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 to date – to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

It will become law 30 days after Governor Andrew Cuomo signs the bill.

In a series of emotional speeches on the Senate floor, lawmakers both for and against the measure spelled out the factors that led to their decision

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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 policy, adopted by the State Department of Civil Service, that extended health insurance benefits to the same-sex partners of state and local government employees who married out of state.

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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 civil rights issue and he will work with Senate leaders to move the process forward in the fall.

While the newly-functional State Senate passed more than 100 bills overnight Friday, lawmakers did not immediately take up more controversial measures like mayoral control of city schools or a bill allowing same-sex marriage.

On Thursday, State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. ended the month-long Senate stalemate the same way he started it, by switching sides. By rejoining the Democratic party, Espada restored the Senate’s Democratic majority of 32-30.

Under the Senate’s new agreement, Espada is now senate majority leader, former Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith remains Senate president and Senator John Sampson became the Democratic conference leader.

A bill that allows the city to increase its sales tax by a half-percent passed by a vote of 43-19 Friday.

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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 on the issue goes against church teachings.

At Our Lady of Loretto Roman Catholic Church in Hempstead, several parishioners applauded Murphy’s public criticism of Suozzi.

Augustine Ojo, who read the bishop’s column in the newspaper of the Rockville Centre Diocese, said he generally backs Suozzi’s policies, but disagrees on the issue of gay marriage.

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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 to call the Senate to a special session on Tuesday, after trying unsuccessfully for two weeks to broker a compromise in a leadership battle that has deadlocked the chamber. But Mr. Paterson dismayed gay rights groups in his comments at a news conference early Sunday afternoon, when he said same-sex marriage would not be on the special session’s agenda.

“It has always been my intention to see same-sex marriage come to the floor,” he said, adding, “I don’t want there to be any confusion.”

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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 a statement. “Life is short and we should all be afforded the same opportunities and rights to enjoy it.”

This comes only two years after he blocked an earlier version of a gay marriage bill that the Democrat-led Assembly passed. Bruno says he opposed the bill because most of his Republican colleagues were against it.

The 80-year-old retired last year. He had served as state majority leader since 1995.

Source: NY1

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 state within three years, with $149 million for the city.

But NY1′s exclusive tally of all 62 state senators finds only 20 are in favor of gay marriage. The bill needs 32 votes to pass.

As of the latest tally, 29 senators say they are against, nine are undecided, and four will not say.

The State Assembly already passed the bill.

Source: NY1

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 that would allow gay couples to marry in New York.

Community organizers from the powerful health care union 1199 SEIU and its sister union, building service union SEIU 32BJ, have worked for the past few weeks with the Empire State Pride Agenda, which has led lobbying efforts to promote the bill. The New York State United Teachers union and the New York City Central Labor Council have provided phone banks to assist the effort.

The unions, as well as the AFL-CIO, municipal public employees union DC 37, Communication Workers of America Local 1 and 1180 and UNITE HERE have sent memorandums and letters of support to individual legislators.

Michael Fishman, the building services union president, has used union resources to support the advocacy effort through lobbying calls and visits. He met with other labor leaders Thursday to discuss ways to galvanize support and step up the effort, said Matthew Nerzig, a union spokesman.

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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 tell NY1 that they would vote “yes” on the controversial bill, with 14 senators either undecided or noncommittal. The measure would need 32 votes to pass.

According to the NY1 tally, if only three more undecided lawmakers decide to oppose gay marriage, the bill would fail.

“We’re very confident in the fact that this bill is quickly going to crash and burn,” said Reverend Jason McGuire of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms. “They simply don’t have the votes to pass same-sex marriage.”

Among those who are undecided or undeclared are New York City Senators Hiram Monserrate of Queens, Andrew Lanza of Staten Island, John Sampson of Brooklyn and Ruth Hassel-Thompson of The Bronx/Westchester.

Here is the breakdown by Senator:

Would vote “Yes”

Eric Adams, D-Brooklyn
Neil Breslin, D-Delmar
Martin Dilan, D-Brooklyn
Thomas Duane, D-Manhattan
Pedro Espada, D-Bronx
Craig Johnson, D-Nassau
Jeffrey Klein, D-Bronx/Westchester
Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan
Velmanette Montgomery, D-Brooklyn
Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Westchester
Kevin Parker, D-Brookyn
Bill Perkins, D-Manhattan
Diane Savino, D-Staten Island/Brooklyn
Eric Schneiderman, D-Manhattan/Bronx
Jose Serrano, D-Bronx/Manhattan
Malcolm Smith, D-Queens
Daniel Squadron, D-Brooklyn/Manhattan
Toby Ann Stavisky, D-Queens
Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Westchester
Antoine Thompson, D-Buffalo

Would vote “No”

Darrel Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent
John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse
Ruben Diaz, D-Bronx
Hugh Farley, R-Niskayuna
John Flanagan, R-Suffolk
Charles Fuschillo, R-Nassau/Suffolk
Martin Golden, R-Brooklyn
Joseph Griffo, R-Rome
Shirley Huntley, D-Queens
Carl Kruger, D-Brooklyn
William Larkin, R-Cornwall
Kenneth LaValle, R-Suffolk
Thomas Libous, R-Binghamton
Elizabeth Little, R-Queensbury
Carl Marcellino, R-Nassau/Suffolk
George Maziarz, R-Newfane
Michael Nozzolio, R-Seneca Falls
George Onorato, D-Queens
Frank Padavan, R-Queens/Bronx/Nassau
Michael Ranzenhofer, R-Amherst
Joseph Robach, R-Greece
Stephen Saland, R-Poughkeepsie
James Seward, R-Milford
Dean Skelos, R-Nassau
William Stachowski, D-Buffalo
Dale Volker, R-Depew
George Winner, R-Elmira
Catharine Young, R-Olean

Undecided

John Bonacic, R-Mt. Hope
Brian Foley, D-Suffolk
Ruth Hassel-Thompson, D-Bronx/Westchester
Owen Johnson, R-Suffolk
Andrew Lanza, R-Staten Island
Roy McDonald, R-Saratoga
Hiram Monserrate, D-Queens
John Sampson, D-Brooklyn
David Valesky, D-Oneida

Wouldn’t Say

Joseph Addabbo, D-Queens
James Alesi, R-East Rochester
Kemp Hannon, R-Nassau
Vincent Leibell, R-Westchester
Thomas Morahan, R-Rockland

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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 the capitol at the end of the session, but opponents still say it’s not going to happen.

“I’m saying it publicly, there are enough votes, it’s coming to the floor, it’s passing,” said Duane.

“They’re telling me that they’re not going to vote for it. They don’t believe that same sex couples should be able to marry,” said Reverend Duane Motley of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms. “Marriage has a definite definition of a man and a woman and they don’t believe they should be changing that definition, and that homosexuals have the same rights as everybody else to marry as long as it’s someone of the opposite sex.”

The measure already passed the Assembly and has the support of Governor David Paterson.

The New York Civil Liberties Union also launched a new web site for New Yorkers to lobby state senators to ask for their support of the bill.

Source: NY1