Margin for Marriage Grows in Assembly
For the second time in two years, the New York Assembly passed marriage equality, this time by an even wider, bi-partisan margin. Several Assemblymembers explained why they changed their minds to support the freedom to marry for all New Yorkers.
“There’s that little voice inside of you that tells you when you’ve done something right, and when you’ve done something wrong,” said Fred W. Thiele Jr., who represents the Hamptons. “That vote just never felt right to me. That little voice kept gnawing away at me.” Mr. Thiele’s district overlaps with the Senate district of Kenneth P. LaValle, whom gay rights advocates consider to be among the half-dozen or so Republicans open to considering a yes vote.
Janet L. Duprey, a Republican whose district along the Canadian border in the North Country overlaps with the Senate district of Elizabeth Little, another Republican who gay rights supporters believe is within reach, said a lesbian couple who live on her street helped change her mind.
“They are asking only for equal protection under the law,” Ms. Duprey said. “They deserve no less than to have the same rights and ability to share their love.”
Bob Reilly, a Democratic assemblyman whose district includes parts of Saratoga and Albany Counties, apologized to colleagues for voting no in 2007 before casting a yes vote on Tuesday.
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