Same-Sex Marriage: New Yorkers United For Marriage Praise Bloomberg Speech

Via a press release:

 

New Yorkers United for Marriage today issued the following statements on Mayor Bloomberg’s speech encouraging the State Legislature to pass marriage equality legislation.

 

“As somebody who has worked for and known Mayor Bloomberg personally for many years, I know first-hand not only how important this issue is to him, but how committed he is to seeing that all loving couples are able to marry,” said Brian Ellner, Senior Strategist at the Human Rights Campaign. “With the steadfast support of the mayor, Gov. Cuomo and a solid majority of New Yorkers, we’re confident that marriage equality will be the law of the land come the end of June.”

 

“The people of New York City can count on knowing exactly where their mayor stands on issues – and Mayor Bloomberg has been an outspoken supporter for opening marriage in New York to loving, committed lesbian and gay couples,” said Ross D. Levi, Executive Director of the Empire State Pride Agenda. “We appreciate that the Mayor has travelled to Albany to speak directly with the legislators, has made a personal financial commitment to support this effort, and is yet again publicly renewing his commitment to marriage equality.”

 

“Mayor Bloomberg’s strong support for marriage equality legislation adds to the long list of elected officials across party lines who have called on legislators to give all loving and committed couples the ability to marry,” said Gregory T. Angelo, Chairman of Log Cabin Republicans of New York State. “With polls showing a strong majority of New Yorkers supporting marriage equality, we are hopeful that Mayor Bloomberg’s statements will encourage Republicans — and all New York legislators — to be on the right side of history next month.”

 

“Loving and committed same-sex couples have waited long enough for the freedom to marry the person they love,” said Cathy Marino-Thomas, Board President for Marriage Equality New York. “ Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Cuomo have shown great leadership on this issue, and with their help, we hope the wait is almost over.”

“Recent polls have consistently shown that a super-majority of New Yorkers agree with Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Cuomo that every New Yorker in a loving and committed couple should have the freedom to marry the person they love,” said Evan Wolfson, founder and President of Freedom to Marry. “It is time that legislators in Albany do the right — and popular — thing and make this a reality.”

New Yorkers United for Marriage is a coalition of leading New York LGBT rights organizations fighting so that all couples in New York State have the freedom to marry the person they love.

The Empire State Pride Agenda is the statewide civil rights and advocacy group committed to achieving full equality and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) New Yorkers and our families. For twenty years we have been educating policymakers, elected officials and the public, building coalitions and mobilizing allies, lobbying government officials, administering a Political Action Committee, and organizing and empowering the LGBT community.

Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage nationwide. We are pursuing our Roadmap to Victory by working to win the freedom to marry in more states, grow the national majority for marriage, and end federal marriage discrimination. We partner with individuals and organizations across the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the protections, responsibilities, and commitment that marriage brings.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

Marriage Equality New York (MENY) is a grassroots, volunteer based, single-issue organization dedicated to securing the right for all New Yorkers to enter into legally recognized civil marriages. With local chapters throughout New York State, MENY is leading the fight for equality, helping educate local and state politicians and candidates to support equal marriage rights legislation.

Log Cabin Republicans is the nation’s only organization of Republicans who support fairness, freedom and equality for gay and lesbian Americans. Log Cabin has state and local chapters nationwide, a full-time office in Washington, D.C., a federal political action committee and state political action committees.