What are the bill's prospects in the Senate?

Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, reiterated he won't

bring the issue to the Senate floor until the 32 votes are secured.

"If we get the 32 I will do it," he said this week. "But I'm not

going to put a bill on the floor just for symbolism."

-- Gannet News Service

and right now supporters are a number of votes shy, anywhere from 4 to

8 depending on who's counting. There may be some chance that recent events

in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Iowa, plus the large majority in the

Assembly could affect a couple of votes, but it still looks like a longshot,

not that they're not trying:

The Empire State Pride Agenda has focused the bulk of its efforts on

Republicans, particularly those in Long Island districts that are

likely to be battlegrounds next fall, with advocates promising whoever

stands with them on marriage will get support in 2010.

-- Elizabeth Benjamin, NY Daily News

Update 3: NY Times article discussing Senators on the fence

Smith released a statement today, reiterating his support:

"It is my goal to realize that same accomplishment in the Senate and as a strong supporter of marriage equality legislation, I will continue to work until we have sufficient votes to pass it." "Marriage equality is about equal rights and basic personal freedom that no person should ever be denied. I remain steadfast in my commitment to protecting those rights and ensuring that all New Yorkers can enjoy a privilege which is fundamentally theirs.

-- Elizabeth Bejamin, Daily News

so if there are 32 votes to be gotten, it seems like we can count on

him to push to get them.

In news from other states, we have a new poll in New Hampshire

HANOVER, N.H. A new poll shows New Hampshire residents are evenly

split on the issue of same-sex marriage. Forty-five percent of those polled by Dartmouth College oppose

legalizing gay marriage, and 41 percent support it. The difference was

within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage

points.

-- BostonHerald.com

and Massachusetts will be celebrating its fifth anniversary of

legal same-sex marriage this coming Sunday, May 17th. How do things

look from there?

... although Roman Catholic leaders and some conservative activists

remain vocally opposed, there is overwhelming political support for

same-sex marriage and no prospect for a referendum. According to the latest state figures, through September 2008, there

had been 12,167 same-sex marriages in Massachusetts,

-- BostonChannel.com

Update Obligatory amazement expressed at being on rec list!