On Friday, June 24, the Republican-controlled New York State Senate passed marriage equality legislation in a 33-29 vote.

In passing the legislation, New York State became the sixth state to provide gay couples with marriage rights. The event also marked the first time a Republican-led legislature passed marriage equality.

Read additional coverage by The Wall Street Journal.

To peals of “Thank you Jim!”, Republican New York State Senator James Alesi appeared at a rally to support marriage equality in Albany where he declared, “I will travel not just around New York State but the entire country to say, ‘We passed marriage equality in New York State, and we will pass marriage equality in America.’”

He added, “You are sons and daughters, you are sisters and brothers, we are all children of God.”

Read the full story and see video at Capitol Confidential.

On the cusp of an historic vote in the New York State legislature, conservative luminary Margaret Hoover pens an op-ed in the New York Daily News laying out the conservative case for marriage equality.

Says Hoover: “It is time now for our party in this state to carry the march of freedom one step further. Same-sex marriage is consistent with the party’s legacy of individual freedom and limited government. It is a profoundly conservative virtue.”

You can read the full op-ed here.