Statement from William C. Thompson, On The Passage of New York’s Marriage Equality Legislation

“History will define today as a pivotal moment in the fight for equal rights for all.

I applaud Governor Cuomo, the State Senators and Assembly Members who recognized the tenor of the times and heard their constituents' voices, and the LGBT advocates and activists and supporters who served on the front lines of this long-fought battle to ensure equality for all.

Today is long overdue. The passage of time since marriage equality was unsuccessfully introduced a year ago has yielded more open minds and open hearts. I commend our leaders for employing not only common sense but courage, and a conviction to do what simply is right.

On this day, we all should reflect not just on our own lives and the privileges and rights we have, but those of our sisters and brothers, colleagues and friends, and realize that the playing field doesn't favor everyone. There are still challenges ahead. All too often we hear about anti-gay attacks in our city, state and nation. Changing the law does not necessarily change all minds.

My true hope is that today's action will create a wave of acceptance and a recognition that where you love should not be determined by where you live.

As a longtime supporter of marriage equality, I shared the pain endured by my colleagues and friends who could not get married in New York, and now share the joy of progress.

I am proud that as a New Yorker I live in a State that acknowledges that the people you love should not define the limits of your rights. Instead, through today's vote, our State leaders have shown that love and the law can go hand in hand.”

Tonight New York Made History - Bill de Blasio

Forty-two years ago at a small bar in Greenwich Village, New Yorkers took a stand against discrimination and the gay rights movement was born. Tonight, New York made history once again, becoming the largest state in the country to pass marriage equality.
This victory was only made possible because of the tireless dedication and advocacy of millions of New Yorkers, some gay, some straight, all fighting to ensure that every person in our state is guaranteed the same rights and privileges.
This historic day is also due in large part to the leadership of Governor Cuomo. I congratulate the Governor, the State Assembly and the State Senate for this historic step forward. I applaud those legislators who have fought on the front lines for years and also those legislators who courageously found it within themselves and in the voices of their constituents to vote 'yes' for the first time.
Sincerely,



Bill de Blasio
NYC Public Advocate

Senator Gillibrand Statement on New York State Achieving Marriage Equality

Praises Democrats And Republicans For Coming Together To Uphold American Values Of Equality, Justice

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand issued the following statement tonight after the New York State Senate voted in favor of marriage equality for all New Yorkers:

“New York has always led the way for equal rights – from leading the suffrage movement, to Abraham Lincoln’s remarkable speech opposing slavery at Cooper Union - and we have done it again. I want to thank Governor Cuomo for his extraordinary leadership and unwavering commitment to marriage equality which brought home this great victory. I also want to thank the committed advocates who worked day in and day out, and all of the New York State lawmakers - Democrats and Republicans - who came together to uphold the fundamental American values of equality and justice for all.


“New York State has sent a powerful message to the rest of the nation. The right to get married and start a family is a basic, human right that must be shared by all Americans. Every loving, committed couple in America deserves this right. And no politician should stand in the way of this fact.


“Marriage under the law is the foundation for strong families. I will continue to help lead the fight in Washington to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act so that all loving and committed marriages in New York are recognized by the federal government.”

New York State Lawmakers Approve Gay Marriage By Dan Wiessner - Reuters

h/t to: CrooksandLiars.com for the video

New York will become the sixth state to allow gay marriage after lawmakers passed the measure on Friday, a key victory for gay rights ahead of the 2012 presidential and congressional elections.

New York state senators voted 33 to 29 to approve marriage equality legislation introduced by Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat in his first year of office. New York will now be the most populous state where lawmakers approved gay marriage.

"New York has finally torn down the barrier that prevented same-sex couples from exercising the freedom to marry and from receiving the fundamental protections that so many couples and families take for granted," Cuomo said in a statement.

After Cuomo signs the bill same-sex weddings can start taking place in New York in 30 days and religious institutions and nonprofit groups with religious affiliations are not compelled to officiate.

"I have to define doing the right thing as treating all persons with equality and that equality includes within the definition of marriage," said Republican Senator Stephen Saland, speaking before the bill was passed.

Cheers erupted in the Senate gallery in the state capital Albany and among a crowd of several hundred people who gathered outside New York City's Stonewall Inn, where riots following a police raid in 1969 sparked the modern gay rights movement.

