VIEWPOINTS — “You see, the fact is that for years these same individuals – many of them, not all of them, but many of them – who pronounced religious doctrine did not exercise it when young gay and lesbian students were being chastised for expressing their point of view. Where were these leaders of faith when college students of gay and lesbian orientation were beaten and often brutalized for expressing their feelings for each other? … All I’m saying is: Why didn’t they speak about that at the time when it was the other way around? See what really makes a democracy work is when you speak for others rights even when you disagree with them. I’m saying most of the religious leaders that I hear speaking out now did not do it at the time. Had they done so I think they would have better moral standing to speak at this moment on this legislation even though I disagree with them.” —New York Gov. David Paterson, speaking today at a 2,000-person rally in Albany, where supporters and opponents rallied around gay marriage, GENDA and the Dignity for All Students Act (Photo: dnblog1/Flickr)