UPDATE: Governor Cuomo signed the bill into law just before midnight on Friday EDT. Gays and lesbians will be able to get married in 30 days barring any court challenges to delay the law.
LGBT activists across the nation are celebrating the passage of same sex marriage by the New York legislature. After a roller coaster ride of emotions, the LGBT community can breathe a sigh of relief; marriage equality was passed for the 16 million Americans that live in New York State.
Governor Andrew Cuomo led the charge for his state to end marriage discrimination in New York. While it was a nail biter, the New York Republican Senate decided to allow an up or down vote. At 9:52 pm the issue was brought to the floor and passed by a 33 to 29 vote; 29 democrats and 4 republicans voted for the measure. Cuomo will sign within the next week and marriages could begin by the end of July.
New York joins Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Iowa and the District of Columbia in allowing same sex couples to walk down the aisle. Now more than 32 million Americans live in places where they can marry a person of either gender.
