Fate of Same-Sex Marriage Bill in Albany Unclear

By DANNY HAKIM and JEREMY W. PETERS
November 8, 2009

After a major setback in Maine last week, gay rights advocates and their opponents are shifting their focus to New York, where Gov. David A. Paterson has called legislators to Albany on Tuesday and asked them to pass a bill legalizing same-sex marriage.

Advocates on both sides of the issue lobbied senators over the weekend, but it was still unclear on Sunday whether the measure could attract the 32 votes needed in the State Senate for approval. (The Assembly has already passed the bill.)

Only three state legislatures nationwide have voted, without the intervention of the courts, to approve same- sex marriage. the rest