May 12, 2009 5:30 pm US/Pacific
N.Y. Assembly Passes Same-Sex Marriage Bill
N.Y. Moves Step Closer To Becoming 4th State To Legalize Gay Marriage; Bloomberg Calls Move "Historic"
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Harlee Demeerleer cheers in support of gay marriage on the steps of the State Capitol on Nov. 22, 2008, in Sacramento, Calif.
Max Whittaker/Getty Images
The New York Civil Liberties Union applauded the State Assembly for taking an important step toward making marriage for lesbian and gay New Yorkers legal in the state by passing the marriage bill 89 to 52 on Tuesday night, and called on the State Senate to quickly pass the same bill.
"The State Assembly has joined Gov. Paterson in protecting New York families and must be applauded," NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said. "Now it's time for the State Senate to join the governor and Assembly in supporting fairness, a core American value."
The bill includes a religious exemption to make clear that it only impacts marriage as a civil institution – clergy will not have to solemnize marriages should the Senate approve the bill, CBS station WCBS-TV reported.
Out-of-state marriages between lesbian and gay New Yorkers are already recognized in the New York.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg issued a statement:
"Today, the Assembly moved us closer than we have ever been to enacting a law allowing gay New Yorkers to enter into marriage here in their home state, and I applaud Speaker Silver and members of both parties for moving this historic legislation forward. Governor Paterson has made it clear that he will sign this bill should it reach his desk, and I am working with this bill's ever-growing coalition of supporters to help pass it in the Senate.
"Different religions have different ideas about what constitutes a marriage, and each of us may have our own personal beliefs on what marriage means. These can be strongly-held convictions, and I respect them. But many of us do not believe that it is government's place to define marriage in a way that excludes many couples from the legal benefits associated with marriage, and I hope New York will soon become the latest state to adopt a law whose time has come."
Same-sex marriage is currently legal in three states: Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa, but will soon be legal in Vermont on Sept. 1 and Maine on Sept. 14.
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