Gay Marriage Vote Down to the Wire in N.Y. State

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg made a special trip to Albany on Thursday to try to persuade GOP state senators to vote in favor of legalizing gay marriage, but by the end of the business day the issue was still undecided. Although there have been some shifts within their ranks, the vote—should it go forward soon—may come down to one or two key Republicans.  —KA

The Washington Post:

The Democrat-led Assembly passed the bill Wednesday night and Republicans met early Thursday to discuss it behind closed doors. But political considerations got in the way and suddenly gay marriage was linked to a tax cap and rent control. Now, a vote may not come until next week, if at all.

The unprecedented pressure has been clear this week: GOP Sen. Owen Johnson, at 81, spryly ducked under a TV camera’s view and Republican Sen. Roy McDonald, a daring U.S. Army scout in the Vietnam War who flipped to support gay marriage, blurted into reporters’ tape recorders: “Well, (expletive) it, I don’t care what you think,” he said of critics.

While a few senators have teased they could switch sides and use the attention to promote their own measures, the 67-year-old Saland has not tipped his hand and has stayed, in his words, “under the radar.”

Read more

nysenate.gov

State Sen. Mark Grisanti is one of a few GOP lawmakers who might tip the balance on the gay marriage issue in New York.