ALBANY, N.Y., June 24 (UPI) -- The New York state Senate voted late Friday in favor of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the state.
The vote was 33-29.
The State Assembly approved the measure in May on a vote of 89-52, with several legislators who had rejected a similar measure in 2007 changing their votes this time.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has supported the legislation and said he will sign it if state lawmakers pass it. Once the bill is signed, New York will be the largest state to allow same-sex marriage.
Passage in the Republican-controlled state Senate followed lobbying by Cuomo and gay rights advocates that resulted in three Democrats and two Republicans deciding to support the bill, the (Albany, N.Y.) Times Union reported. That still only put 31 confirmed votes in the year column, and the bill needed 32 to pass.
After the bill was amended to include language providing protection for churches and religious groups that do not wish to perform same-sex marriages, Republican state Sen. Steve Saland said he would vote yes, giving the bill enough votes to pass.
"I have to define doing the right thing as treating all persons with equality, and that equality includes within the definition of marriage," Saland said in explaining his decision. "To do otherwise would fly in the face of my upbringing."
