When New York's current lieutenant governor, David Paterson, is sworn in as the for-real governor (the state's 55th), he will continue to crusade for gay rights. He has said, "One of the reasons we need same-sex marriage is because the statistics for heterosexual marriage are so bad; that might be a way to upgrade some of the success rates." Paterson will be New York's first black governor and its first legally blind governor. Fingers crossed that Eliot Spitzer will be that state's last illegally blind governor.