By Edith Honan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Gov. David Paterson on Thursday introduced a bill to allow gay marriage in the state, likening the effort to civil rights struggles and brushing aside objections from religious leaders.
If the bill becomes law, New York will follow Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Iowa in legalizing gay marriage, but the effort is expected to face resistance in the state Senate.
"Anyone that has ever experienced degradation or intolerance would understand the solemn duty and how important it actually is," Paterson, the state's first black governor, told a news conference in Manhattan.
"This is a civil rights issue. Civil rights don't wait for the right time," he said. Paterson was accompanied by city and state leaders, including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Gay marriage has broad support in the Democratic-controlled New York lower house, the Assembly, where it passed in a 85 to 61 vote in 2007. It was not put to a vote in the state Senate.
The bill is again expected to be passed in the Assembly. In the Senate Democrats hold a majority for the first time in more than 40 years, but it is slim -- 32 to 30 -- and at least one Democrat has said he opposes the measure.
Lawmakers in New Hampshire and Maine, which offer same-sex couples some form of legal recognition, also are weighing bills to allow gay marriage.
California briefly recognized gay marriage until voters banned it in a referendum last year. Continued...
New York's governor David Paterson introduced a bill Thursday into the state legislature to legalize marriage between same-sex couples, although it appears to lack the necessary support in the state senate.

Governor of New York David Paterson.

"For too long, the gay and lesbian communities have been told their rights and freedoms have to wait", said Gov. Paterson. "The time has come to bring marriage equality to the State of New York."

The legislation would give same-sex couples 1,300 to 1,400 rights that don't exist unless a couple is married, he said.

Of the four states in which same-sex marriage is presently legal — Vermont, Iowa, Massachusetts, and Connecticut — only Vermont has legalized marriage within the state legislature. The other three states have determined through the courts that the prohibition of same-sex marriage was not allowed under their state constitutions.