Republican state Sen. Roy McDonald announced Tuesday that he’ll back New York’s marriage equality bill when it comes up in the Senate this week.
“I’m trying to do the right thing,” McDonald said, Capitol Confidential reports. “Rather than wait I worked with the governor. … I’m not out to alienate anybody. This is driven by compassion.”
He added that he thinks the vote will be on Friday.
McDonald follows Republican state Sen. James Alesi and Democrats Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr., Shirley L. Huntley, and Carl Kruger, who all announced Monday that they would vote for the bill.
This brings the unofficial total of supporters to 31, just one shy of the 32 needed to pass. Three more Republicans remain undecided.
Gov. Cuomo sent the bill to the legislature Tuesday, meaning it will be up for a vote before the end of this session on June 20.
Jillian Rayfield
Jillian Rayfield is a Reporter/Blogger for TPM, and started as a News Intern in May 2009. She graduated from Cornell University in May 2008 with a degree in Film, and worked as a Research Assistant for a market research firm in London in between.
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