This year, we've already had our historic first gay cat marriage in NYC. And if Bill and Chelsea Clinton have any say on the matter, we'll be getting gay human marriage equality very soon as well! The two Clintons both came out strongly in favor of gay marriage yesterday: “For more than a century, our Statue of Liberty has welcomed all kinds of people from all over the world yearning to be free. In the 21st century, I believe New York’s welcome must include marriage equality,” Bill Clinton said in a statement released by the Human Rights Campaign.
Clinton wrote that legalizing same-sex marriage was part of the nation's "permanent mission" to become a more perfect union: "That mission has inspired and empowered us to extend rights to people previously denied them." Meanwhile, his daughter Chelsea was volunteering in midtown at a phone bank organized by New Yorkers United for Marriage, urging people to ask their state senators to support gay marriage if it comes up for a vote. “I was very grateful that my father gave me yet another reason to be proud. It was the happiest day of my life to marry my best friend, and I believe every New Yorker should have that right,”she told the group. We assume her husband was off skiing at the time.
Manhattan Senator Thomas Duane said that Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is optimistic that marriage equality will pass this year, is having "a lot of success in Albany" gaining momentum to approve it when it eventually goes to vote. At least one Bronx state Senator won't be helping though: state Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. called for a boycott of Spanish-language newspaper "El Diario" because it backs gay marriage. He also plans a May 15th rally against legalizing same-sex marriage. But hey, what can you expect from someone who has defended a certain angry former Bronxchester State Senator?
