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Updated 06/15/2011 05:54 AM

Sen. Roy McDonald now a "yes" vote on same-sex marriage

By: Nick Reisman

Another state senator plans to vote yes for a same-sex marriage bill. This time it's Republican State Senator Roy McDonald. Capital Tonight's Nick Reisman has the latest from the Capitol.

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ALBANY, N.Y. -- Same-sex marriage is one vote away from being approved in New York after Republican Senator Roy McDonald became the second GOP lawmaker to announce his support of the marriage equality bill.

"Am I comfortable with my vote? It's changed," said McDonald on Tuesday. "I was raised in a conservative household. Would my parents be OK with my vote? Yes. The only thing they would require of me is do the right thing. Do what you think is appropriate. That's it."

There are now 31 votes in favor of same-sex marriage, one shy of the needed 32 to pass the bill.

Earlier Tuesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo released his same-sex marriage bill called the Marriage Equality Act. The move is a significant development because Cuomo has vowed to introduce the bill only when he's sure the votes are available for it to pass. The measure includes provisions that would protect religious institutions opposed to same-sex marriage, which some fence-sitting lawmakers say is a good first step.

Republican Senator Greg Ball of Putnam County said, "I'm glad that we have some religious carve outs and protections in it, and I'm going to reach out to see how comfortable the Catholic Church and other religious institutions are with the current language."

At least three other Republican lawmakers - Mark Grisanti of Buffalo, Andrew Lanza of Staten Island and Stephen Saland of Poughkeepsie -- said they haven't made up their minds.

Gay marriage opponents, meanwhile, vowed to unseat GOP lawmakers who vote yes.

Rev. Jason McGuire of New Yorkers For Constitutional Freedoms said, "Every Republican showed know that they should be on record, that this is something their base does not support. And this is something the pro-family voter will be engaged with. We date back to 2002 looking at some of the failures of the Senate leadership, pro-family, pro-life votes, and this is that final line in the sand, and if senators surrender this point, I think they surrender the right to lead."

But McDonald said he's unconcerned about how his "yes" vote would affect his re-election chances in 2012.

"I had to do what I had to do, OK? Showed some compassion, do what I think is the appropriate thing," he said.

The earliest the same-sex marriage bill can be voted on is Friday - the second to last day of the regular session.

For now, there's no plan for Governor Cuomo to send a message of necessity to the Legislature to bypass the three-day waiting period.

Take a look at YNN and Capital Tonight's same-sex marriage vote tracker>>

Capital Tonight host Liz Benjamin talks about the latest developments regarding the Marriage Equality Act.

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