UPDATE @ 4:58 PM: Looks like we've got our first GOP Senator on board. Via tweet from Capitol Tonight, it's James Alesi:
Ales saying he supports the bill, has needed assurances.We need 32. This makes 30.
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29 of the 30 Democrats in the NY State Senate now support marriage, according to the NYTimes:
Three wavering Democratic lawmakers in the State Senate have agreed to support legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in New York, several people with knowledge of the negotiations said on Monday, marking a potential turning point for the long-debated measure.This is a big development. The Governor and Democrats are delivering their vote. It's up to the GOP now. Skelos and his caucus are going to be making a political calculation over the next couple days -- and it will have huge ramifications. It's clear where the trendline is heading. What's unclear is whether NY's GOP Senators want to get on the right side.
The three senators — Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., Shirley L. Huntley of Queens and Carl Kruger of Brooklyn — all voted against the measure in 2009, when it failed by a wide margin. Their switch to the yes column leaves all but one Senate Democrat supporting same-sex marriage –and the fate of the legislation in the hands of the Republican majority in the chamber.
Republican senators voted unanimously against same-sex marriage two years ago, but several have indicated in recent weeks that they are undecided. Speaking with reporters on Monday, Dean G. Skelos, the Senate majority leader, said that if a same-sex marriage bill came to the floor, each Republican senator would be free to vote his or her conscience, but he added that he had not formally asked his members where they stood.
Blatantly homophobic Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. is the only Democrat who will vote no.
