They Want To Be A Part Of It, New York, New York

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is following through on his January promise to pass and sign into law a same-sex marriage bill in the Empire State.

The Marriage Equality Act would grant same-sex couples equal rights to marry "as well as hundreds of rights, benefits and protections that are currently limited to married couples of the opposite sex," according to a news release from Cuomo's office.

In a statement accompanying the release, Cuomo said the state has "been on the right side of history," citing such civil rights battles as women's suffrage.

"But on the issue of marriage equality, our state has fallen behind," he said.

Cuomo has been a vocal proponent of allowing same-sex couples in New York to marry. In March, he released a statement saying that he was in the midst of a series of meetings to discuss such a marriage equality bill.

"Marriage equality is a matter of fairness and legal security for thousands of families in this state -- not of religion or culture," Cuomo said Tuesday in announcing the proposed bill.

Cuomo's a smart cat.  He knows that the same measure was defeated two years ago when a deal in the State Senate went up in flames and Gov. Paterson got burned.  This time around Cuomo made the deals in advance, and he's got the support lined up before announcing the bill proposal.  We'll see how far and how fast this bill goes, but the prospects are good this time around.