public attention until weeks after the directive was given. At that time, the governor's decision provoked public reaction on both sides of the issue. While Paterson's directive received widespread approval from same-sex marriage supporters, it was met with criticism from conservative legislators and from same-sex marriage opponents, one of whom referred to the directive as Paterson's "first major blunder" as governor. Then-Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and others accused Paterson of having overstepped his bounds and usurped the authority of the legislature. Paterson reportedly described same-sex marriage as "beautiful," and contended that his decision was "the right thing to do"; the governor was enthusiastically cheered when he attended the 2008 gay pride parade in Manhattan. On June 3, 2008, a lawsuit was filed by the Alliance Defense Fund challenging the governor's directive. On September 2, 2008, Justice Lucy A. Billings of the State Supreme Court in the Bronx issued a decision that Paterson acted within his powers when he required state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages from outside New York State. In her dismissal of the Alliance Defense Fund suit, Justice Billings found that the governor's order was consistent with state laws on the recognition of marriages from outside the state. In April 2009, it was revealed that Paterson would propose legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in New York. Paterson later tapped former Senate Majority Leader and former political foe Joseph Bruno to support same-sex marriage in Albany. On December 2, 2009, same-sex marriage legislation was "overwhelmingly" defeated on the floor of the New York State Senate by a vote of 24 to 38; no Republican voted yes, eight Democrats voted no. The Daily News described the defeat as a "major blow", while The New York Times stated that the defeat "all but ensures that the issue is dead in New York until at least 2011, when a new Legislature will be installed." In late 2010, before the January 2011 expiration of his term as governor, Paterson reached out to members of the New York State Senate in an attempt to gauge support for the passage of same-sex marriage legislation during a lame-duck session of the Legislature; however, the governor came to the conclusion that passage of the bill during the lame-duck session was not feasible. When asked what would have to occur for same-sex marriage to be legalized in New York, Paterson responded, "Get rid of the lobbyists," and