N.Y. marriage bill introduced in state assembly with record support

New York State assembly member Daniel O'Donnell, one of three gay assembly members, officially introduced Gov. Eliot Spitzer's marriage bill in the chamber Monday with a record number of 53 cosponsors, up from 24 the year before.

A marriage bill has been introduced in both houses of the New York legislature for five years running now, but it has never been allowed to come up for a vote in either the Democrat-controlled assembly or the Republican-controlled senate.

The marriage bill needs 76 votes to pass in the assembly, where 69 members have indicated some support for the bill; 48 remain undecided, and 33 have voiced their opposition, according to a legislative scorecard being kept by the Empire State Pride Agenda, New York's LGBT civil rights organization.

O'Donnell expects the bill to come up for a vote in the next few weeks, according to Trenton Straube, editor of the New York Blade. "He said they have enough support to pass it," said Straube, noting that beyond the 53 cosponsors, about 20-some members had privately told O'Donnell they would vote for the bill. "O'Donnell said he won't push for a vote unless the bill will pass," Straube added, recounting a conversation they had during the Brooklyn Bridge march for marriage equality last Saturday.