NEW YORK: Sen. Ruben Diaz Denounces Gov. Cuomo For Gay Marriage Push

"I am deeply offended that during this Holy Week, which is a most sacred time to millions of New Yorkers, Governor Andrew Cuomo is working hard to mobilize elected officials to legalize homosexual marriage in New York. We all know that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s budget, which was done in haste to beat the clock, will cause tremendous suffering to countless New Yorkers – especially Black and Hispanic communities. His cuts will hurt students, senior citizens, the sick, the poor and the needy. Now Governor Cuomo is targeting communities of faith in an effort to redefine marriage. The most basic tenets of New York’s largest faith communities include defining marriage as between one man and one woman. These religions that cherish these values include Catholic, Christian, Jewish and Muslim." - Anti-gay New York state Sen. Ruben Diaz, in a statement issued yesterday.

RELATED: In 2009 over 10,000 Hispanic evangelicals protested against same-sex marriage in Manhattan. Organized by Diaz, it was the largest such anti-gay rally in the history of the state.

NEW YORK: Gay Rights Group Unite On Concentrated Push For Marriage

A coalition of LGBT rights group has formed to make a concentrated push for marriage equality in New York state. Via press release:

New Yorkers United for Marriage, an unprecedented alliance that includes Empire State Pride Agenda, Freedom to M arry, Human Rights Campaign and Marriage Equality New York will build on the growing momentum for marriage and groundwork already laid across the state - with the goal of enacting a bill before the end of the current legislative session. "Today, we stand closer than ever to allowing all loving, committed couples to legally marry here in New York," said Ross Levi, Executive Director of the Empire State Pride Agenda. "We've sent a loud and clear message during the last two years that supporting the LGBT community isn't just the right thing to do, but it's also good politics, and this unprecedented coalition will amplify that message.”

The New York Times reports that the coalition is being led by the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Under the supervision of the governor’s staff, the groups intend to raise more than $1 million for a media blitz, hire a powerful political consultant close to the Cuomo administration and deploy field organizers to the districts of more than a dozen key lawmakers to drum up support, according to interviews with those involved in the effort. In contrast to their failed drive for a marriage bill two years ago, the advocates envision a short, disciplined and intense run-up to a vote in the State Legislature, raising the prospect that gay couples may be allowed to wed in New York by early summer. Their overriding aim: avoid the mistakes and miscommunications of 2009, when those lobbying for same-sex marriage sent conflicting messages, misjudged the opposition and won far fewer votes than they had predicted. After passing in the Assembly, the bill was defeated in the Senate, 38 to 24.

NEW YORK CITY: Five Queer Rising Activists Arrested In Traffic Blockade

Despite New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's vehement support for marriage equality and his recent promise for a "full court press" on the issue in the state Senate, activists from Queer Rising today stopped traffic outside of Cuomo's Manhattan office. Via press release:

Five people have been arrested for blocking rush-hour traffic just outside Governor Cuomo's Manhattan office, at East 41 Street and 3rd Avenue. The Queer Rising members unfurled a 75-foot banner that reads, “Marriage Equality NOW! Call Cuomo: 518-474-8390!!!” Five members of Queer Rising members handcuffed and chained themselves in the middle of the street and refused to leave the demonstration. Those arrested were: Natasha Dillon (26, lesbian activist); Kevin Donohue (51, gay Jewish activist); Melissa Kleckner (31, straight ally); Ali Lozano (20, lesbian student activist); Robert Moore (30, gay Mormon activist).

A separate action was staged simultaneously at Grand Central Terminal in which ten drag queens officiated mock same-sex weddings.

