State Assembly Passes Gay Marriage Bill, 89-52

Last night, the State Assembly voted to approve the gay marriage bill. PolitickerNY reports the vote occurred "after four hours of debate and a technical problem that crashed the chamber's electronic voting mechanisms." Previously, in 2007, the Assembly passed a similar bill 85-61; this year, three Democrats switched their votes from no to yes as did two Republicans. One, Assemblyman Fred Thiele (R-Hamptons), explained, "There’s that little voice inside of you that tells you when you’ve done something right, and when you’ve done something wrong. That vote just never felt right to me. That little voice kept gnawing away at me." Assemblyman Danny O'Donnell (pictured), a vocal supporter of the bill, said during the debate, "I am seeking a piece of paper that is issued by my government that all of you have had. Some of you have had it two or three times, some of you are running for governor managed to marry their cousin and all that's ok. But I don't get one. So it's not about anybody's religion. This is about 'by the power vested in me by the State of New York.'"