Amended Gay Marriage Bill With Expanded Religious Exemptions Introduced In New York

The Wall Street Journal reports that Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers introduced an amended version of the same-sex marriage bill (full text)  into the state legislature today. The new version expands protections for religious organizations and clergy that object to same-sex marriage. Backers hope this will be enough to convince at least one more member of the state Senate to vote in favor of the bill and thereby secure its passage.  The prior version of the bill, already passed by the state Assembly, had somewhat less comprehensive exemptions in it, and Senate Republicans had been seeking this expansion. (See prior posting.)