An expected Monday vote on a deadlocked
gay marriage bill in the New York Senate was pushed back to Wednesday
at the earliest.
Two unnamed GOP state Senators told the
Associated Press that the no decision was made during a
three-hour closed-door meeting on whether to bring the gay marriage
bill to the floor for a vote.
While Monday was the legislative
session's scheduled final day, Governor Andrew Cuomo wants lawmakers
to remain in session until they have extended the city's rent control
laws.
Cuomo, who is personally shepherding
the marriage measure, met with several undecided GOP senators last
week and emerged from meetings saying he believes their religious
concerns can be addressed, adding
that he's confident New York will become the sixth – and most
populous – state to legalize the institution.
The Assembly approved the bill last
week, but the Senate remains evenly divided with 2 Republicans
joining all but 1 Democrat, Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. of the Bronx, in
supporting marriage equality.
Crowds of proponents and opponents
greeted lawmakers at the Capitol on Monday.
Diaz, who is also a Pentecostal
minister, told NY1 that he was encouraged by the vocal opposition:
“That shows that this is not me alone. There are lots of people in
the State of New York that are against gay marriage. And the
legislators have told the Senate, people are saying, 'Reverend Diaz,
Reverend Diaz.' This is not Reverend Diaz's issue, this is the
people's issue.”
Related: Diaz
trapped in his own anti-gay marriage logic.