Like New York's Conservatives, the national lobbies for and
against marriage equality see the fate of these four New York Republicans as bearing heavily on their future influence in states where marriage is still undecided.
Says Paterson of the
marriage equality bill: «People who've lived together for 10, 20, 30 years are waiting, hoping that this legislation will pass while they still have the breath to elicit an «I do» on the altar, and I think it's time that it happens, and if I have to
see legislation fail so I can identify who voted
against it to better persuade them, then I'll take that chance.»