Facebook co-founder seeking permission for same-sex union in New York

Facebook's Chris Hughes and his partner, Sean Eldridge, political director of the homosexual lobby Freedom to Marry, got engaged on New Year’s Eve and have announced their intentions of marrying in New York.

Presently, gay marriage is legal only in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Washington DC.

According to the New York Post, Eldridge announced the couple’s decision before Freedom to Marry reception guests, including New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The reception was held in the couple's SoHo loft.

As Eldridge announced the couple’s plans for a union, he reported there is a “real sense of urgency”.

"As you know, we can't get married in New York, so there is more of an urgency to approve gay marriage, so we can get married here,” he told guests.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has previously made clear that he wants to make gay marriage legal in New York and reiterated his intentions during his state of the state address earlier this month.

Gay marriage proponent state Senator Thomas Duane has pledged to introduce such legislation in the coming weeks.

“I think everyone is aware that we have to make the lives of New Yorkers better in every way – economically, as well as to provide equality to New York families," Duane said Monday.

Cuomo also made a statement by electing Erik Bottcher, Quinn's liaison to the gay community, to be his special adviser.

Despite the governor’s efforts, legalising same-sex marriage in New York may be a challenge. A 2009 effort to legalise gay marriages was defeated 38 to 24 in a democratically controlled state senate.

Months prior to the vote, thousands of Christians filled Manhattan in a Sunday protest against the legalisation of gay marriage.

Republicans now control the state Senate. New Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos has made it clear that he does not support gay marriage.

In a previous discussion, National Organisation for Marriage President Brian Brown expressed that Cuomo does not have the votes to pass gay marriage legislation in New York.

Brown said efforts to pass gay marriage legislation in states such as Maryland and New York are desperate attempts to gain ground amid the conservative upswing in several states and the US House of Representatives.

So far, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Iowa, Minnesota and Wyoming are all working to repeal or ban same-sex marriage. Maryland Republican lawmakers are also introducing an inclusive civil union law as an alternative to same-sex marriage.

Brown noted that New York voters did not elect him to office to take on this issue.