ALBANY â€" The national Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit Tuesday to halt Gov. David Paterson's order issued last month to require state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages from other states and countries.

The group argues that Paterson does not have the unilateral right to provide equal benefits to same-sex married couples, saying that the state would need to adopt a law that recognizes same-sex marriages in New York.

"The governor should respect New York's marriage laws over the laws of foreign jurisdictions," said Brian Raum, the defense fund's lawyer. "The governor has no authority to issue directives which conflict with New York's public policy. His actions are an assault on the democratic process."

Paterson argued that he has the legal right to make the move after a court case in Monroe County found that a gay couple had the right to equal benefits from the county. He said he would be violating state law if he didn't extend the benefits to state employees.

"We have not had a chance to review the lawsuit, but we remain confident in the directive from our counsel's office," said Paterson spokeswoman Erin Duggan.

Lawyers for the Alliance Defense Fund, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., said they want the courts this week to put a stay on Paterson's directive. No court date has been scheduled, however; the suit was filed in state Supreme Court in New York City.

Several lawmakers joined the suit, including Assemblyman Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, Ontario County; Assemblyman Daniel Burling, R-Warsaw, Wyoming County; Assembly Republican Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady; Sen. Marty Golden, R-Brooklyn; and Serphin Maltese, R-Queens. Other plaintiffs include Duane Motley of Spencerport, who heads New Yorkers For Constitutional Freedoms, and Conservative Party chairman Michael Long.

On May 14, Paterson issued an executive directive ordering all state agencies to review their policies "to ensure that terms such as 'spouse,' 'husband' and 'wife' are construed in a manner that encompasses legal same-sex marriages."

The directive gives same-sex married couples the same rights as heterosexual couples, even though New York doesn't allow for same-sex marriages. The lawsuit claims that Paterson overstepped his bounds.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo told reporters Tuesday that he will defend the state in the case, and said he personally supports same-sex marriage.

"It is the law," he said of the state's need to allow for same-sex marriage rights in New York because of the Monroe County case, in which Cuomo defended the state.

In that case, Patricia Martinez, an employee of Monroe Community College, sued after the school refused to provide health insurance for her partner, whom she legally married in Canada.

Sen. Thomas Duane, D-Manhattan, the senate's first openly gay and first openly HIV-positive member, called the suit "a press-release lawsuit."

"On the merits, what Gov. Paterson did is absolutely the right thing â€" legally, morally, ethically in every way."

Burling countered, however, that "the governor should not rule the state by decree without the voice of the people's representatives in the state Legislature."