Tuesday night, the New York Assembly approved a bill introduced by Governor David Paterson supporting Gay Marriage. The bill passed overwhelmingly 89-52. Five Republicans voted "yes" including Janet L. Duprey who credited her shift from a "no" vote in 2007 to neighbors who are a lesbian couple.

These brave Republicans defied party lines despite threats by the Republican Party:

The Conservative Party is also applying pressure: it has threatened to strip its party affiliation and its ballot line from any politician who votes for same-sex marriage.

“We can’t look the other way,” said Michael R. Long, the party’s chairman, who added that he had informed the Republican leaders of the Senate and the Assembly of his threat to take away the Conservative ballot line — which in some elections can mean the difference of thousands of votes — from anyone who votes yes on the bill. - New York Times

This time, a veto from the governor is not what we're worrying about, it's the State Senate. The original bill passed in the assembly in 2007 and died in senate. Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith has stated that he will only introduce the bill if he knows he has the votes for it to pass. They need 32. So it appears that the timeline for New York is up in the air depending on how much support Smith thinks the bill has in senate. New York would be the first state with a large Asian American population to legalize gay marriage. Not counting California where a bunch of Asian Americans actually took away their fellow Asian Americans' rights. Bravo Nancy Yu Huang. (Nancy Yu Huang organized a large Yes on 8 rally on the City Hall Lawn before the election. 626-388-7520)

Taking bets: Who's next for marriage equality - New York or New Hampshire?

PS - Mad props to Empire State Pride Agenda who is doing the hard work including a new ad campaign starting tomorrow.