Latest on NY Gay Marriage: Senate Set to Vote on Gay Marriage
ALBANY, N.Y. — Republicans in the New York Senate agreed Friday to allow a full vote on legalizing gay marriage, setting the stage for a possible breakthrough victory for the gay-rights movement in the state where it got its start.New York could become the sixth state where gay couples can wed, and the biggest by far, more than doubling the number of people in the nation eligible for same-sex marriage.
It would also mark the first time such a measure passed a state legislature in which at least one of the houses was controlled by Republicans.
The vote will come as soon as late Friday night.
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos said the bill will come to the floor and be brought up for an "up or down vote." It will be a "vote of conscience for every member of this Senate," Skelos said.
Gay marriage activists were jubilant and applauded Skelos, who is opposed to gay marriage, for keeping his promise to let the conference decide whether to send the bill to the floor.
The heavily Democratic Assembly has already approved one version of the measure, and late Friday passed amendments protecting religious groups that oppose gay marriage from discrimination lawsuits.
mid cheers, the Assembly passed the religious exemptions by a vote of 82-47. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who campaigned on the issue last year, has promised to sign the legislation. Gay weddings could begin 30 days after that.
Big prize Though New York is a relative latecomer in allowing gay marriage, it is considered an important prize for advocates, given the state's size and New York City's international stature and its role as the birthplace of the gay-rights movement, which is said to have started with the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village in 1969.
The effects of the law could be felt well beyond New York: Unlike Massachusetts, which pioneered gay marriage in 2004, New York has no residency requirement for obtaining a marriage license, meaning the state could become a magnet for gay couples across the country who want to have a wedding in Central Park, the Hamptons, the romantic Hudson Valley or that honeymoon hot spot of yore, Niagara Falls.
Gay-rights advocates are hoping the vote will galvanize the movement around the country and help it regain momentum after an almost identical bill was defeated here in 2009 and similar measures failed in 2010 in New Jersey and this year in Maryland and Rhode Island.
The sticking point over the past few days: Republican demands for stronger legal protections for religious groups that fear they will be hit with discrimination lawsuits if they refuse to allow their facilities to be used for gay weddings.
Now, all 32 Republicans have approved stronger religious protections.
Several senators said they didn't know from discussion inside a closed conference Friday afternoon whether the bill would pass. Senators had agreed not to comment on discussions in the caucus and to allow Skelos to speak for them.
While only one yes vote from a Senate Republican is needed, most observers say at least two or three additional votes are necessary to provide political cover, as same-sex marriage is a sensitive issue for conservative politicians.
On Thursday Sen. Greg Ball, a Hudson Valley Republican, announced that he would vote against the bill after weeks of being considered a key swing vote. He said the bill did not provide sufficient religious protections.
Ball's announcement left only three undecided senators.
NBC News and news services
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