On June 24, 2011, the world underwent a drastic change. The New York State Legislature passed the Marriage Equality Act. New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed it into law that same exact evening. According to the New York Times, the vote was 33-29 with 29 Democratic votes and four Republican votes for same-sex marriage.
Although Governor Cuomo signed the bill in June, the law didn’t go into effect until July 24, 2011.
Peaceful uprisings formed all over America. Immediately after the New York State Senate Chamber announced the monumental verdict, numerous crowds filled with pro-gay rights members cheered. Gay rights activists were thrilled with the outcome while anti-gay rights members saw this as a misfortune.
Activists weren’t the only ones excited with the outcome. Celebrities on Twitter announced their glee with tweets. Lady Gaga tweeted, “I can’t stop crying. We did it kids.” Actor and musician Neil Patrick Harris from the hit show How I Met Your Mother tweeted, “It PASSED! Marriage equality in NY!! Yes!! Progress!! Thank you everyone who worked so hard on this!! A historic night!” Harris and his longtime partner, David Burtka, have been engaged for over five years.
Students at Seminole shared their opinions. An anonymous student says, “I’m completely for gay marriage. I think the homosexual community should have the same rights as straight civilians. I mean it’s 2011, if we can have 3-dimensional vision for cellphones, then why not let the homosexuals marry?” Sophomore Vali Agronovsky agrees with the previous statement, saying, “I have no issue with how others choose to live. If it makes them happy to marry someone that is the same sex as them, then it is fine. It does not harm society nor does it affect me.”
New York is the sixth and largest state to legalize gay marriage in the US. Being a state with a huge population and an extremely large number of gay activists, New York has the influence to convert other states to pro-gay marriage.
While millions of people were ecstatic about the law that was passed, others weren’t quite so pleased. According to The Washington Post, Laura Fotusky, a Republican from Barker, N.Y., turned in her resignation letter the Monday after the law was passed. She claimed that her religious beliefs would get in the way of “signing a marriage certificate for a gay couple.”
Many priests in the country are opposing of same-sex marriage. Archbishop Timothy Dolan was a strong opponent to the gay marriage law. He appeared on the radio and other talk shows trying to persuade legislators to veto the law. Another anonymous student says that she’s against the law but, “Constitutionally, it’s bound to happen one day.”
Even though New York was a substantial win for the gay community and its activists, America still has a long way to go before other states choose to go down New York’s path.