Rallies Grow as NY Senate Considers Gay Marriage Vote

The Associated Press reports:

Hundreds of raucous demonstrators on both sides of the divisive gay-marriage debate jammed the usually sedate halls of New York's Capitol on Monday as Senate Republicans, who can determine the measure's fate, consider whether to schedule a decisive vote on the issue.

New York's vote is seen as pivotal in the national question over same-sex marriage, an effort that largely stalled in the same room two years ago when the Senate voted it down. Since then, efforts have failed in New Jersey, Rhode Island and Maryland. Advocates hope a "yes" vote in the nation's third most-populous state jumpstarts the effort.