Moments ago, in a vote of 33 to 29, the New York Senate passed a marriage equality bill, thereby doubling the number of Americans living in a state where gay and lesbian people can marry. The measure will take effect 30 days after Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) — who prioritized marriage equality early in his administration and lobbied heavily on its behalf — signs it.

At stake in the final days of debate were so-called “religious protections,” provisions that permit nonprofits and individuals associated with religious institutions not to recognize same-sex marriages. The Assembly approved the amendments earlier in the evening and they also passed the Senate in a vote of 36 to 26.

Watch the final vote:

Sen. Mark Grisanti (R) provided the most moving speech of the night, arguing that he could not think of any legal reason as to why same-sex couples should be denied the same rights he enjoys with his wife. “For me the issue boils down to this: I’ve done research, and I believe that a person can be wiser today than yesterday,” he said, referring to his previous opposition to marriage, a position he attributed to his Catholic upbringing. Sen. Stephen Saland (R), long considered a swing vote, also supported the measure, along with Republicans Roy McDonald and James Alesi. Every Democrat, with the exception of Sen. Ruben Diaz, voted for the bill.

Tonight’s victory is the result of an unprecedented coalition of LGBT equality groups and allies from businesses and faith communities. Opponents like the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and the Catholic Church passionately resisted marriage, threatening to pour millions of dollars into campaigns against any Republican who supported the bill. In the end, however, reason and equality prevailed.

New York now joins five other states (Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut) and the District of Columbia in offering marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

The following has been introduced in the New York Assembly:

“[N]otwithstanding any state, local or municipal law, rule, regulation, ordinance, or other provision of law to the contrary, a religious entity as defined under the education law or section two of the religious corporations law, or a corporation incorporated under the benevolent orders law or described in the benevolent orders law but formed under any other law of this state, or a not-for-profit corporation operated, supervised, or controlled by a religious corporation, or any employee thereof, being managed, directed, or supervised by or in conjunction with a religious corporation, benevolent order, or a not-for-profit corporation as described in this subdivision, shall not be required to provide services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges for the solemnization or celebration of a marriage. Any such refusal to provide services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges shall not create any civil claim or cause of action or result in any state or local government action to penalize, withhold benefits, or discriminate against such religious corporation, benevolent order, a not-for-profit explanation.”

While the process is still unclear, it is believed that the Assembly — which approved the bill last week — will vote on the exemption amendments before the full bill moves to the Senate.

New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan has relentlessly pushed back against marriage equality with a plethora of offensive, distorted statements against the LGBT community. As the Senate nears a vote on the matter, Dolan pulls out all his favorite talking points for an interview with the National Catholic Register:

1. MARRIAGE EQUALITY IS NOT ABOUT GAY RIGHTS: “I’m particularly upset that they seem to have been successful in reducing this to a matter of gay rights, where it has nothing to do with it.”

If it’s not about gay rights, what is it about? There are already same-sex marriages in New York; they’re just imported. If this question is about anything other than gay rights, it’s about revenue for the state. But it is very much about whether same-sex couples get the same protections and recognition as opposite-sex couples.

2. SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IS LIKE POLYGAMY: “If a [heterosexual] wanted the state legislature to accommodate his desire to have his relationship with two women and have it declared a marriage, we’d be against it. We’re not talking about anti-anybody; we’re talking about pro-marriage.”

Nobody is asking for polygamy; it’s not part of the discussion. The slippery slope argument is a logical fallacy.

3. GAY IS A LIFESTYLE: “You don’t redefine marriage — a given — just to accommodate people’s lifestyle.”

It’s not a lifestyle. Sexuality is an enduring emotional, romantic, sexual, and/or affectional attraction toward others, and biology plays a significant role in determining it.

4. CATHOLICS ARE THE REAL VICTIMS: “They talk about bullying? I haven’t seen anybody on our side resort to name-calling or threats, but Lord knows they’ve been bullying us.”

This from the man who has compared same-sex relationships to incest, suggested that marriage equality is an imposition of communism, and called LGBT families “perilous” and “detrimental to the common good.”

5. SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IS LIKE INCEST: “You think somebody that wants to marry his sister is going to now say, ‘I have a right.’ I mean it’s the same principle, isn’t it?”

Nobody is asking for incest; it’s not part of the discussion. The slippery slope argument is a logical fallacy.

6. SAME-SEX MARRIAGE COULD CHANGE BASEBALL’S RULES: “I worry too about government intrusion. On my blog I said this seems to have a lot of traction in places like North Korea and Cuba and China. [...] If you can say the life of the baby in the womb isn’t a human life, where are you going to stop? No wonder you go to marriage. Next thing you know they’re going to say there’s four outs to every inning of baseball. This is crazy.”

