With a historic vote on the evening of June 24, the New York State Senate passed a same-sex marriage bill -- effectively legalizing gay marriage, with previous approval in the Assembly and Governor Cuomo intending to sign the bill. 

The vote came after years of debate for and against gay marriage in New York. Confining our attention to the contemporary history, we could say the push toward same-sex marriage began in February of 2004, when the mayor of a small village in Ulster County unilaterally started marrying same sex couples without approval from a higher authority.

How did we get from then to now? A whole lot of court decisions, votes and a prolonged game of attrition that has played out between the branches and levels of local government. Our timeline shows the story so far, while Daniel O'Donnell, Governor Cuomo, and the rest of the legislature write yet another chapter - perhaps, the last.