New York Assembly approves same-sex marriage

You get to the point where you evolve in your life where everything isn't black and white, good and bad, and you try to do the right thing," McDonald, 64, told reporters.

"You might not like that. You might be very cynical about that. Well, f--- it, I don't care what you think. I'm trying to do the right thing.

"I'm tired of Republican-Democrat politics. They can take the job and shove it. I come from a blue-collar background. I'm trying to do the right thing, and that's where I'm going with this."

At least four of McDonald's fellow Republicans are considering voting for the bill, prompting widespread optimism that the Legislature is about to cross the threshold of history.

In New York, a second Republican senator announced he would vote for gay marriage as a matter of fairness. That would appear to provide a tie in the critical Senate vote, where a similar bill was defeated in 2009, a blow to the national movement. Several senators, however, still haven't committed to a vote, which could be forced by the end of the week.

"My vote is going to be for marriage," said Roy McDonald of Saratoga County, a conservative Republican in a mostly rural district who was a U.S. Army scout during the Vietnam War. "I think it's compassion, trying do the right thing, trying to get everyone to live together."

"Some people are going to get mad about it, sarcastic, mean-spirited," McDonald said. "Our big state is big enough for everybody."

When told McDonald would support gay marriage, Republican Sen. William Larkin of Orange County responded, "Shocking."

Fellow GOP Sens. Mark Grisanti of Erie County and Stephen Saland of Poughkeepsie said they were undecided on the issue