The goal of a republican government, like the United States, is to guarantee as much freedom for its people as possible. To recognize marriage equality is to stand apart from such dictatorships. The rules of baseball, by the way, are actually governed by the Major League Baseball Playing Rules Committee, and no LGBT rights organization has taken a position on them.

What Dolan thinks he gains by retreading his vitriolic rhetoric is unclear. What is clear is that he doesn’t speak on behalf of Catholics (74 percent of whom support recognizing same-sex couples) or New Yorkers (58 percent of whom support full marriage equality).

Despite promising to convene at 10 a.m., the New York Senate remained adjourned throughout the morning and early afternoon as Republicans discussed property tax and mandate relief. Senate Republican deputy majority leader Thomas W. Libous told the New York Times that “negotiations were on track” and that he expected votes on most issues early Friday afternoon. Asked whether gay marriage could be voted on Friday, Mr. Libous said yes. “Nobody wants to stay here tomorrow,” he said.

Meanwhile, three Democratic senators held a press conference calling on Republicans to live up to their promise and bring the issue to a vote:

WGRZ also reports that Sen. Mark Grisanti (R) — “who is viewed by many as the potential swing vote on the issue” — texted the station that “he still hasn’t made up his mind on how he would vote, and isn’t even sure when it might come to the floor if at all today.” “In a phone conversation with 2 On Your Side Wednesday, the freshman lawmaker acknowledged that he ran for office on a platform which included a pledge ‘not’ to support gay marriage, but says he’s done a lot of study since then which has led him to become undecided…which is why this is such a difficult decision for him.” Thirty-one senators have publicly pledged to support the measure, which needs 32 votes to pass.

Tea Party leaders argue the country “can ill afford the discussion about social issues when it is passing on enormous debts to future generations,” but the Right Wing Watch’s Brian Tashman points to more evidence that Tea Party activists are more concerned about social issues than they let on. Last night, as President Obama addressed an LGBT fundraiser in New York and Albany contemplated voting on same-sex marriage legislation, the Tea Party Nation sent out this post from Alan Caruba, a right-wing activist who “once called marriage equality ‘an act of societal suicide.” In it, Caruba warns activists about the dangers of the “queering” of America:

I can speak only for myself, but I find all this activity to legalize “gay marriage” and to introduce a gay agenda into the curriculums in the nation’s schools a distinct threat to the fabric of a society based on the undisputed normality of heterosexuality. I am pretty sure the “straight” citizens of Boston and elsewhere find it offensive to host a gay parade.

I believe the greater society has a right to protect itself, its children and its military forces against these legislative intrusions, mandates and coercions to force acceptance upon it. If it continues, it will become one more factor in the destruction of America, a signal that its moral foundations continue to be eroded.

Candidates for elected office and those holding such offices should be challenged and removed when they advocate and vote for the queering of America.

The Tea Party Nation has previously described social issues as “just not something that’s on our radar;” the group focuses on economic issues in hopes of attracting a broader conservative/libertarian coalition and appealing to more independent voters. But emails like this one serve as reminders that their core constituency espouses traditional Republican social beliefs — and Tea Party groups are not shy about shoring up that base. According to a February poll from the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, “While registered voters as a whole are closely divided on same-sex marriage (42 percent in favor, 49 percent opposed), Tea Party supporters oppose it by more than two-to-one (64 percent opposed, 26 percent in favor). Similarly, almost six-in-10 (59 percent) of those who agree with the Tea Party say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, 17 percentage points higher than among all registered voters.”

In the 2012 elections, Minnesota faces a referendum on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. With the vote so far off, defenders of equality have a very long and expensive campaign to run, and it’s not yet clear whether campaign disclosure laws will be on their side. Minnesota is the first state to face such a referendum since polls consistently showed majority support for marriage equality, so it could well be the first to win that fight.

The Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party is wasting no time in resisting the the discriminatory ballot measure. This week, they’ve released a new video campaign featuring five different Minnesota families who support marriage equality. Some are same-sex families discussing their challenges, while others are families with a gay member showing their support. (The Reitans were also featured in the film, “For The Bible Tells Me So.”) Watch all five below:

Adjourning last night around 11 p.m., the New York Senate has still not addressed marriage equality during its extended session, which has now lasted a full week. Among the rumors circulating are that there is an anonymous 32nd vote and that a new version of the bill with agreeable “religious exemptions” has been completed.

Though a number of issues are waylaying the Senate’s progress, one accomplishment this week was naming sweet corn as the state vegetable. An anti-equality protester pointed out yesterday that corn is not a vegetable, and The Daily Show questioned the Senate’s priorities. Watch:

At this point, the focus seems to be on figuring out the omnibus bill addressing rent control and property taxes. As for same-sex marriage, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R) said the Senate GOP would tackle that issue after all other business is done Friday. “I want to have all the bills in printed, everything and then we will discuss the same sex marriage,” Skelos said. The Senate reconvenes this morning at 10 a.m.