Gay Marriage in New York: How changing attitudes, a determined governor, steely leadership and some very rich Republicans made it happen

Once again the New York Times proves why it is America's greatest newspaper by painting a full portrait of the intricate and almost military cooperation by Republicans, Democrats, gay organizations, consultants, pollsters and — most of all — Governor Cuomo to defeat the religious opposition. You may think you know what happened, but you probably don't if you haven't read this superb account.

...But unbeknown to all but a few people, Mr. Kruger desperately wanted to change his vote. The issue, it turned out, was tearing apart his household.

     The gay nephew of the woman he lives with, Dorothy Turano, was so furious at Mr. Kruger for opposing same-sex marriage two years ago that he had cut off contact with both of them, devastating Ms. Turano. “I don’t need this,” Mr. Kruger told Senator John L. Sampson of Brooklyn, the Democratic majority leader. “It has gotten personal now...”

     The story of how same-sex marriage became legal in New York is about shifting public sentiment and individual lawmakers moved by emotional appeals from gay couples who wish to be wed.
     But, behind the scenes, it was really about a Republican Party reckoning with a profoundly changing power dynamic, where Wall Street donors and gay-rights advocates demonstrated more might and muscle than a Roman Catholic hierarchy and an ineffective opposition...