New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill legalizing gay marriage, delivering a powerful victory for gay rights advocates in one of the most populous and influential states of the union. Gay rights activists chanted and danced in the streets of New York city early Saturday as news spread that the Republican-controlled state senate had narrowly approved the “Marriage Equality Act.” Cuomo signed the measure, which will take effect in 30 days, into law just before midnight Friday (0400 GMT). Cheers erupted in the senate galleries in the state capital Albany when the legislators voted 33-29 to approve the measure after weeks of intense wrangling. The 29 Democratic senators were joined by four Republicans, one more than the minimum needed to get the bill approved. Crowds of people gathered to hug, dance and cheer outside the Stonewall Inn, in Manhattan’s West Village, where riots broke out on June 28, 1969 after police raided the bar frequented by gay customers. The incident is seen as the birth of the modern gay rights movement.
New York governor signs gay marriage into law
