HRC Back Story

Last night on Long Island, HRC partnered with Empire State Pride Agenda, Marriage Equality New York and the New York Civil Liberties Union to host an educational forum to raise support for the legalization of same-sex marriage. The forum follows the passage of pro-marriage equality legislation in the New York State Assembly in June of 2007.

The New York State Senate is unlikely to take up the measure as the senate’s anti-equality leadership declared the bill "dead on arrival." National Field Director Marty Rouse was a panelist at the event and sent back his account:

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Marty Rouse, HRC National Field Director:

200 marriage equality supporters turned out at HRC's forum on marriage equality last night in Rockville Centre on Long Island. The room was electric as there is the awareness that New York could very well be the next state in our Union to have marriage equality.

I presented the group with a snapshot of the history of our march towards marriage equality in the United States, citing the historic roles of Hawaii (first state supreme court to accept the right of same-sex couples to marry), Vermont (first state to enact all civil unions that afford the state rights of marriage to same-sex couples), and of course, Massachusetts (the first state to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples).

There was a palpable excitement in the air as we discussed just how close New Yorkers are to winning marriage equality in the legislature -the state Assembly passed a marriage equality bill last year by a vote of 85 to 61, and Governor Eliot Spitzer is a strong supporter of the bill. The only hold-up is the state Senate, where the leadership refuses to bring the bill up for a vote. Only two seats stand in the way of a leadership change, and HRC will be working with state allies, as we did in a special election last year, to elect a fair-minded majority in the Senate. [For more on this, check out this piece at Newsday, "Gay rights activists target lawmakers for ouster"]

Last night's event was co-sponsored by the Pride Agenda, New York Civil Liberties Union, and Marriage Equality New York. Over a dozen other local groups also supported the forum, demonstrating the strong support and momentum for marriage equality in New York State.

Being born and raised on Long Island, I was particularly proud of the large and diverse turnout of the crowd. And, my mother joined me for the evening as well, making the night even more memorable. I love NY.

[Photo: Marty Rouse speaks at the opening of HRC's New Hampshire office]