"It's about time. I want to get married. I want the same rights as anyone else," Caroline Jaeger, 36, a student, who was outside the Stonewall Inn.

But New York Bishops said in a statement that they were "deeply disappointed and troubled" by the passage of the bill.

"We always treat our homosexual brothers and sisters with respect, dignity and love. But we just as strongly affirm that marriage is the joining of one man and one woman," they said.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an advocate for gay marriage who lobbied state lawmakers in recent weeks, said the vote was an "historic triumph for equality and freedom."

"Together, we have taken the next big step on our national journey toward a more perfect union," he said in a statement.

ELECTION ISSUE

President Barack Obama, who attended a fundraiser in New York on Thursday for Gay Pride Week, has a nuanced stance of gay issues and could risk alienating large swathes of the electorate if he came out strongly in favor of such matters as gay marriage before the 2012 polls, experts say.

During the 2008 election Obama picked up important support from Evangelicals, African Americans, and socially conservative Latinos and Catholics -- who all oppose gay marriage, which has become a contentious social issue being fought state-by-state.

In California a judge last year overturned a ban on gay marriage, but no weddings can take place while the decision is being appealed. It could set national policy if the case reaches the U.S. Supreme Court.

Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriage, and Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois and New Jersey approved civil unions. The first legal same-sex marriages in the United States took place in Massachusetts in 2004.

But gay marriage is banned in 39 states, according to the The National Conference of State Legislatures.

In New York a recent Siena poll found 58 percent of New Yorkers support gay marriage, while nationally the U.S. public is nearly evenly split with 45 percent in favor and 46 percent opposed, according to a Pew Research poll released last month.

New York's Democrat-dominated Assembly voted 80 to 63 in favor of gay marriage last week and again passed the amended legislation on Friday 82 to 47.

A key sticking point had been over an exemption that would allow religious officials to refuse to perform services or lend space for same-sex weddings. Most Republicans were concerned the legal protection was not strong enough, so legislative leaders worked with Cuomo to amend his original bill.

"God, not Albany, settled the definition of marriage a long time ago," said Senator Ruben Diaz Sr., a Pentecostal minister and the only Democrat to vote against the measure.

However fears of a slew of litigation arising from a possible religious exemption to New York's proposed same-sex marriage law are not borne out by experience with similar laws in other states, legal experts say.

(Additional reporting by Phil Wahba, writing by Michelle Nichols)

Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Activists Meet with Senator Joe Addabbo to Discuss Marriage Equality...

(left-right) Pastor Longan - Trinity Lutheran Church, Middle Village,  Rev Thomas C. Goodhart - Reformed Church in America, Ridgewood,  Monica Siu - Maspeth, Senator Joseph P. Addabbo and David M. Quintana - Ozone Park

On April 26th, activists from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) met with Senator Joe Addabbo at his Howard Beach office to advocate for his support for Marriage Equality when the same sex marriage bill comes before the New York State Senate during this legislative session...All of the HRC activists are constituents in Senator Addabbo's 15th Senate District...


This marked the beginning of HRC's "in district meetings," a series of sit-downs with state senators, in which their constituents will explain to them personally why Marriage Equality is a necessity for New York...


Future HRC events include Post-Carding and 'Stop and Dials' at the Atlas Mall in Glendale.on Friday between 5pm-8pm...

Senator Joe Addabbo Co-sponsors Bill to Require Hate Crimes Curriculum in All New York State Schools

Responding to last month’s gang-related murder in his district of a young man by five teens now charged with manslaughter, who also are being investigated by the NYPD for hate crimes, NYS Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr.(D-Queens), a member of the Senate’s Education Committee, is co-sponsoring a bill (S.269), which would raise awareness about hate crimes through curriculum in the schools. Addabbo supported this bill in the Education Committee and the bill has been sent to the full Senate for a vote.  

The Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating last month’s murder as to whether the suspects shouted anti-gay slurs at the victim and whether he was chased and bludgeoned to death on a Woodhaven street because he was perceived to be gay.  

