Gov. David Paterson is hoping New York will be the next state to legalize same-sex marriage.

The governor says he'll put the issue back on the legislative calendar in the coming weeks.

The Democrat-led state assembly has already passed the bill, but a state Senate leadership coup last June prevented it from going any further.

"The advocates asked me to put the bill on the calendar, along with the other unfinished bills that would have been on the calendar back in June, and I complied with that," Patterson said.

Same-sex marriage is already legal in Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and Iowa and will become legal in New Hampshire next year.

The people of Maine are scheduled to vote on the issue next week.