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Openly gay New York state Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell has shepherded his chamber to an approval of marriage equality for the fourth time. Gay City News reports:

While State Senate Republicans on June 15 dragged their heels on moving a marriage equality bill to debate and a vote, the Assembly, having waived the three-day hold on newly introduced legislation, rushed Governor Andrew Cuomo’s measure through committee and to the floor, where it passed by an 80-63 vote Wednesday evening. This was the Assembly’s fourth vote on marriage equality, each one of them successful, since 2007. Upper West Side Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell, an out gay Democrat, is the lead sponsor. On the heels of two Republican senators pledging their “yes” votes in recent days, the majority in that chamber met behind closed doors for more than four hours on Wednesday morning, only to announce they would pick up the discussion again the following day. Senators who have yet to firmly commit to one side or another refused comment or stuck to their noncommittal positions. The public count of Senate supporters stands at 31, one vote shy of a majority.

Openly gay New York Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell yesterday once again introduced a marriage equality bill to his chamber. Similar bills authored by O'Donnell have passed in the Assembly several times in recent years. He writes via press release:

"It is with great pride that I am introducing the Marriage Equality Act. Since the Assembly last passed the bill in 2009, there has been an overwhelming groundswell of support for Marriage Equality across our state. Recent poll numbers have shown a strong majority of New Yorkers now stand firmly in support of Marriage Equality. However, nowhere was this powerful belief in equality more clear than at Monday's 'Equality and Justice Day' rally in Albany, where citizens from across our state came together and demanded equality under law in one unified voice."