by Evelyn Bailey
This month the History Corner will print the countdown hour by hour of the passage of the Marriage Equality Bill on June 24, 2011.
Prior to 4:58pm: New York Times reports that Governor Andrew Cuomo and State Senate leaders reached an agreement on the religious exemption language that has kept the bill stalled in negotiations all week. Though this means the negotiations over the measure have cleared one hurdle, there is no news on when or if the bill will be brought to the Senate floor for a vote.
4:58 p.m – NYS Senate confirmed The Times report by releasing the updated bill.
5:37 p.m. – New York Times Albany bureau chief Danny Hakim updates "gay marriage coming to floor, Senate source says." And update a few minutes later, "Senator Alesi on gay marriage vote: 'its what I was hoping for' and 'it'll be tonight'." (Senator Andrew Alesi, a Republican from Staten Island, is one of the few undecided votes that could decide the bill's fate.)
6:07 p.m. – A vote on the Marriage Equality bill is expected at some point Friday evening, multiple Senators have said. The vote will be close, and rumors are spreading that the Senate Democrats have secured the votes needed for bill passage. "I know they've got the 32nd vote, and I think they've muscled two more people," Mike Long, chairman of the New York Conservative Party chairman told The Weekly Standard.
6:30 p.m. – The Senate briefly went into session around 6:20 to vote on various measures, before taking a recess for finance and rules committee meetings. According to NBC, gay marriage will be the last item on the agenda.
7:56 p.m. – The New York State Assembly, the other house that passed the bill last week, approved the amended language at a vote of 82-47. The Senate vote is expected to tonight.
9:27 p.m. – The Senate just came back into session, and a vote is expected any minutes. The suspense is intense.
9:40 p.m. – As Sen. Steve Saland explains the religious exemption language, Gannett newspapers reports that he has committed to vote in favor of the bill providing the 32nd vote, the tipping point for passage. Meanwhile, crowds have gathered at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan to await the results.
9:55 p.m. – The religious restrictions amendment package passes 36-26.
10:20 p.m. – Sen. Mark Gristani, who had been undecided, will vote yes. "I cannot legally come up with an argument against same sex marriage," he said when announcing his affirmative vote.
10:30 p.m. – The Marriage Equality bill passes. Ayes 33, Nays 29. Same-sex marriage will be instated in 30 days. The crowd outside the chamber erupts in the "USA! USA!" chant.