Future of U.S. Same-Sex Marriage in Flux

The future of same-sex marriage in New York after lawmakers' decision to legalize it on Friday is still in flux as proponents aim to influence media coverage and opponents say that Republicans who voted for the bill in New York will feel the consequences of their actions in the 2012 elections.

The National Organization for Marriage has doubled his previous pledge to $2 million in funds committed to political battles against Republicans who voted for the measure in the largest U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage.

The Republican party has torn up its contract with the voters who trusted them in order to facilitate Andrew cuomo's bid to be president of the U.S. Selling out your principles to get elected is wrong. Selling out your principles to get the other guy elected is just plain dumb, said Brian Brown, president of NOM.

On Friday, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation urged that media coverage focus on the couples which will benefit from the new law.

Herndon Graddick, the senior director of programs at the organization framed the passage of the bill as a step forward.

Gay and lesbian New Yorkers are now one step closer to the vital legal protections that marriage affords and which all couples need, he said.

He said GLAAD encourages media reporting on this story to ground their coverage in the stories of the New York couples whose love and commitment is at the heart of today's decision.

On Friday the New York state senate voted 33 to 29 to pass the legislation that will allow two people of the same sex to obtain a marriage license in the state.

The Marriage Equality Act passed on Friday declares that marriage is a fundamental human right and says same sex couples should have the same access as others to the protections, responsibilities, rights, obligations, and benefits of civil marriage.

The new law, effective within 30 day states that existing laws related to marriage will be construed in a gender-neutral manner or in any way necessary to effectuate the intent of this act.

The passage of the marriage law came at the end of the New York state legislature's session, with uncertainty about the bill in doubt until the end.

The Senate leader, Dean G. Skelos, a Republican, allowed the bill to come up for a vote, although he voted against it.

The new law contains provisions meant to protect religious groups.

The new law states that certain corporations and religious corporations are distinctly private and therefore, shall not be required to provide accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges related to the solemnization or celebration of a marriage.

Furthermore, such groups the withholding those services shall not create a civil claim or cause of action, the law states.