"Not just Catholic": meet one NY pol who voted for gay marriage

He spoke openly about wrestling with his religious convictions before the vote on Friday.

And now USA TODAY has more:

New York Catholic leadership vociferously opposed legalizing gay marriage in the state. But when it passed the state senate Friday night to become law, it was with the help of a yes vote from a Catholic senator, Mark Grisanti.

WBFO’s coverage reports:

Grisanti said even though, as a Catholic, he was raised to believe marriage is between a man and woman, he could not:

deny a person, a human being, a taxpayer, a worker, the people of my district and across this state, the State of New York, and those people who make this the great state that it is the same rights that I have with my wife.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow quoted Grisanti saying as the vote neared:

I’m not here as a senator who is just Catholic. I know that with this decision, many people who voted for me will question my integrity.

And they may question his faith.

Read more.

Meantime, this weekend the newspaper in Buffalo has another look at Grisanti and asks if he’s a hero or a villain.