Last night hundreds of New Yorkers met in Union Square to protest the 38-24 vote by the NY State Senate on marriage equality. While there was a profound sadness and anger that hung over the crowd, I could not help but notice that no one felt defeated. Not one person I spoke to in the crowd or one of the many speakers delivered a message of defeat, but instead it there was almost a sense of a battle cry for 2010. Governor Paterson once again was on hand to show his support and lend his office to this fight. In his speech he referenced the Dred Scott decision that devastated the civil rights movement, but reminded the crowd that we don’t accept defeat and we march onward to victory.
Many people talked about the twenty-four Senators who bravely stood up and voted YES on the marriage bill. People referenced over and over again the heart felt word of Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson, Senator Eric Adams, Senator Diane Savino, and all the men and women who stood up and spoke about equality. These twenty-four people deserve not only our gratitude, but our support in the future because many people will want to attack these Senators because they voted YES. It was clear last night in Union Square that we will not let these Senators fight this fight alone. While we are disappointed, tired, and angry but the one thing we are not is defeated.
Please sign our petition to make sure that the twenty-four Senators that did the right thing on Dec 2 know they made the right decision.
The Human Rights Campaign's perspective on the news, issues and events affecting the every day lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people across the country.
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