Well, so much for the confidence. While gay marriage supporters thought they had the votes, in the end, the vote wasn't so close. 24-38. While several Republicans had promised supporters a vote, they didn't follow through. Not a single one voted "yes". Perhaps they lied to set up supporters of equality for a big fail. Perhaps they just got afraid of being Scozzafava'd in the end.
Interestingly, only one of the opponents spoke in opposition. The rest were cowards, refusing to explain themselves or their votes. They are afraid that video of their bigotry will harm them.
So progress is delayed, but when bigots have to do their work in the dark, and are afraid to speak openly, that's a tiny silver lining out of all this.