NEW YORK CITY: Five Queer Rising Activists Arrested In Traffic Blockade

Despite New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's vehement support for marriage equality and his recent promise for a "full court press" on the issue in the state Senate, activists from Queer Rising today stopped traffic outside of Cuomo's Manhattan office. Via press release:

Five people have been arrested for blocking rush-hour traffic just outside Governor Cuomo's Manhattan office, at East 41 Street and 3rd Avenue. The Queer Rising members unfurled a 75-foot banner that reads, “Marriage Equality NOW! Call Cuomo: 518-474-8390!!!” Five members of Queer Rising members handcuffed and chained themselves in the middle of the street and refused to leave the demonstration. Those arrested were: Natasha Dillon (26, lesbian activist); Kevin Donohue (51, gay Jewish activist); Melissa Kleckner (31, straight ally); Ali Lozano (20, lesbian student activist); Robert Moore (30, gay Mormon activist).

A separate action was staged simultaneously at Grand Central Terminal in which ten drag queens officiated mock same-sex weddings.

Ali Forney Center Begs NY Gov. Cuomo: Don't Send Our Kids Back To The Streets

As the New York state budget inches closer to a major cut in funding for homeless youth shelters, today Ali Forney Center executive director Carl Siciliano posts a blistering letter to the governor in Gay City News. An excerpt:

Mr. Governor, I invite you to stop into one of our youth shelters. Maybe you can explain to our kids why they should be turned out of their beds and put in the street so you can give tax breaks to millionaires, to paraphrase your own father in his address at the 1984 Democratic Convention. Maybe you could explain how they are supposed to survive alone on the streets at night. I don’t have an answer for them, and their pain and confusion are palpable. Most of our clients are the most vulnerable LGBT youth in the community, rejected and abused by parents who cannot accept having gay children, discarded and thrown out of their homes simply for being LGBT. It is inexplicable how you –– a longtime ally to the gay community and champion of civil rights for LGBT adults, who has repeatedly made a commitment to marriage equality in New York –– can have so little concern for the safety and welfare of these young people.

Read Siciliano's letter in full.

TAKE ACTION: Sign Change.org's petition to Cuomo. You need not be a New York resident to sign. Call today: Governor Andrew Cuomo (518) 474-8390. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (518) 455-3791. Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (518) 455-3171.

Guest Post - Carl Siciliano

The Ali Forney Center has been joined by a wonderful ally in the effort to prevent Governor Andrew Cuomo's proposal to eliminate funding for homeless youth shelters in New York State. Change.org has taken on the struggle to protect LGBT youth from the devastating impact of Cuomo's plan and has posted this petition on their homepage and on their gay rights page, demanding that funds for youth shelters be restored in full.

I am reaching out to our community and pleading that we sign this, and make every effort to have our friends sign it as well. I think it is of critical importance that we send our political leaders a strong message that the LGBT community will stand up for its most hurt and violated youth. That we care their lives and their safety.

It is terrible to see the fear and anxiety that these proposals provoke in our kids. After going through the horror of being discarded by families who could not accept having LGBT kids, and then enduring the hell of struggling to survive on the streets, they have been through more suffering in their young lives than anyone should have to endure. When they are finally provided a home where they feel loved and supported, only to hear that it might shut down because of some politician's decision, it frightens them terribly.

Please help us protect them. Please let Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature know that the LGBT Community cares deeply about the safety of it's most vulnerable children.

Carl Siciliano, Executive Director, Ali Forney Center

Gov. Cuomo: Close NYC's Nuclear Plant

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo has long been an opponent of Indian Point, the aging nuclear power plant just 20 minutes north of New York City. Yesterday he called for the plant's permanent closure in light of the disaster in Japan.

"The suggestion is that of all the [104] power plants across the country, that the Indian Point power plant is most susceptible to an earthquake because Reactor No. 3 is on a fault [line]," Cuomo said as nuclear meltdown fears deepened in Japan. "It should be closed. This plant in this proximity to the city was never a good risk." Cuomo, who has long opposed the plant, spoke after new data from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission show the Hudson River plant was the most vulnerable to a quake. It also came about two weeks after a judge let the Indian Point nuke plant - just 24 miles north of the Bronx - cut back on meltdown prevention. In its 40-year history, Indian Point has suffered radiation leaks, useless warning sirens, transformer explosions and oil spills.

Twenty million people live within 50 miles of Indian Point. Its license to operate expires in 2013.

