New York state is on the brink of legalising same-sex marriage after state legislators approved a measure that would allow gay marriage.

The bill now moves to the Republican-led state senate, where it is believed that the measure is only one vote short of approval.

Both the governor of New York, Democrat Andrew Cuomo and the mayor of New York City, Independent Michael Bloomberg, are strong supporters of the measure.

It is believed that last minute measures proposed by Governor Cuomo which claim to protect religous freedom were key to securing the votes of Republican state senators.

By a vote of 80 to 63, the New York State Assembly approved the Marriage Equality Act late Wednesday after it was submitted by Governor Andrew Cuomo earlier this week.

The state’s Democratic-controlled lower chamber passed the measure in an 80-63 vote.

The Republican majority in the state senate however must now vote on the bill. The senate rejected a similar measure in 2009.

Some senators who voted against the bill in 2009 said they will approve it this time around, mainly based on polls showing support for the measure.

In the senate, the bill needs at least 32 “yes” votes out of a total of 62 in order to pass.

According to news reports, 31 senators — 29 Democrats and 2 Republicans — have expressed support for the bill.

Meanwhile, a motion to set aside Chief Justice Vaughan Walker’s ruling against Proposition 8, a ballot measure in California which defined marriage as being between a man and a woman, was struck out by a District Court judge earlier this week.

The motion was put down by people defending Prop 8, who said that the fact the that Justice Walker was in a same-sex relationship meant that he had a conflict of interest, and should have recused himself from hearing the case.

However, on Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Judge James Ware refused to set aside the ruling, concluding that a judge can fairly decide a struggle over gay rights even if he is gay and involved in a long-term relationship.

Justice Ware disagreed with Proposition 8’s sponsors, who maintained that Walker had an inherent bias because he himself stood to gain the right to marry if the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage was wiped off the books.

“The presumption that Judge Walker, by virtue of being in a same-sex relationship, had a desire to be married that rendered him incapable of making an impartial decision, is as warrantless as the presumption that a female judge is incapable of being impartial in a case in which women seek legal relief,” Ware wrote.

“On the contrary,” he continued, “it is reasonable to presume that a female judge or a judge in a same-sex relationship is capable of rising above any personal predisposition and deciding such a case on the merits.”

However, Proposition 8 backers vowed to appeal the decision.

“The (Proposition 8) legal team obviously disagrees with (the) ruling,” attorney Charles Cooper said. “Our legal team will appeal that decision and continue our tireless efforts to defend the will of the people “… to preserve marriage as the union of a man and a woman.”