NY Governor to Push for Same-Sex Marriage Legislation

New York Governor David Paterson said on Wednesday that he would re-introduce legislation to legalize same-sex marriage. This would take marriage equality a step further than the directive he signed last May which allowed New York to recognize same-sex marriage performed legally outside its borders.

It's been reported that the legislation would resemble a bill introduced in 2007 by the former governor which stalled in the then Republican controlled Senate. Paterson intends to introduce the new bill for the annual gay rights lobby day this April 28 in Albany.

"We'll put a bill out and let the people decide one way or the other," the governor said on WHCU-AM (870) in Ithaca.

To pass the new bill, senate leaders say they remain a few votes short of the 32 needed for passage, although Democrats now control both chambers of the legislature.

A new Quinnipiac University poll shows that 41 percent of New Yorkers believe same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, while 33 percent support civil unions, and 19 percent think there should be no legal recognition.