New York Assembly passes same-sex marriage bill

Friday, June 17, 2011

On Wednesday, the New York State Assembly passed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage, with a vote of 80 in favor of the bill to 63 against. This is the third time a resolution legalizing same-sex marriage passed the Assembly in recent years. The bill must next be approved by the Senate.

If it becomes a law, New York would become the sixth United States state where same-sex marriage is legal, joining Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Washington D.C., and Iowa. It was briefly legal in California, but was rescinded by the voters in 2008 by a measure called Proposition 8.

Assemblyman Charles Lavine said he thought America's Founding Fathers "have smiles on their faces," in light of the bill's passage. Same-sex marriage opponent Assemblyman Dov Hikind said God knows gay marriage is wrong.

As of Wednesday the measure appeared to be one vote short of passage in the Senate. Governor Cuomo, who has been a strong supporter of the bill, has said in the past he would not introduce the bill unless he believed it would pass. On Tuesday he introduced the bill, in both the Assembly and the Senate. Opponents of the bill in the Senate are considering whether to allow it to come to a Senate vote. Two Republicans in the Senate have said they would support the bill if it came to a vote. Republican Majority Leader of the Senate Dean Skelos has said if it were brought to a vote, "If they favor it, I’ve always said, they can vote for it."

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Sources

Associated Press. "Gay marriage in NY now up to GOP Senate under pressure; Assembly passes bill easily" — Washington Post, June 16, 2011
Kennith Lovett. "New York Assembly passes bill to legalize gay marriage 80-63; Legislation now heads to Senate" — New York Daily News, June 15, 2011
Josh Voorhees. "New York’s Gay Marriage Push Nears Finish Line" — The Slate Group, June 15, 2011
Michael Gormley, Associated Press. "NY House passes gay marriage bill" — Forbes, June 15, 2011

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