N.Y. Senate Passes Gay Marriage Bill

After weeks of heavy campaigning by supporters and opponents, and after days with the vote hanging in the balance, the New York Senate finally passed a bill making same-sex marriage legal in the Empire State. The legislation isn’t expected to encounter any roadblocks en route to becoming law, making New York the sixth and biggest state in the U.S. to approve gay marriage.  —KA

The New York Times:

The same-sex marriage bill was approved on a 33-to-29 vote, as 4 Republican state senators joined 29 Democrats in voting for the bill. The Senate galleries were so packed with supporters and opponents that the fire marshals closed them off. And along the Great Western Staircase, outside the Senate chamber, about 100 demonstrators chanted and waved placards throughout the night — separated by a generation, a phalanx of state troopers and 10 feet of red marble.

Read more

AP / Mike Groll

Gov. Andrew Cuomo reacts Friday in the Senate chamber in Albany, N.Y., to the legislative body’s vote to legalize same-sex marriage.