ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Gay couples are watching anxiously as a closely divided New York Senate starts and stalls on the path toward a vote on whether to legalize gay marriage.
The pivotal decision with national consequences looks more and more likely to rest in the hands of just two Republican Catholics from conservative upstate areas.
One, Sen. Stephen Saland (suh-LAND') of the Hudson Valley's Poughkeepsie, is a courtly and widely respected veteran lawmaker. The other is rookie Mark Grisanti (grih-SAN'-tee) of Buffalo, one of the young breed of Republicans who rode the 2010 GOP tide.
They are the two clearly undecided votes among a Republican conference that defeated gay marriage in 2009.
Gays and lesbians watching the moves of New York lawmakers are in the midst of a nail biter.
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