Legislative Alert: NY Marriage Bill on Agenda Next Tuesday – Call Your Senator!

Empire State Pride Agenda
November 5, 2009

“Marriage equality has been an issue Governor Paterson has long championed and we are thrilled he has called the State Senate back to Albany next Tuesday and put the marriage equality bill on the agenda. We now expect that we will get the respectful debate and vote that we’ve been waiting for since June.

There is never a wrong time or inconvenient time to debate human rights legislation because it’s always the right time. As long as a group of New Yorkers are being denied equal rights, addressing issues like marriage equality must always be a priority. Support for providing equal rights to LGBT New Yorkers has always been bipartisan, and we expect that this bill will be no different.

We look forward to hearing our lives and our families debated on the Senate floor next Tuesday. It’s now time that each of the 62 State Senators vote their conscience on this bill that has great implications for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers in all parts of the state.”

With just a few days left until November 10, we need to make sure you deliver the message to your Senator that you, as a constituent, expect them to vote on and support the bill. Call your State Senator now.

You may have already called your Senator just months, weeks or even days ago. The time to call again is NOW. Now more than ever it is important that your Senator hear from you, even if you know that they already support the bill. The only way we can drive home our message is for Senators to continually hear that our community and our allies expect nothing less than a debate and vote on this issue of equal rights. Click here to call now. With just a few clicks of your mouse, you will be patched through to your State Senator in moments at no cost to you.

We’ll continue to send updates as we hear more about plans for next week in Albany . In the meantime, don’t let this opportunity pass to call your Senator and make your voice heard. [Link]


P.S.—We are writing to you today about this exciting announcement from the Governor about marriage equality. We know that there are many other issues all of
us care about deeply—such as the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) and the Dignity For All Students Act (Dignity). Don’t think for one moment that we are not continuing our efforts to pass these bills, because our work doesn’t stop until we all have protection under the law.