UPDATE @ 2:49 PM: Word from Albany is that there won't be a vote today. Maybe tomorrow, so the session won't end today.
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We're closely monitoring the action in Albany at AMERICAblog Gay.
Today is the last scheduled day of session for the NY legislature. The marriage bill passed in the Assembly last Wednesday. We have 31 of the 32 votes needed to pass in the Senate. Intense discussions have been under way to insure that the GOP Senate leader calls the bill up for a vote. Today's NY Post is reporting that GOP negotiators "privately admitted that a deal is near." That's very significant. The GOP Senate conference has been the roadblock. On our side, Governor Cuomo has truly been a fierce advocate.
Greg Sargent offers an astute analysis of what this development means:
A historic day for marriage equality? The most important thing to watch today: New York’s state legislature is on the verge of voting to become the sixth state to legalize gay marriage. Proponents are one vote in the state senate short of making today a very big day indeed for marriage equality.It is inevitable. And, today could be historic for New York and the nation.
The larger story is striking: This year, for the first time, multiple national polls are showing majority support for the notion that consenting gay adults should have the right to marry and enjoy the same benefits of marriage that heterosexual couples do. If New York takes this step today — which would make it the largest state thus far to do so — it will reinforce the sense that the national outcome of this decades-long civil-rights battle, which has produced a truly astonishing shift in public attitudes, is inevitable.
If you live in New York, call your Senators today. Andy Towle posted a list of the undecideds with contact info. here. Have your friends and family in NY call, too. This can happen today -- and it will be a huge step forward for equality.
