In close vote, N.Y. OK’s gay marriage

State now sixth, and largest in US, to adopt measure

June 25, 2011|By Nicholas Confessore and Michael Barbaro, New York Times

Supporters of New Yorks same-sex marriage bill celebrated in Albany after… (Hans Pennink/Associated…)

ALBANY, N.Y. — Lawmakers voted late yesterday to legalize same-sex marriage, making New York the largest state where gay and lesbian couples will be able to wed and giving the national gay-rights movement new momentum from the state where it was born.

The same-sex marriage bill was approved on a 33-29 vote, as four Republican state senators joined 29 Democrats in voting for the bill.

As the Senate debated the measure, supporters and opponents from around the state packed into two small galleries overlooking the chamber. When the final vote tally was read, the crowd screamed and hollered, began to chant “USA! USA!’’ — and to yell “thank you.’’ A minute or two later, when Governor Andrew M. Cuomo entered the chamber, the crowd cheered again, rushing the edge of the galleries and chanting the governor’s name.

Senate approval was the final hurdle for the same-sex marriage legislation, which is strongly supported by Cuomo and was approved last week by the Assembly. Cuomo is expected to sign the measure soon, and the law will go into effect 30 days later, meaning that same-sex couples could begin marrying in New York by midsummer.

Passage of same-sex marriage here followed a daunting run of defeats in other states where voters barred same-sex marriage by legislative action, constitutional amendment, or referendum. Just five states permit same-sex marriage: Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia.

“I am very proud of New York and the statement we made to the nation today,’’ Cuomo said.

The approval of same-sex marriage represented a reversal of fortune for gay-rights advocates, who just two years ago suffered a humiliating and unexpected defeat when a same-sex marriage bill was easily voted down in the Senate, which was then controlled by Democrats. This year, with the Senate controlled by Republicans, the odds against passage of same-sex marriage appeared long.

The unexpected victory had an unlikely champion: Cuomo, a Democrat who pledged last year to support same-sex marriage but whose early months in office were dominated by intense battles with lawmakers and some labor unions over spending cuts.

Cuomo made same-sex marriage one of his top priorities for the year and deployed his top aide to coordinate the efforts of a half-dozen local gay-rights organizations whose feuding and disorganization had been blamed in part for the 2009 defeat.

The new coalition of same-sex marriage supporters also brought in one of Cuomo’s trusted campaign operatives to supervise a $3 million television and radio campaign aimed at persuading a handful of Republican and Democratic senators to drop their opposition.

READER COMMENTS »

View reader comments » Comment on this story »