The measure passed the Republican-controlled state Senate by a margin of 33 votes to 29 votes.
The AP reports on the significance of the legislative milestone:
Gay rights advocates are hoping the vote will galvanize the movement around the country and help it regain momentum after an almost identical bill was defeated here in 2009 and similar measures failed in 2010 in New Jersey and this year in Maryland and Rhode Island.
Though New York is a relative latecomer in allowing gay marriage, it is considered an important prize for advocates, given the state's size and New York City's international stature and its role as the birthplace of the gay rights movement, which is considered to have started with the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village in 1969.
New York is poised to become the sixth state to legalize same sex-marriage.
Below, a slideshow highlighting reaction to the bill's passage on Friday night.
"New York has always led the way for equal rights - from leading the suffrage movement, to Abraham Lincoln's remarkable speech opposing slavery speech at Cooper Union - and we have done it again. I want to thank Governor Cuomo for his extraordinary leadership and unwavering commitment to marriage equality which brought home this great victory. I also want to thank the committed advocates who worked day in and day out, and all of the New York State lawmakers - Democrats and Republicans - who came together to uphold the fundamental American values of equality and justice for all.
"New York State has sent a powerful message to the rest of the nation. The right to get married and start a family is a basic, human right that must be shared by all Americans. Every loving, committed couple in America deserves this right. And no politician should stand in the way of this fact.
"Marriage under the law is the foundation for strong families. I will continue to help lead the fight in Washington to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act so that all loving and committed marriages in New York are recognized by the federal government."
"New York has always led the way for equal rights - from leading the suffrage movement, to Abraham Lincoln's remarkable speech opposing slavery speech at Cooper Union - and we have done it again. I want to thank Governor Cuomo for his extraordinary leadership and unwavering commitment to marriage equality which brought home this great victory. I also want to thank the committed advocates who worked day in and day out, and all of the New York State lawmakers - Democrats and Republicans - who came together to uphold the fundamental American values of equality and justice for all.
"New York State has sent a powerful message to the rest of the nation. The right to get married and start a family is a basic, human right that must be shared by all Americans. Every loving, committed couple in America deserves this right. And no politician should stand in the way of this fact.
"Marriage under the law is the foundation for strong families. I will continue to help lead the fight in Washington to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act so that all loving and committed marriages in New York are recognized by the federal government."
New York lawmakers approved legislation to legalize same-sex marriage on Friday evening.
The measure passed the Republican-controlled state Senate by a margin of 33 votes to 29 votes.
The AP ...
New York lawmakers approved legislation to legalize same-sex marriage on Friday evening.
The measure passed the Republican-controlled state Senate by a margin of 33 votes to 29 votes.
The AP ...
Finally, the New York State Senate passed a long-awaited law granting marriage equality to gay couples, launching a celebration of massive proportions throughout New York...
This week brought two high-profile examples of what has become the president's trademark approach to leadership -- "the fierce urgency of sometime later" -- as he kicked the proverbial can down the road on Afghanistan and gay marriage. On the former, his limited drawdown plan was derided as "cautious" -- not by anti-war activists, but by a GOP presidential candidate (Jon Huntsman). More evidence that opposition to our near-ten-year incursion there has moved way beyond left and right. On the latter, Obama once again stuck with his half-step positioning, refusing to endorse the then-still-pending New York bill on same-sex marriage while lauding the fight for "change that is lasting" -- a stance that continues to place him to the right of Dick Cheney. In both cases, the president is standing on the wrong side of history -- trailing behind the growing consensus of those he presumes to lead.
Spitzer first pledged to fight for same-sex marriage legislation during his 2006 campaign. At the time, most prominent New York Democrats -- including Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer -- were unwilling to offer explicit endorsements of marriage equality.
The most vehement opponent of marriage equality in New York was the Catholic Church. That the leaders of the Church take this position is certainly their right, but it is a sorry testament to their understanding of their Church's own history in this nation.
As an African American clergywoman, I see gay rights as a civil rights issue. This summer, I will marry my congregants, Alex and Jeremy, just as I have other gay couples in the past.
Last night's vote for marriage equality in N.Y. was a true bipartisan effort, with Democratic and Republican state senators coming together to support the simple proposition that every New Yorker should be able to marry the person they love. But our work is not done.
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First Posted: 06/25/11 12:25 AM ET Updated: 08/24/11 06:12 AM ET