A special session for the New York Senate today – ordered by Governor David Patterson – was expected to force New York lawmakers to vote on the legalization of same-sex marriage. However, just moments ago, the Senate delayed the vote indefinitely, as gay rights supporters continued to lobby for more votes.

From the New York Times:

Republicans and Democrats said that as of Tuesday afternoon the measure was still several votes short of the 32 necessary for approval. About five Democrats remained either opposed or noncommittal, meaning that Republican votes were needed to secure passage.

But not enough Republicans have committed yet to voting yes, legislators said. The Democrats have a slim 32-30 majority in the Senate.

The New York State Assembly has already passed a bill legalizing marriage for same-sex couples, and Patterson has said that he will sign the bill into law should it pass the Senate and reach his desk.

Unfortunately, the state’s $3 billion budget gap closure is priority number one.

With no agreement between Mr. Paterson and legislative leaders on how to cut $3 billion from the state budget, many senators have been unwilling to put the same-sex marriage up for a vote first.

“We’ve always said the DRP is the priority,” said Senator Pedro Espada, the Democratic majority leader, using shorthand for 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 DRP.”

Asked when that might happen, Mr. Espada said he guessed it might be sometime next week. “We’ll come back next week. That’s the scenario that I think is reasonable.”