ST. PAUL (AP) — The Minnesota state senator who will take the lead in that chamber on a bill to legalize gay marriage says backers will wait at least a month or two into the upcoming legislative session before they start to push it hard.

Sen. Scott Dibble of Minneapolis says Wednesday that Democrats taking power at the Capitol next week plan to focus early in the session on what he called "kitchen-table issues" of improving the economy and creating jobs. But he says gay marriage backers in the Legislature want a vote in 2013.

Dibble, who is gay, says he believes allowing same-sex couples to marry is a kitchen-table issue too. Another DFL senator, John Marty, has pushed for a gay-marriage vote in 2013 but says he'll let Dibble take the lead.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

More From AM 1240 WJON