Homeless Gay Kid Pleads With NY Gov. Cuomo: Please Don't Cut Our Funding

Last night I got a call from Ali Forney Center founder Carl Siciliano, who alerted me that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is planning to completely end state funding for homeless youth shelters. Carl forwards us the below letter from AFC resident Raciel Castillo, pictured at left.

Governor Cuomo, I understand that you intend to end the funding from New York State to support youth shelter beds. This means that on July 1st, many of us will be put out of our shelter beds and be thrown out to the streets. I want you to understand that this will put our lives at risk.

It is hard to be a homeless kid, having nowhere to stay and feeling alone and unwanted. For me the worst part was feeling hopeless. I know a bunch of homeless gay kids who have told me that they considered suicide. People think it is just because of bullying in schools, but it is also because of being rejected by our families and forced to make it on the streets. One of my friends tried to throw herself in front of a subway. She said she was tired of being invisible. Thank god some of my friends were able to hold her back.

Governor Cuomo, I want you to understand how terrible things are for homeless kids. I want you to understand how mean and reckless it is to cut support for kids out on the streets. I have lots of friends who have nowhere safe to sleep. I know some who have to prostitute themselves just to have a place to sleep. Kids get beat up and hurt on the streets. The Ali Forney Center is named after a kid who was murdered on the streets. Too many of us were thrown out by parents who refuse to care about us. Please Governor Cuomo, don't throw us away also.

TAKE ACTION: Please consider adding your name to this letter urging Cuomo to maintain this funding. You need not be a New York resident to raise your voice, because so many of New York City's homeless kids flee here from other states. Carl Siciliano notes that this is a quite urgent situation, as portions of the state budget may be finalized this week.

NEW YORK: Marriage Activists Buoyed After Meeting With Governor Cuomo

New York marriage equality activists say they have renewed hope after yesterday's private meeting with Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Paul Schindler reports at Gay City News:

“I’ve been to lots of meetings where presidents or governors call people in to say that they’re with them, and this one was really extraordinary,” said Richard Socarides, the executive director of Equality Matters, a new LGBT-focused effort of the progressive watchdog Media Matters. During the Clinton administration, Socarides, an attorney, was the White House liaison to the LGBT community. “What was clear to me from the meeting is that the governor is very committed to this,” Socarides continued. “He is prepared to do what it takes to get it done. He’s going to work on it and his team is going to work on it as soon as they get the budget done.” Acknowledging that Cuomo did not put it in so many words, Socarides said if the budget is completed on or close to the April 1 deadline, with both Senate Republicans and Assembly Democrats reasonably content about that process, “I think he will turn to this, and it will be his top priority.” Socarides was not alone in his glowing assessment. Another participant, who did not wish to be identified, said, “The governor is really, really focused on this. He is putting the smartest people in his office on it.”

The New York Assembly has approved same-sex marriage three times and would doubtlessly do so again. The problem, as always, is in the state Senate, where even when Democrats held a slim majority, marriage failed. Today the GOP holds a 32-30 lead, meaning at least five or six GOP votes are needed to overcome the remaining traitorous Democrats. How the governor intends to achieve that is unclear.

NY Gov. Cuomo To "Push For Marriage"

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday that he will ask the state legislature to take up the issue of same-sex marriage before its current session ends this June.

His pledge was greeted warmly by gay-rights activists, who have waited with some uncertainty to see whether Mr. Cuomo, faced with a daunting battle over the budget, would make a charged social issue like legalizing same-sex marriage a priority. Legislation to do that has repeatedly passed the State Assembly, which is dominated by Democrats. But in December 2009, it failed in the State Senate, which was then also controlled by Democrats, by a vote of 38 to 24, an unexpectedly wide margin. It is not immediately obvious how the legislation would fare markedly better this year, given that the composition of the Senate, which is now controlled by Republicans, has not changed significantly since the last vote.

GOP state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos says that he won't obstruct a vote on same-sex marriage, although his spokesman says the GOP has "more pressing issues" to consider.

UnMarriage Until Gay Marriage

Popular performance artist Rev. Billy and his Church of Life After Shopping will stage a mass un-wedding in Central Park this Sunday.

