New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has decided not to pursue a senate amendment that would pause military discharges based on sexual orientation, gay weekly the Washington Blade reported.

Gillibrand, the freshman senator appointed by Governor David Paterson after President Obama tapped Hillary Clinton to head the State Department, signaled last week she would introduce the reform as an amendment to a Defense Department reauthorization bill.

The amendment would place an 18-month moratorium on the military gay ban, also known as “don't ask, don't tell,” the law that prescribes discharge for gay and lesbian service members who do not remain celibate or closeted.

While the measure was supported by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, Gillibrand said the bill became a non-starter after her office shopped it around.

“She's not going to pursue the moratorium amendment at this time,” Matt Canter, a Gillibrand spokesman, told the paper. “She was working for about a week to assess support among her colleagues for the measure. It does not appear that we're going to have the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.”

Gillibrand was expected to attach the amendment to the same must-pass defense spending bill that includes Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy's controversial hate crimes legislation.

A bill that would repeal the military gay ban is sponsored by Pennsylvania Representative Patrick Murphy, an Iraq veteran, in the House. Senator Kennedy is expected to sponsor the Senate version.

President Obama says he supports repeal of the law even as the administration has fired 313 gay service members, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a group that lobbies for repeal.