoccoR5955]

27. Really, I never knew that!

And I live near New Paltz!

[sakabatou]

16. I just hope you don't run into the Prop 8 crap from my state

[Rochester]

17. Sometimes I have to tell people...

...when describing Rochester, where I lived once, that it is far from NYC and not really like it at all.

[MorningGlow]

21. My hometown!

:hi:

A friend of mine, a brilliant young woman, once called me (from her home in Mass.) to share the news that she had scored a job interview in Manhattan...and asked if I could meet her there for lunch. :banghead: She was SHOCKED when I told her it was a seven hour drive!

[brooklynite]

20. Wait till the GOP President candidates start coming through NY...

...promising to pass an anti-marriage Constitutional Amendment. Not going to help their chances in November...

[Motown_Johnny]

22. Many states are like NY in that respect

I went to school in Hyde Park so I have a slight understanding of NY politics. I would say that my home state of Michigan is similar. The larger cities are liberal and the smaller towns and rural areas are more conservative.


I also lived in Colorado for quite a while and Ohio for a little while and my impressions of those two states were similar.

[treestar]

24. There is proportional representation in a state legislature

So NYC still counts for more of the votes.

The Republicans who voted yes still may have been less 'brave' than knowing their districts would still approve, though Republican.

We know nothing about these districts and I see many spending time attributing bravery to Republicans.

[LostinNY]

26. But we have a state senate with a republican majority

And it still passed because I believe 2 republican upstate senators voted for it!

[LostinNY]

25. I live in a small, rural upstate community

With more repubs that dems but we have a gay mayor and board member that live together and might now marry. I don't love most repubs but I think some of ours are purple and not all red, which help keeps our state blue!

[H2O Man]

28. I live in upstate NY.

Lots of the area is conservative, lots republican. But there are islands of sanity throughout.