Straight, married supporters of same sex marriage will un-marry in a mass ritual at New York City's Bethesda Angel this Valentine's Day weekend, sending a strong message to New York State's leadership for the for the second year in a row and holding Gov Cuomo to his recent campaign promise:“I want to be the governor who signs the law that makes equality a reality in the state of New York.” The mass ritual will be administered by Reverend Billy, an officiant of the rites of marriage in the City of New York. The massive "unwedding," in the style of Reverend Moon's mass weddings, will be accompanied by music and love songs and a choral anthem called "I Do, I Do".

Rev. Billy's group marched in front of us in last year's NYC Pride Parade and he was so tickled by the name of this here website thingy that he shouted it repeatedly from his megaphone. I do believe I'll be at the Bethesda Fountain this Sunday.

NEW YORK: Sen. Thomas Duane To Introduce Marriage Equality Bill

Openly gay New York state Sen. Thomas Duane says that he will introduce a marriage equality bill with the aim of forcing a vote by this June.

"I think everyone is aware that we have to make the lives of New Yorkers better in every way - economically, as well as to provide equality to New York families," Duane said Monday. Although a similar bill was soundly defeated in the Senate in 2009, Duane and other supporters believe Gov. Cuomo's support can finally tilt the political landscape. Cuomo, whose favorable rating reached a soaring 70% in this week's Siena poll, called for the legalization of gay marriage in his State of the State address earlier this month. "I think the governor is starting in a strong political place with the people on his side and the wind at his back," said Ross Levi, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda. "That is helpful."

Duane faces a tough, tough battle. The GOP remains in control of the New York Senate and anti-gay Democrats such as Sen. Ruben Diaz continue to vow to thwart same-sex marriage. Led by openly gay Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell, the state Assembly has approved marriage equality several times and would easily do so again.

RELATED: In what some consider a signal of his intent to force through same-sex marriage, this week Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed Erik Bottcher to the newly created cabinet post of Special Assistant for Community Affairs.

NY MARRIAGE SIGNAL? Gov. Cuomo Appoints Eric Bottcher To Cabinet Post

In a move that some say may signal a renewed push for marriage equality, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has hired Eric Bottcher to fill the newly created cabinet post of Special Assistant for Community Affairs. Previously, the openly gay Bottcher served as NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn's LGBT community liaison. The NY Daily News weighs on what Bottcher's appointment may mean.

The historically liberal Cuomo has to walk a tightrope on gay marriage: If he pushes it ahead of economic issues in the current climate, he could develop an "Obama Problem" of the kind that forced the President's course correction from a focus on health care reform to "jobs, jobs, jobs." On the other hand, the new governor risks angering his left-leaning base if he allows a civil rights issue like this one to languish indefinitely. Ross Levi, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, argues there is "a clear and credible path" to legalizing same-sex marriage as soon as this year. Levi points to polls showing New Yorkers increasingly supportive of legalization and a study by former city Controller Bill Thompson that says the lack of legal gay marriage costs New York money. The economic impact argument may influence some moderate or conservative lawmakers who are socially squeamish about gays marrying, he says.
What exact role Bottcher - whose statewide work won't be limited to LGBT issues - and Cuomo play in this battle remains to be seen.

NEW YORK: Gov. Andrew Cuomo Off To Promising Start On LGBT Rights

The Empire State Pride Agenda notes via press release that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is off to a promising start regarding LGBT rights and today mentioned marriage equality in his first State Of The State address. Among Cuomo's first actions since assuming office are the continuance of former Gov. David Paterson's executive order protecting state employees from gender identity discrimination. Additionally, Cuomo has created a new cabinet level position, Deputy Secretary for Civil Rights, and appointed an openly gay man to the post.

Tweet Of The Day - Fake Andrew Cuomo

Within hours of his swearing in, fake Twitter accounts for NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo began to pop up. The Village Voice reports that Cuomo's staffers had failed to register the Twitter user name listed on the official state website for the governor's office, an oversight that resulted in a wee bit of hilarity over the weekend.