ALBANY — The fate of same-sex marriage collided with a dysfunctional political process in Albany on Tuesday as the State Senate delayed a vote on a bill that would make it legal for gay and lesbian couples to marry in New York, putting the issue off indefinitely.
Though Gov. David A. Paterson put the bill on the agenda for an emergency session that convened Tuesday and gay rights advocates had been aggressively lobbying for an immediate vote, the legislation’s prospects have grown more complex in recent days. Supporters have had difficulty securing the 32 votes they need for approval in the Senate, and a dispute between Mr. Paterson and legislative leaders over how to close a budget deficit that now exceeds $3 billion has held up votes on major legislation.
It remained unclear when — or if — the Senate would take up the marriage bill. Wednesday is Veterans Day, a holiday, and legislators were heading back to their districts late Tuesday. Mr. Paterson said he was hopeful an agreement could be reached on cutting the deficit by Monday, meaning that the Legislature could return to Albany early next week to vote on both the budget and the marriage bill.
“Hopefully next week we clear this up,” Mr. Paterson said.
The delay leaves proponents and opponents of same-sex marriage with more time to lobby for votes, which they were both doing in earnest at the Capitol on Tuesday.
Republicans and Democrats said the marriage bill was still several votes short to pass in the Senate where the Democrats have a slim 32-30 majority. About five Democrats remained either opposed or noncommittal, meaning that Republican votes were needed to secure passage. But not enough Republicans have committed to voting yes, legislators said.
“It sounds like today is just not going to be the day,” said Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, a Democrat from Manhattan, who has been one of the same-sex marriage bill’s main proponents. “There are a lot of us who want to see it voted on and passed as soon as possible. So if today’s not the day, I think our views on the overall strategy don’t change.”
With no agreement on how to close the budget deficit, many senators have been unwilling to put the same-sex marriage bill up for a vote first.
“We’ve always said the D.R.P. is the priority,” said Senator Pedro Espada Jr., the majority leader, referring to the governor’s deficit reduction plan. “We also know there’s a great expectation surrounding marriage equality. And my personal view is it should come up for a vote. As for when, let’s just put it this way: In my view I think it will follow the D.R.P.”
Asked when that might happen, Mr. Espada said he guessed that it might be sometime next week. “We’ll come back next week. That’s the scenario that I think is reasonable.”
But the political dynamic surrounding same-sex marriage has become more complicated in the last week and a half, making it more difficult for supporters to win votes. Voters in Maine last week repealed that state’s law that would have permitted same-sex marriage; and a pro-gay rights Republican in a Congressional race upstate was forced out of the race a few days before the election after conservatives attacked her in part for her liberal social views.
Those developments have emboldened opponents of same-sex marriage in New York, who in conversations with senators in recent days have pointed to the recent elections as a reason to vote no.
“A lot of our job was done for us by the electorate in Maine and the electorate in the north country,” said Dennis Poust, communications director for the Catholic Conference, the political arm of the state’s bishops. “Why is it beneficial for Republicans to take on this very controversial issue right now? It’s not. And we’re making sure to remind them of what happened last Tuesday.”
Gay rights advocates continued to push for a vote.
“Our community has spent the past few years making the case to 62 state senators for why we should be treated equally by the laws of our state,” said Alan Van Capelle, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda. “The time for making cases is over. We’ve heard dozens of excuses, and we’ve been told countless times that we’ll have to wait for equality.”