NEW YORK
Times Union
By Casey Seiler, Capitol bureau chief on April 4, 2016
Ken Lovett of the Daily News reported Monday that the Assembly’s leadership rejected Queens Democrat Marge Markey’s request to hold a screening of the Oscar-winning drama “Spotlight” at the Capitol.
The film concerns the Boston Globe’s coverage of the pedophilia coverup by the city’s Catholic Diocese. Markey has for years backed legislation that would extend the statute of limitations for victims of sexual abuse in New York. The bill is opposed by the state’s Catholic Conference.
According to Lovett’s column, the Assembly initially claimed the screening would have violated the film’s copyright. After Markey obtained clearance and paid a fee for the screening, the Democratic leadership issued a backup objection.
“It’s just not something we do on government property,” Michael Whyland, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, told Lovett. “It would open the door to showing all sorts of things that some people might find objectionable. … We just don’t want to go down that road.”
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