New York becomes sixth state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the state's marriage equality bill hours after it passed the Republican-controlled Senate on Friday night, making it the sixth state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage.

Cuomo signed the bill into law after the legislature cleared the way to legalize same-sex marriage with a 33-to-29 vote, the first time a state Senate with a Republican majority has approved such a bill.

The new law, which will allow same-sex couples in New York to marry within 30 days, drew a sharp rebuke from opponents, who spent millions to try to defeat the measure.

"We worry that both marriage and the family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government in passing this legislation that attempts to redefine these cornerstones of civilization," the state's Catholic bishops said in a joint statement released late Friday. It was signed by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan and seven other bishops.

Opponents of the marriage equality law have vowed to take political action against any Republican who voted for the bill.

The Senate vote came after days of delays that included last-minute negotiations, passing by a slim margin with the support of four Republicans.

Cuomo credited four Republican senators who joined the majority of the state's Senate Democrats for the passage of the bill, saying they were "people of courage."

"I think it was politically more dangerous for a Republican," Cuomo told reporters late Friday. "The conservative party was threatening them with consequences ... and they did it anyway."

A vote on the measure, which the Assembly passed June 15, has been stalled in the Senate until Friday. But it turned a corner late Friday, according to Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, after lawmakers agreed on an amendment to protect religious groups from litigation that had been pushed by Republicans.

Earlier in the day, the Assembly passed a new version of the bill that included the amendment about religious institutions.

Cuomo said it would grant same-sex couples equal rights to marry "as well as hundreds of rights, benefits and protections that are currently limited to married couples of the opposite sex."  (Continues here)