HomoQuotable- Matthew Titone

"I have my partner here on the phone and he just asked me to marry him. My answer, Madam Speaker, is yes." - New York State Assemblyman Matthew Titone (D-Staten Island), cellphone in his hand, moments after the Assembly passed its same sex marriage bill. The chamber gave Titone a round of applause.

One day after passing through the Assembly judiciary and rules committees, the bill was approved yesterday by an 85-61 vote. The Human Rights Campaign's Joe Solmonese released a statement saying, "We congratulate the New York Assembly for passing this important, fair-minded bill, and we also congratulate Empire State Pride Agenda and Marriage Equality NY for their hard work. We also thank Governor Spitzer for his leadership -- this bill got its start when the Governor followed through on his unequivocal promise to fight for marriage equality."

The Assembly vote tally should appear here shortly. It's nice to see that Micah Kellner, my just-elected Assemblyman, got himself added to the list of the bill's sponsors. The bill now faces stiff opposition in the state Senate, where Republican Majority Leader Joe Bruno has already declared it "dead on arrival." The current Senate session ends on Thursday and Bruno will have no difficulty blocking its presentation until then.