Matthew Schmitz at the First Things blog:

I do not doubt that the four Republican New York state senators who voted for same-sex marriage are convinced of the rightness of their votes. I would, however, look askance at any suggestion that they are the courageous new heroes of our time, with motives wholly principled and pure. As the New York Times reports, they have a big payday coming...

The same-sex marriage lobby seems to operate by flat-footed progressive bullying (“get on the right side of history”) followed by gigantic payouts to those who fall in line. It’s a fine way to win a political fight, there’s no gainsaying that, but it has hardly created a hall of heroes.

Whether or not they actually come out ahead remains to be seen: the National Organization for Marriage has launched its own formidable effort to raise the price of voting against marriage.