New York Senate to vote on gay marriage bill on Friday night

[News_Editor]

New York Senate to vote on gay marriage bill on Friday night

2011-06-25 06:52:57 GMT+7 (ICT)

ALBANY (BNO NEWS) -- The New York Senate is expected to vote on a bill on Friday evening which could legalize same-sex marriage in the nation's third-most populous state. It would represent a major accomplishment for the gay-rights movement.

New York Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos ® said on Friday evening that, after many hours of deliberation and discussion over the past several weeks among members, it has been decided that same-sex marriage legislation will be brought to the full Senate for "an up or down vote."

"The entire Senate Republican Conference was insistent that amendments be made to the Governor's original bill in order to protect the rights of religious institutions and not-for-profits with religious affiliations," said Skelos. "I appreciate the Governor's cooperation in working with us to address these important issues and concerns."

It was not immediately clear at what time the vote will happen, but officials at the Senate said at around 7 p.m. ET that it could still take several hours. "As I have said many times, this is a very difficult issue and it will be a vote of conscience for every member of the Senate," Skelos said.

If the state Senate approves the bill, New York would join Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Washington, D.C. and the Coquille Indian Tribe in Oregon which is not bound by the Oregon Constitution as they are a federally recognized sovereign nation.

However, as New York is the nation's third-most populous state, the legalization would be a historic development for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in the United States.

On April 1st of this year, the LGBT community marked the 10th anniversary of the first ever same-sex marriage in the world. The Netherlands was the first country in the world to officially recognize and allow same-sex marriages after Queen Beatrix signed the marriage bill into law on December 21, 2000. It went into law on April 1, 2001.

In addition to the Netherlands, same-sex marriage is currently performed in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Sweden. In Mexico, same-sex marriage is only performed in Mexico City.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-06-25