The decision from the highest court in the state to uphold the ban on gay marriage will throw the issue into the political sphere, forcing New York lawmakers to pick sides.

The 4–2 ruling by the Court of Appeals,which found that current state law does not require cities to recognize gay marriage, came on the same day the top court in Georgia made a similar ruling.

Gay marriage proponents, who for more than two years have been waiting on the result of four lawsuits filed by a total of 44 same-sex couples, have already started redirecting their energy to the state capitol in Albany. That is now the address for making marriage between same-sex couples legal in New York.

At a rally last night in the West Village, the senior attorney for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Susan Sommer, told about 400 people that the fight was not over.

“They did not listen, but you know who will listen: the New York state Legislature,” said Ms. Sommer, who argued the case on behalf of five New York City couples.

With Governor Pataki out of office in just a few months, the issue is expected to become a flash point in the race to replace him. And, candidates statewide who before could dodge questions about their views on the issue will now have to stake out clear positions, political analysts said.

“It’s put up or shut up time in Albany on the gay marriage issue,” the executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, Alan Van Capelle, said. “Gay people are told lots of times by their elected officials that they are our friends. We are going to have a very strict definition of a friend and it’s not going to be enough to say you support marriage equality. You’re actually going to have to do something to help make it a reality.”

The issue has been a tricky one for Mayor Bloomberg and the state attorney general, Eliot Spitzer. Mr. Spitzer is running as a Democrat for governor and is the only major candidate for that office in New York who supports gay marriage. Both Messrs. Spitzer and Bloomberg directed their offices to argue against the same-sex couples in court, saying current law did not allow it. They each say, however, that they will push for a new law to allow gay couples to wed.

Mr. Spitzer reiterated that support yesterday at three campaign events on Long Island. A spokeswoman for the candidate, Christine Anderson, said Mr. Spitzer had not reviewed the full ruling because he was on the road with only a Blackberry, but will propose legislation to legalize gay marriage if elected.

Another Democrat running for governor,Thomas Suozzi, who is relying on more moderate suburban voters, does not support gay marriage. He said yesterday that lawmakers should now find “other ways” to provide gays and lesbians with economic and legal protections. Republican candidate John Faso said he is committed to keeping marriage between a man and woman. “Same-sex marriage runs contrary to the religious traditions of millions of New Yorkers of all faiths,” Mr. Faso said.

With the ruling shifting the fate of gay marriage to Albany, all three of those candidates will likely be forced to talk more about their positions when barnstorming across the state. That could help them woo their political bases, but might alienate voters who disagree with them.

One political analyst, Hank Sheinkopf, said the state government won’t tackle the issue until a new governor is installed. That governor will have to work with the Democratic-led Assembly and the Republican-controlled Senate, unless the GOP loses its majority in the upper house.

The majority leader in the Senate, Joseph Bruno, praised the court ruling yesterday and reiterated his support for heterosexual marriage.The speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, was non-committal.

A spokesman for the speaker, Brian Franke, said Mr. Silver, a Democrat, thinks it’s “premature to talk about the matter” before he consults with his members.

“It’s going to be hard for a lot of people to duck giving a direct answer,” Mr. Sheinkopf said. “This is where the rubber hits the road. Those who said they would support same-sex marriage are going to be lobbied hard to take the next step and force legislation.”

Mr. Silver is an Orthodox Jew; one of the state’s largest Orthodox Jewish groups, the Agudath Israel of America, yesterday hailed the Court of Appeals for “refusing to go along with the Massachusetts Supreme Court’s radical redefinition of marriage.” Another Orthodox Jewish group, the Rabbinical Council of America, yesterday issued a statement objecting to allowing a gay pride parade to take place in Jerusalem.

Another religious group lined up against gay marriage would be Catholics; a spokesman for the archdiocese of New York, Joseph Zwilling, said yesterday, “We believe marriage is between a man and a woman and are grateful the court’s ruling reflected that.”

An Albany political analyst, Alan Chartock, said while Mr. Bruno is against same-sex marriage the fear of losing his slim majority could convince him to cut a deal and compromise on the issue.

In the city,Mr.Bloomberg — who was criticized by gay activists for appealing a lower court same-sex marriage victory last year — said he has started to “work on a strategy” with the gay community to lobby Albany.

One question is how much muscle he uses in this fight — particularly after he orchestrated an aggressive and successful campaign to win more than $6 billion in education money from Albany earlier this year.

The speaker of the City Council, Christine Quinn, a lesbian, said yesterday’s ruling was a setback, not a defeat.

“I don’t know whether it will take one legislative session, or two legislative sessions, or 10 legislative sessions,” she said.

She said that had the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of same-sex marriage yesterday, she and her partner, Kim, would have married.

A state Senator from Manhattan, Thomas Duane, who is also gay, criticized Messrs. Bloomberg and Spitzer for waging a court battle, but said he hoped they would use “as much political capital as needed” in Albany.

Mr. Duane said he and his partner of 14 years “were waiting for the court to make its big decision before we made ours.”