WOW! NEW YORKERS PUSH FOR GAY MARRIAGE!

ALBANY - Nearly eight of 10 New Yorkers say the state Senate should put a bill legalizing gay marriage up for a vote regardless of whether there's enough support to pass it, a new poll released Tuesday shows.

The Siena College poll shows that 78% of those surveyed disagree with Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, who said he would only bring the bill to the floor only if he has the 32 votes needed to pass it.

Just 15% said the Senate should wait until the votes are there to pass it.

Overall, voters are split 46%-46% on the issue of whether gay marriage should be legalized. That's down from last month's 53-39 margain approval margin.

It is supported by a majority of Democrats, young, and Jewish voters and opposed by a majority of Republicans, older voters, blacks, and Protestant and Catholic voters.

Gov. Paterson Tuesday again called for the Senate to act.

The Assembly earlier this month passed the measure for a second time since 2007.

"If there's a 50-50 split in the polls, certainly it would seem the votes would be there to pass the legislation in the Legislature," Paterson said.

"What we're talking about is civil rights. What do you think the will of the people would have been about abolishing slavery?"

Meanwhile, with upstate billionaire Tom Golisano having said he is moving to Florida because of New York's high taxes, it appears there may be others willing to join him.

The poll showed that just 16% are committed to never leaving New York, while another 36% said they currently have no plans.

Another 10% said they will leave the Empire State "as quickly as I can," 11% suggest they will go unless they see improvement, and another 25% answered "maybe in retirement."

Paterson acknowledged the problem, saying more than 140,000 a year are moving to other states that offer lower property taxes, fewer mandates, lower income taxes, and better quality of life.

He said fewer people are leaving now because other states are having the same fiscal problems as New York.

The poll also shows that while Paterson's historically low poll numbers have not improved, they at least appear to have bottomed out.

Just 18% of those surveyed said Paterson is doing an excellent or good job as governor while a whopping 81% gave him a negative rating.

More than seven in 10 said they would vote for someone else for governor in 2010.

Paterson would be trounced in a hypothetical Democratic matchup (70-19%) against Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and a gubernatorial matchup against Rudy Giuliani (59-31%).

In fact, Paterson actually trails by a point against John Faso, the last GOP gubernatorial candidate.

Nearly two-thirds believe Cuomo will run for governor next year and 47% believe he should, compared to a third who believe he should seek reelection as attorney general.