Shiela Morino-Thomas, Christine Quinn and Daniel Dromm lead the Wedding March. Photos: GRCC.
Thousands united Nov. 12 in front of a Mormon temple in Midtown and marched to Columbus Circle to protest Proposition Hate, er…Proposition 8.
A new generation of activists unites via the Internet. Log on and Join the Impact.
A multimedia SAGE campaign makes LGBT elders more visible—even on New York’s subways and buses.
How will his departure affect LGBT issues in Albany?
Industry leaders powwow to raise questions about the persecution of clubland.
Anti-gay hate crimes are on the rise across the U.S.—homophobic incidents have even surfaced at a local production of play “Judy and Me.”
Spurred by a gay marriage ban in California, simultaneous protests were
held Nov. 14 across the nation. In Manhattan, 4,000 rallied at City Hall.
Next up: A Dec. 10 event called A Day Without a Gay.
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By TRENTON STRAUBE
Friday, September 12, 2008
For the fifth year, supporters of same-sex marriage equality rallied near City Hall in lower Manhattan. Once again, elected officials encouraged folks to keep up the good fight. Then, just like before, everyone lined up, received a colored umbrella then marched across the Brooklyn Bridge, creating a rainbow for LGBT equality across the iconic waterway.
But this year was different.
How? “Optimistic, optimistic, optimistic energy,” answered Wedding March organizer Cathy Morino-Thomas, of Marriage Equality New York. Energy from the election season rejuvenated interest in the event, she explained, as did history-making advancements the past year in the fight for gay nuptials (more on that later).
And one other development fuels local marriage momentum: “We have more people to join us because more people are married!” said Morino-Thomas. Indeed, several hundred turned out for the Sept. 14 event, including an unprecedented roster of state and local elected officials and hopefuls, including Peter Yacobellis from Gov. David Paterson’s office.
That this army of lovers is multiplying seems inevitable. Ontario, Canada, legalized gay marriage in 2003, with the rest of the county following two years later—and that country doesn’t require a residency to issue a license. Hundreds of New Yorkers couples have traveled north to get hitched, returning with their marriage to find that many governmental agencies and private businesses had no problems recognizing the marriages.
Though in one specific case it wasn’t honored, and the lesbian couple sued. The case was Martiniez v. County of Monroe. In February, the state’s high court ruled that New York State must honor same-sex marriages that are performed legally out of state. This ruling that lead Paterson to issue a directive in May ordering all state agencies to follow the court ruling. (A Christian legal group from Arizona challenged the directive in court, but a judge threw out the lawsuit earlier this month.)
Also this year, California’s high court ruled in favor of marriage equality; the first marriages took place June 16. And Massachusetts, which legalized gay marriage in 2004, altered its laws to allow out-of-state gay couples to marry there if it would be legal in their home state.
In short, New York State doesn’t perform legal gay marriages, but such unions are now honored. And countless couples are planning ceremonies in Massachusetts, California or Canada.
But not everyone wants to trek out of state to tie the knot. Ken Diamondstone and Joe Kopitz have been together 33 years. Marching across the Brooklyn Bridge, dressed in tuxedos, they said they’d hold out, even though Kopitz is originally from Massachusetts. “We want to get married here,” Diamondstone said. “We don’t want to be second-class citizens.”
“And we don’t want to be denied the 1,324 rights that marriage affords,” Kopitz added.
And marriage equality in New York State is closer than ever, as everyone was reminded at the Wedding March.
In June 2007, the state Assembly passed a marriage bill that had been introduced by then-governor Eliot Spitzer. The Senate has yet to move on the bill, and is unlikely to do so as long as the Republicans hold a slim majority of one seat, hence the mantra “Flip the Senate.”
“Between now and January we have a lot of elections, both national and local,” City Council Speaker Chris Quinn told the crowd. “But nothing is more important than to win back the New York State Senate.”
Another favorite topic among the wedding marchers was the presidential race. Digital artist Sandi Bachom recorded participants throughout the day for a video titled “Pray Away the Gay” (watch it on YouTube and you’ll find local activists asking Sarah to pray for them).
More than one lawmaker’s speech outside City Hall slyly alluded to teen pregnancy, community organizers and the GOP VP hopeful.
“We’ve heard a lot lately about that bridge to nowhere,” said Bob Zuckerman, a City Council candidate who hopes to become the first openly gay legislator elected in Brooklyn, at the pre-march rally. “Well, we’re going to be walking soon on that bridge to somewhere—and where that is, is marriage equality for hundreds of thousands of gays and lesbian couples here in New York State.”
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