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Bruno Stuns Gays With Rent Position; NoNew Talks Today

By Newsradio 88 Staff

UPDATE: No progress in yesterday's talks on rent control. No talks today, talks will resume tomorrow.

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In a move that has stunned the gay and lesbian community, state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno has said homosexuals should be able to pass along rent-regulated apartment leases to their live-in lovers.

Bruno, the leading opponent of the state's rent laws, had earlier insisted any extension of the state's rent laws bar homosexuals from inheriting the leases.

He said Wednesday that he was switching positions in an attempt to demonstrate flexibility in negotiations over the rent laws set to expire at midnight Sunday. Bruno said that he had changed his mind after talking to Gov. George Pataki, U.S. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato and some of his own state Senate GOP colleagues "Who represent a lot of those people...these are families ...they consider themselves families whether they are married or not, so I think that argument is pretty persuasive," Bruno said.

Pataki called the move a "major philosophical concession" on Bruno's part.