Posted at: 11/10/2009 10:31 PM
Updated at: 11/11/2009 12:36 PM
By: John Craig

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Senate will debate gay marriage before end of year

ALBANY -- Gov. Paterson says the state Senate leadership has promised to debate gay marriage on the floor of the Senate before the end of the year.

"It's just really great," said Sen. Thomas Duane, the only openly gay state senator, who was almost speechless as he stood with the governor to announce that the marriage equality bill will finally be openly debated.

"This is a stunning and very happy development in this process," said Paterson.

It comes after two days of an amped-up call for passage of this bill, two days of supporters in the Senate gallery and hallways and two days of heated exchanges between supporters and the lawmakers who might vote no, including Bronx Democrat Ruben Diaz.

After the Assembly passed the issue, it was never brought to the Senate floor. So the decision to at least debate by the end of the year is seen as progress.

"I am confident and trust the individuals in the room to honor the commitment that was made," said Alan Van Capelle of the Empire State Pride Agenda, who was in the Red Room with the governor Tuesday night.

It's a decision to talk some more.

There was very little progress on anything else, but optimism on what they came to town for, and what the governor gave them a pep talk for on Monday, the Deficit Reduction Plan.

"Everybody finally recognizes that we don't want to be California and we don't want to be other states that have failed to address major problems and major problems can't be solved by Band-Aids," said Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Albany.

"We want to hear from our constituents and we're having that not only on the Deficit Reduction Plan but on government in general and I think we're at our peril if we do not heed it," said Assemblyman Ron Canestrari, D-Cohoes, the Assembly's majority leader.

Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb,R, I, C-Canandaigua, said the session, "was a complete and utter failure to the people who count the most, the residents of New York State. We traveled to Albany with the intent of righting the wrongs enacted in this year's budget, which once again spent beyond the state's means. Last spring, my Assembly Republican colleagues and I opposed the out-of-control spending and gimmicks that put us in this predicament."