Gay New Yorkers basked on Saturday in the glow of a landmark decision by the state legislature to legalise gay marriage, a powerful victory for rights advocates in one of the most populous US states.
Gay rights supporters chanted and danced in the streets of New York City into pre-dawn hours as news spread that the Republican-controlled senate had narrowly approved the “Marriage Equality Act” in the influential Empire State where the gay rights movement began 40 years ago.
Activists expressed hope the decision will galvanise the national gay rights movement after a series of setbacks.
Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the measure into law on Friday just before midnight after the state assembly gave its final approval, making New York the sixth and largest US state where gay couples can legally wed once the bill takes effect in 30 days.
Cheers erupted in the senate galleries in the state capital Albany when legislators voted 33-29 to approve the measure after weeks of intense wrangling. The 29 Democratic senators were joined by four Republicans, one more than the minimum needed for approval.
Obama backs legal rights
President Barack Obama visited New York a day before the vote; he has personally backed legal rights for same-sex couples if not same-sex marriage per se.
“The President has long believed that gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights and legal protections as straight couples,” White House spokesperson Shin Inouye said in Washington. “The states should determine for themselves how best to uphold the rights of their own citizens. The process in New York worked just as it should.”
Crowds of people gathered to hug, dance and cheer outside the Stonewall Inn, in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, where riots broke out on June 28 1969 after police raided the gay-friendly bar. The incident is seen as the birth of the modern gay rights movement.