Ce sujet est fermé
hurdle to legalize same-sex marriage on Friday with a 33-to-29 vote,
sending the bill to the governor's desk for his expected approval.
A
vote on the measure, which the state Assembly passed June 15, has been
stalled in the Senate. But it turned a corner Friday, according to
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, after lawmakers agreed on an amendment to protect religious groups from litigation that had been pushed by Republicans.
Earlier
in the day, the Assembly passed a new version of the bill that included
the amendment about religious institutions. The Friday night vote in
the Senate means that the legislation's fate is now in the hands of Gov.
Andrew Cuomo, who proposed it in the first place.
Cuomo,
a Democrat, says it would grant same-sex couples equal rights to marry
"as well as hundreds of rights, benefits and protections that are
currently limited to married couples of the opposite sex."
Map: Same-sex unions in the U.S.
Sen. explains opposition to gay marriage
RELATED TOPICS
Same-Sex Marriage
New York State Senate
Andrew Cuomo
Currently,
five states -- Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New
Hampshire -- and the District of Columbia grant same-sex marriage licenses.
Earlier
this week, activists on both sides of the issue gathered in the state
capitol, Albany. They chanted opposing slogans -- petitioning for either
"marriage equality"
or yelling "one man, one woman" in defense of the institution's
traditional definition -- though they could also be seen occasionally
mingling and even singing religious songs together.
Republicans,
led by Skelos, had expressed concerns over the "unintended consequences"
of a bill that redefines the legal parameters of marriage. The measure
needed three Republicans' votes to pass the bill, which had the support
of 31 Senators -- just one short of the number required for passage --
earlier this week.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who courted
Republican state senators to approve the bill, called the vote a
"historic triumph for equality and freedom."
"In recent weeks, I have had many conversations with our State Senators. I emphasized that not only is marriage equality
consistent with bedrock American principles, but it is also consistent
with bedrock Republican Party principles of liberty and freedom -- and
the Republicans who stood up today for those principles will long be
remembered for their courage, foresight, and wisdom. In fact, 10 or 20
or 30 years from now, I believe they will look back at this vote as one
of their finest, proudest moments," Bloomberg said in a statement
released shortly after the vote.
disclaimer:
This is not a thread about poltics, it's about the annoumcennt of an upcoming law affecting New York City
Modifié par Joshd21, 25 juin 2011 - 04:42 .
Retour en haut
<- represents party hat (non political kind) and sparkler.
