After a long battle followed by days of protracted deal-making, the New York State Senate voted Friday night to legalize same-sex marriage in the Empire State. The historic yet divisive measure passed by a narrow margin of 33 votes to 29. The vote will make New York the sixth state – and the largest one [...]
New York’s highest court will hear arguments Tuesday in a pair of cases that could have implications for the pitched debate over same-sex marriage in the state. The judges of the state’s Court of Appeals will consider two cases [pdf] brought by opponents of same-sex marriage. In one case, the opponents are challenging a 2007 [...]
Governor David Paterson will push the State Senate to vote on same-sex marriage during a special session in early September. A spokesman for the governor said on Friday that the State Senate is currently not in the right mindset to take up the issue. The governor said he believes that marriage equality is an important [...]
Catholics across Long Island Sunday mostly sided with Bishop William Murphy in his battle with Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi over same-sex marriage. Murphy criticized Suozzi, a practicing Catholic, for his switch from being in favor of civil unions between gays to supporting gay marriage. In a newspaper column last week, Murphy said Suozzi’s stance [...]
Gov. David A. Paterson said in an interview Sunday night that he would make sure that the State Senate votes on same sex-marriage legislation before it breaks for the summer, hours after he and his administration had refused to commit to forcing a vote on the issue. The development came as the governor announced plans [...]
Former State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, who was against same-sex marriage when he ran the Senate, says he has changed his mind on the issue. In a statement released today, the Republican says that he now sees the issue as a civil right. “This is America and we have inalienable rights,” said Bruno in [...]
Even though the bill legalizing same-sex marriage has not made any progress in the New York State Senate, the city is preparing its marriage offices in case it passes. The city is making plans for extra staffing and gender neutral forms. City Comptroller William Thompson estimates that same-sex marriages would bring $210 million to the [...]
With nine days left in the legislative session, gay rights advocates are making the final push for passage of a same-sex marriage bill with help from the state’s most powerful labor unions. Union leaders have used their influence in Albany and devoted union resources in an effort to persuade Senate members to support a bill [...]
As members of the New York State Senate ponder whether to hold a vote on legalizing gay marriage before the current legislative session expires, an exclusive NY1 survey of all 62 state Senators suggests that supporters of the bill are facing an uphill battle in their fight to get it passed this month. Twenty lawmakers [...]
With the legislative session winding down, the battle over the gay marriage bill is heating up in Albany. Senator Tom Duane held an event Monday with same sex couples who say they would wed if the bill were to pass the state Senate. Duane says he believes same-sex marriage will become law before lawmakers leave [...]
