On June 24 New York became the third state to legalize homosexual marriage through legislation, after the Republican-controlled state Senate voted 33 to 29 to approve a “gay marriage” bill that had earlier sailed through state assembly. Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, who had made the issue a major component of his campaign for election last year, quickly signed the bill into law.

Passage, however, came only after a core of GOP Senators — James Alesi, Roy MacDonald, Stephen Saland, and Mark Grisanti — caved in to political pressure and announced that they would vote for the bill. “While I understand that my vote will disappoint many,” said Saland, “I also know my vote is a vote of conscience.”

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