Bloomberg and Quinn on Same Sex Marriage
December 2nd, 2009
Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the defeat of same sex marriage in the State Senate:
“I’ve been urging the State Senate to stand up and be counted on an issue of importance to me and millions of other New Yorkers: marriage equality. Although I’m deeply disappointed with today’s result, and know that the sense of anguish and frustration is even more pronounced among gay and lesbian New Yorkers, at least we now know where individual legislators stand. And so now, we begin a new effort to secure the additional votes needed to pass this bill. I want to thank the leaders of the State Senate finally bringing this bill to the floor for a vote and I applaud the 24 senators who courageously and compassionately voted ‘yes.’ Historic change does not come easily, but this vote was a crucial step that, I believe, will ultimately lead the State to extend full marriage rights to all couples.”
From Christine Quinn, the City Council’s first openly gay speaker:
By Courtney Gross on December 2, 2009, 6:19 pm“Today the New York State Senate rejected an opportunity to declare that all citizens in New York are equal. The depth of sadness that I and many New Yorkers feel today is difficult to express. This is a loss for every family in New York. This is a loss for every Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender New Yorker.
“I want to thank Senator Tom Duane, Senator Sampson and the rest of the Senate leadership for bringing this issue to a vote on the Senate floor. I applaud them for their dogged leadership on this issue.
“I also applaud every Senator who voted in favor of this civil rights bill. Each of them stood up today and declared that all people should be equal and nobody should be treated differently. I thank all the Senators who spoke so movingly on the Senate floor. I want to deeply thank the advocates who have worked so long and so hard on this issue.“Today is not, however, by any means, the end of the fight for same-sex marriage in New York State. We will continue to work and fight for equal rights, and if anything our efforts will only be made all the stronger by today’s vote.
“My partner and I will are not able to legally marry in New York State. My same-sex neighbors and constituents are not able to legally marry in New York State. But we will continue to work, to fight and to educate. We will continue to support those amazing advocates who spend every day fighting for LGBT New Yorkers equal rights. We will not accept defeat and we will not stop fighting until all New Yorkers are treated equally. I sincerely believe that some day LGBT New Yorkers will be able to legally marry.”
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