The New York Assembly on Friday night
approved an amendment to a gay marriage bill it signed off on last
week.
The Democrat-controlled Assembly
heavily favored the amendment with an 82 to 47 vote.
Governor Andrew Cuomo officially
introduced his plan to legalize gay marriage in New York last Tuesday
and the Assembly approved the measure the following day.
But the bill stalled out in the Senate
where 2 GOP senators joined all but 1 Democrat, Ruben Diaz Sr. of the
Bronx, in support of the bill, deadlocking the proposed legislation
with a 31-31 vote.
Cuomo engaged the Republican caucus to
break the logjam. After listening to their concerns, he crafted an
amendment that provides greater religious protections.
The Senate leadership on Friday, after
more than a week of closed-door meetings on the issue, announced the
bill would be coming to the floor for a vote, prompting the Assembly
to act before the Senate and approve the amendment.
Earlier in the day, Senator Greg Ball,
one of the previously undecided senators, announced
he wouldn't be voting in favor of the gay marriage bill after all.
Gay marriage foe Mike Long, the
chairman of the New York State Conservative Party, which yields
tremendous influence over Republicans in the Empire State, told
The Weekly Standard that the measure will pass.
“I know they've got the 32nd
vote, and I think they've muscled two more people” to vote for it,
Long said.