PRIDE: A same-sex pair dons wedding wear at a Union Square rally yesterday. (Helayne Seidman)
ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo and Senate Republican boss Dean Skelos could say, “I do” as soon as today on a historic gay-marriage bill that includes strengthened exemptions for religious groups.
Negotiators for the Republican-run Senate privately admitted that a deal is near after aides spent the Father’s Day weekend ironing out language to appease “religious liberty” concerns that have been raised by several fence-sitting GOP senators.
And public pressure has reached a tipping point, as about 200 supporters of the bill held two raucous rallies near Union Square yesterday.
At one march — organized by the group Queer Rising — supporters broke into tears, held banners reading, “I deserve full equality!” and carried rainbow-colored paraphernalia.
Lawmakers left Albany Friday night with 31 senators — including two of the 32 Republicans — committed to passage of a Cuomo-backed bill to make New York the sixth and largest state allowing couples of the same sex the same marital rights as heterosexual pairs.
Just one more Republican vote is needed for Senate passage of the bill, which cleared the Assembly 80-63 last week.
Although the legislative session is technically over today, Cuomo is expected to keep lawmakers in the Capitol until several bills have been decided.
Additional reporting by Fredric U. Dicker
brendan.scott
@nypost.com