One Small Step For Gay-Kind

In what the [The New York Sun] has called a “watershed moment” for gay rights advocates, the state assembly voted 85-61 to [legalize same-sex marriage](http://www.amny.com/news/politics/ny-stgay20q5262889jun20,0,5310803.story?coll=am-topheadlines) after 3 hours of heated debate late yesterday evening. This marks the first time that a legislative body in the state has voted to approve gay marriage, and may push New York ever closer to becoming the second state in the union where boys who like boys and girls who like girls can be joined in legal matrimony. As usual, the vote was pretty evenly split along party lines, with 80 percent of Dems supporting the bill, and 38 of 42 Republicans in opposition.

Perhaps the best moment from the debate is the following gem, also courtesy of The Sun: “Mr. Hikind, an Orthodox Jew who represents Borough Park in Brooklyn, warned that lawmakers by supporting gay marriage were paving the path toward sanctioning incest. He said he would support gay marriage if God gave him a signal. Moments later, there was a loud crack of thunder, provoking laughter.”

The bill will now head to the Republican-controlled senate, where it faces a very [uncertain future]. Gay rights advocates say that even if the bill does eventually pass in the senate—a highly improbably event—it could take years before arriving on the governor's desk to be signed into law. A new [Empire State Poll](http://www.amny.com/news/local/wire/politics/ny-bc-ny--same-sexpoll0619jun19,0,772805.story), published yesterday, reveals that just over half of New Yorkers (52 percent) say they oppose gay marriage, while 44 percent are in favor of legalization.

Photo courtesy of [Katie Tegtmeyer on Flickr]