New York Passes Gay Marriage
Yeah so you already heard, I know. But I have to cover this – I don’t want this historic occasion to go undocumented on Thought Catalog.
So, yeah… gay marriage was passed in New York last night, 33 – 29 on the Senate floor. From Gawker:
The two pivotal yes votes were those of Republican Sens. Steve Saland and Mark Grisanti, who announced (or alluded to) their plans in closely watched Senate speeches. Top opponent Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., meanwhile, ranted angrily about how this will destroy the world. During debate recesses, the Senate livestream played an extraordinary selection of muzak…
The fate of the bill wasn’t clear until Saland and Grisanti’s last minute speeches. There were a total of four Republicans who voted for the bill, while no Republicans voted for the 2009 marriage bill that went down in flames.
New York is now the largest state with gay marriage, barring whatever happens with the legal battle in California. This doubles the number of gay people eligible for marriage in the country, and licenses could be handed out in as soon as 30 days.
Pretty sweet. For a, uh… comprehensive look at this story, check out Huffington Post to get a bird’s eye view – right now their homepage is dedicated to the victory and features stories on politicians’ reactions, the ensuing celebration, celebrity responses, and clergy response. You can also check out Gawker’s gallery of the event’s celebrations, and while you’re at it, watch New York Senator Tom Duane’s moving speech for marriage equality.
Fox News has chosen to cover the historic civil rights victory basically as nothing special; their headline for the story reads “Long Battle Ahead For Gay Marriage” and the story itself focuses on the idea that “the momentum behind same-sex marriage legislation has been anything but steady.” God, FOX, just leave.
Similarly, New York’s Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan released his statement: “The passage by the Legislature of a bill to alter radically and forever humanity’s historic understanding of marriage leaves us deeply disappointed and troubled.” Here’s a pat on the back for being a prejudiced piece of shit, Archbishop.
And finally, a fun video of the celebrations and reactions immediately after the bill passed:
http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/271557391
New York is now the largest state to pass gay marriage, doubling the amount of gay Americans who are legally allowed to marry. Hooray!