Thursday, December 3, 2009

Gay Marriage for Gay Couples Rejected in New York

Lawmakers in New York state have rejected a bill that would have granted marriage rights to gay couples.

The state's senate voted against the legislation by 38 votes to 24. Several Democrats opposed the measure.

The bill legalising same-sex marriage had earlier passed easily in the heavily Democratic state assembly.

Gay rights activists had hoped New York would join Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont in legalising gay unions.

Gay marriage is a controversial issue in the US, where many states have statutes banning same-sex unions.

Voters in Maine repealed their state law legalising gay marriage only last month. And last year, Californians also overturned an earlier decision by the state's Supreme Court to allow gay couples to wed. 

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