New York Assembly to vote on marriage equality tomorrow
May 11, 2009
Members of the New York State Assembly in Albany are scheduled to vote tomorrow on marriage equality legislation (A7732). The Assembly passed similar legislation in 2007, but leaders in the State Senate refused to take up the bill that year. Senate leadership changed following the 2008 elections in which Democrats took control of the chamber. The New York Times reported yesterday on the legislative campaign for marriage equality in New York.
The measure is expected to easily pass the State Assembly, which approved a similar bill in 2007 and has scheduled its vote for Tuesday. That means the fate of the legislation will most likely be decided in the closely divided 62-member State Senate. There, proponents believe they have about two dozen of the 32 votes needed for approval, including those of 19 Democrats who have signed on as sponsors of the measure. Four of the Senate’s 32 Democrats have said they will vote against the legislation, and so far not a single Republican has publicly committed to supporting it. Faced with these odds, gay rights groups like the Empire State Pride Agenda, the Log Cabin Republicans and the Human Rights Campaign have undertaken a highly methodical and personal campaign focusing on those senators from the North Country to Long Island who they believe may be open to backing the bill.
New Yorkers, write to your state assemblymember today by visiting our action page here. More HRC Back Story postings from New York.
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