By: Paul S. Marchand
A few minutes ago, the New York State Senate passed a marriage equality bill by a margin of 33-29.
Since the bill has already been passed by the New York Assembly, the bill now goes to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has indicated he will sign it. Thirty days after he does so, it will become law.
Were the Albany senate controlled by the Democrats, a “yes” vote on the New York marriage equality bill would probably not have come as a surprise. But it is not; the New York State Senate is controlled by the GOP, and the Republican party has not been known for supporting marriage equality.
No doubt, the social conservative wing of the Republican Party will be in fits over tonight’s vote; we may confidently expect calls from the far right’s bloviating blowhards to read out of the Republican Party with bell, book, and candle every Republican New York state senator who voted in favor of the bill. More to the point, we may expect the GOP’s current crop of White House wannabes to try to turn tonight’s vote into a 2012 presidential campaign issue, issuing calls for a federal “marriage amendment” to overturn marriage equality throughout the nation.
Tomorrow, and on all the tomorrows that come, there will be time to parse out the ramifications of tonight’s vote. But for tonight, we who have supported marriage equality may take a moment to celebrate, even if we know that tomorrow, we must return to the battle.
