Paterson Promises Marriage Equality Vote

New York governor David Paterson pledged in an interview with The New York Times on Sunday to make sure the state senate votes on marriage equality before it breaks for the summer, after his commitment sounded tentative during an earlier news conference.

As the state senate marked its official last day of session on Monday with mounds of business unfinished due to a two-week leadership crisis, Paterson vowed to call legislators to a special session beginning on Tuesday if they could not resolve the dispute by the end of the day. In such extraordinary circumstances, the governor would set the senate’s agenda, although exactly how and when he could compel senators to hold a vote on specific legislation remained unclear.

Earlier on Sunday, Paterson said during a news conference that the prospective special session would focus on urgent legislation of importance to local governments, such as bills on sales tax and education. He refused to say whether marriage equality would be a priority.

Hours after an outcry from gay rights groups, Paterson clarified the reasons for his silence in an interview, saying that he had not wanted to escalate tensions in the senate, where the question of whether to vote on marriage equality legislation at times has appeared to be a bargaining chip in the leadership struggle.

Paterson said that he was “cautious about how this overt expression of wanting marriage equality on the floor is going to affect the outcome.”

A longtime supporter of marriage equality, the governor introduced a program bill for marriage equality in April. The bill passed the assembly and awaits consideration in the deadlocked senate.