New York Passes Gay Marriage

Jun. 25, 2011

By Brandon Scott Gorrell info

I am Brandon Scott Gorrell and I am pumped!!!

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Yeah so you already heard, I know. But I have to cover this – I don’t want this historic occasion to go undocumented on Thought Catalog.

So, yeah… gay marriage was passed in New York last night, 33 – 29 on the Senate floor. From Gawker:

The two pivotal yes votes were those of Republican Sens. Steve Saland and Mark Grisanti, who announced (or alluded to) their plans in closely watched Senate speeches. Top opponent Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., meanwhile, ranted angrily about how this will destroy the world. During debate recesses, the Senate livestream played an extraordinary selection of muzak…

The fate of the bill wasn’t clear until Saland and Grisanti’s last minute speeches. There were a total of four Republicans who voted for the bill, while no Republicans voted for the 2009 marriage bill that went down in flames.

New York is now the largest state with gay marriage, barring whatever happens with the legal battle in California. This doubles the number of gay people eligible for marriage in the country, and licenses could be handed out in as soon as 30 days.

Pretty sweet. For a, uh… comprehensive look at this story, check out Huffington Post to get a bird’s eye view – right now their homepage is dedicated to the victory and features stories on politicians’ reactions, the ensuing celebration, celebrity responses, and clergy response. You can also check out Gawker’s gallery of the event’s celebrations, and while you’re at it, watch New York Senator Tom Duane’s moving speech for marriage equality.

Fox News has chosen to cover the historic civil rights victory basically as nothing special; their headline for the story reads “Long Battle Ahead For Gay Marriage” and the story itself focuses on the idea that “the momentum behind same-sex marriage legislation has been anything but steady.” God, FOX, just leave.

Similarly, New York’s Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan released his statement: “The passage by the Legislature of a bill to alter radically and forever humanity’s historic understanding of marriage leaves us deeply disappointed and troubled.” Here’s a pat on the back for being a prejudiced piece of shit, Archbishop.

And finally, a fun video of the celebrations and reactions immediately after the bill passed:

New York is now the largest state to pass gay marriage, doubling the amount of gay Americans who are legally allowed to marry. Hooray! TC mark

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image – Benson Kua

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  • kekemind

    i <3 new york

  • kekemind

    i <3 new york

  • http://stephgeorge.tumblr.com Stephanie Georgopulos

    Sen. Ruben Diaz’s granddaughter is a lesbian who was discharged from the Navy for coming out before DADT was repealed (she came out because she wanted to marry her partner, with whom she has two children). Also notable is his divorce (which he said is wrong, just like same sex marriage, but he got one anyway, because he’s a hypocrite. And a prick). An especially big F-U to him. And FOX News.

    But anyway. This is a great day for New York and America. I feel like I woke up in a better city, and I’m so pleased that both swing votes did the right thing. I would hate for anyone with a soul to look back on last night and think, “My vote almost denied a large part of the population equal rights.”

    I hope other states will follow suit. This is a great victory for New York, but until the 44 remaining states do the same, we need to keep momentum and continue fighting for equal rights for every American (gay, disabled, black, white, whoever).

    Here’s to a more perfect union.

    • TO

      Well said.

  • http://stephgeorge.tumblr.com Stephanie Georgopulos

    Sen. Ruben Diaz’s granddaughter is a lesbian who was discharged from the Navy for coming out before DADT was repealed (she came out because she wanted to marry her partner, with whom she has two children). Also notable is his divorce (which he said is wrong, just like same sex marriage, but he got one anyway, because he’s a hypocrite. And a prick). An especially big F-U to him. And FOX News.

    But anyway. This is a great day for New York and America. I feel like I woke up in a better city, and I’m so pleased that both swing votes did the right thing. I would hate for anyone with a soul to look back on last night and think, “My vote almost denied a large part of the population equal rights.”

    I hope other states will follow suit. This is a great victory for New York, but until the 44 remaining states do the same, we need to keep momentum and continue fighting for equal rights for every American (gay, disabled, black, white, whoever).

    Here’s to a more perfect union.

  • xra

    while in a practical context i think this is a great integration move, i can’t even understand why “marriage” per se is still a legal institution… civil unions for all i say

  • Anonymous

    ta.gg/4vh

  • JLP

    God, Fox News is so butthurt. They can go screw themselves.

  • anmltn

    …kind of paraphrasing the Archbishop there, aren’t we?

  • http://www.facebook.com/t.jason.ham Jason Ham

    Who wants to marry me so I can work and live in Bushwick like everyone else on Thought Catalog?

    I thought getting a work visa for America would be a walk in the park. Apparently not. *pout*

  • Anonymous

    ta.gg/4vh

  • http://twitter.com/straponheart Evan Hatch

    but what does ryan o’connell have to say about it?

  • http://staugustinian.wordpress.com/ STaugustine

    Fell for the trap, Dudes! Gay Marriage is the first step;  Lots Less Gay Sex is step two. The Christians are getting trickier!

  • http://www.facebook.com/gregpphoto Greg Petliski

    Until Ryan O’Connell writes about this topic I don’t care.

  • Anonymous

    Yay!

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