new york state

The New York State Senate voted against a marriage equality bill that Governor David Paterson unequivocally supported. The state stood to become the sixth to afford lesbian and gay couples the right to marry. New York City Council Speaker and out lesbian Christine Quinn issued a statement following the disappointing vote.

The New York state Senate has just voted to pass the marriage equality bill! In a historic vote with far-reaching implications, the New York State Senate passed the marriage equality bill Friday, making New York the sixth and most populous state in addition to Washington, D.C., to offer civil marriage for lesbian and gay couples.

It's been 30 days since the New York State Senate passed the marriage equality bill, making New York the sixth and most populous state in the union to offer civil marriage for same-sex couples. The law went into effect yesterday, and here is a glimpse of the jubilant last moment in a long struggle for the Empire State.

In a new video supporting lesbian and gay rights actress Rosie Perez tells New York state senator Ruben Diaz Sr. that his antigay stances do not reflect the attitudes of the majority of New York's Latinos.

Caroline Kennedy will seek to fill Hillary Clinton’s New York Senate Seat when Clinton vacates it to become Secretary of State, the New York Times reported Monday.

The New Yorkers United for Marriage coalition continues to expand, with the League of Women Voters of New York State becoming the latest group to announce their participation in the effort to pass marriage equality this spring. “The time to allow loving and committed couples to marry is long overdue, and we are thrilled to lend our support to this effort,” said Betsey Swan, president of the League of Women Voters of New York State.

Opponents of marriage equality are pursuing last-minute efforts to stop the growing momentum for a bill that could receive a vote in the New York state legislature this week.

New York state attorney general Eric Schneiderman and American Foundation for Equality Rights attorney Ted Olson joined forces for an op-ed in which they dismissed chatter about a civil unions “compromise” for the state.

New Yorkers are appropriately dressed and poised to tie the knot assuming that they are at some point allowed to do so by the “powers that be.” Protests were held yesterday in New York City, Rochester, Albany, and Buffalo to remind the state of New York’s lawmakers that the LGBT population was not going to be quiet until they were afforded equal marriage protections under the law.

The voters in seven states have chosen candidates for the ballot in November. Among winners are Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell, Republican from Delaware senate candidate, New York political new-comer Republican Carl Paladino and Democrat Andrew Cuomo for governor, 40 year veteran Rep. Charlie Rangel from New York. 

Ruben Díaz Sr., the most outspoken opponent of marriage equality in the New York state senate, is the subject of a gay erotica contest that calls for entries to “fuck Ruben Díaz.” The New York Observer reports on the contest, called Fuck Ruben Díaz: Gay Erotica Featuring NYC’s Number One Bigot!, for entries of erotica that feature the Democratic state senator from the Bronx. Winning submissions will be read in Brooklyn on June 11.

Defeated opponents of marriage equality ostensibly spent Friday evening avoiding New York City's West Village, licking their wounds, and releasing statements on just how doomed the Empire State is following a historic victory for LGBT rights (“Passage of Same-Sex Marriag [sic] Bill is a Disaster for the Future," one headline on the Conservative Party of New York State's website reads). The National Organization for Marriage went a step further in announcing a reported minimum $2 million campaign in the 2012 election cycle to "hold politicians accountable for their vote" in hopes of "overturning same-sex marriage in New York."

New York state has expanded the rights for gay and lesbian parents. New York's highest court ruled in two cases Tuesday that nonbiological parents involved in same-sex relationships have rights similar to those of biological parents. In one case, the court ruled unanimously that a woman can seek visitation rights from her former partner because she is a legal parent, even though she is not the child's biological mother. "In many ways this is a real breakthrough in New York."

Out lesbian Cynthia Nixon is fighting back! Nixon recorded a video in support of Fight Back NY, targeting New York state senators who voted against marriage equality in the Big Apple. In the video, Nixon says: "I am a lifelong New Yorker but I don't have the rights that most of my friends and neighbors do. I'm engaged to the woman I love, but on December 2, the New York State Senate voted against my right to marry her." Watch the video here. 

Students in New York State who are bullied in schools will have a little more protection after Gov. David Paterson signed the Dignity for All Students Act into law Wednesday.

Last week certainly was a political week for the record books. Barack Obama is now our president. Kirsten Gillibrand is now New York's junior Senator, filling Sec. of State Hillary Clinton's Seat. And, Joe Bruno? He's on his way to becoming a footnote in New York's political history.

As Election Day approaches, Cynthia Nixon reviews the progress of Fight Back New York, the PAC dedicated to defeating New York state senators who voted against the marriage equality bill last year. Nixon reviews the celebrities who have contributed videos for Fight Back New York in the past year to fight for the right for lesbians and gays to marry, including Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Rosie Perez, Alec Baldwin, and Whoopi Goldberg. She also reminds viewers of recent successes at the ballot box.