With pirates attacking ships off the coast of Africa, you might think you're caught in a time warp.

But no.

Governor David Paterson has drawn our attention to another present-day concern.

He introduced a bill in support of marriage equality for New Yorkers yesterday.

The State Assembly has already approved a similar version of the bill, which was submitted by former Governor Eliot Spitzer.

No one is predicting victory. The bill, advocates say, lacks enough support in the Senate where Democrats hold a slight advantage. And at least three Dems have spoken out against the bill - Senator Ruben Diaz is one of the bill's most vocal opponents.

Too, Republicans in the Senate would be needed to get the bill passed.

As writers Jeremy Peters and Sewell Chan reported in yesterday's New York Times, Paterson has inserted himself into the middle of this debate despite his low approval ratings.

Like African Americans, Jews, and women, gays have been excluded from social equality, Paterson said.

Most people by now recognize that there is a double standard. Same-sex couples can face costly legal challenges when it comes to very basic needs like shared housing, assets, and health-care decisions.

Many attorneys, realtors, and nurses have seen the intentions of same-sex couples interrupted by parents and siblings. Wills can be challenged. The couple's home can be taken away from the surviving partner. And plans for end-of-life care can be changed.

There really isn't any rational reason for denying two people in a committed relationship the legal recognition and protection that such unions deserve.

Apocalyptic predictions are always trotted out in these situations, even though they fail to materialize.

Marriage equality doesn't devalue marriage, it honors it.

It's hard to imagine why anyone, including those with strong religious views, would want people to suffer needlessly.

But who would have imagined a return of pirates to the open seas?