The proposed new law requires a course of instruction in the awareness of hate crimes in our schools, so that every child in New York State will become educated on the commission of hate crimes. Hate crimes mean offenses that are committed based upon the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of the victim. The instruction will include examples of symbols and objects associated with hate crimes and the events and historical significance surrounding such symbols and objects. Such a course will also focus on the moral aspects and legal implications of such offenses and promote attitudes of tolerance and acceptance.

The law requires the board of education, trustees, principal or other person in charge of every public, private and parochial school in New York State to arrange for giving such course of instruction in every school under its/his or her control to every pupil for a period of not less than 45 minutes in each month during which such school is in session. The law will take effect on the first of September following the date on which it becomes a law.  

Explains Addabbo, “This bill offers a valuable course to increase an understanding of the seriousness of hate crimes among all students in New York State.  It is important that our schools teach core values of tolerance, acceptance and knowledge to all children in order to prevent hate crimes.” He believes that students should be taught about the vile nature of hate crimes and that such instruction will directly combat negative language and stereotypes that are prevalent in today’s society. Addabbo is hopeful that this instruction will educate our youth about the implications and dire consequences of hate crimes, and will provide them with a better understanding of the differences in each person. 

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand & Senator Chuck Schumer for HRC's New Yorkers for Marriage Equality

Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have joined HRC’s New Yorkers for Marriage Equality Campaign. Today HRC launched two new videos where both senators proudly support full marriage equality in the Empire State. The new videos and our entire campaign can be viewed online at www.hrc.org/NY4marriage. The two politicians join other prominent New Yorkers, from leaders and advocates, to actors and musicians who are letting America know that New York supports marriage equality.

Vigil Held For Victim In Fatal Woodhaven (Queens) Beating - NY1.com

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Queens residents held a vigil Thursday to remember a teenager beaten to death by attackers who thought he was gay.

Family, friends, and activists gathered in Woodhaven to remember Anthony Collao, 18.

Police say he was beaten to death with an iron pipe outside a Queens house party.

They say the suspects were yelling anti-gay slurs.

Collao was not gay, but the teen hosting the party is.

LGBT activists attended the vigil as well as Diego Sucuzhanay, whose brother was killed in a similar attack.

"It's unacceptable behavior, we must keep fighting we must speak out. This shouldn't be happening," said Sucuzhanay. "We don't want any more victims and if there are more victims were are going to keep fighting."

"Because the party was associated as a gay party he was a victim of homophobia. So we're here to stand with our community and out allies because when one of us is targeted everybody is targeted," said Ejeris Dixon of the New York City Anti-Violence Project.

Five teens have been arrested and charged with the beating.

The district attorney is investigating the attack as a hate crime.

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Speaks Out Against Walmart’s Failed Record on LGBT Issues and Endorses Wal-mart Free NYC Campaign

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, one of oldest and largest LGBT organizations in the country, announced its endorsement of the Wal-mart Free NYC campaign in a forceful and detailed statement. The full statement appears below and is followed by reactions from Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which secured the endorsement, and Christine C. Quinn, Speaker of the New York City Council.

“We have serious concerns about the expansion of Wal-mart into New York City, a historic home of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. With the expansion of Wal-mart stores comes the expansion of antiquated employment policies that provide little to no protections for, and at times even hostility toward, their LGBT employees. On same-sex partnership benefits, gender identity nondiscrimination, diversity training, and other employment policies and workplace issues, Wal-mart is eons behind many companies,” said Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

“For example, two of Wal-mart’s top competitors, Costco and Walgreens, both of which operate stores in New York City, offer health care and other benefits to same-sex partners; include gender identity in their nondiscrimination policy; and strive to create an environment in which transgender people feel safe and secure, rather than vulnerable to harm. These are companies with records of leadership on LGBT issues, whereas Wal-mart, the largest private employer in the country, has shown little progress over the years.

“Wal-mart’s lack of sensitivity to transgender people is especially important to consider. New York City’s Human Rights Law clearly protects gender identity, yet Wal-mart opposes shareholder resolutions that would require the company’s nondiscrimination policy to cover gender identity, and refuses to uphold the rights of transgender people that many localities and states now recognize. What this means is that Wal-mart stores in New York City could very conceivably create a hostile work environment and invite unlawful behavior.

“There are plenty of other examples of Wal-mart standing in the way of justice and equality for LGBT people. To name just a few: Wal-mart CEO Mike Duke is on record opposing gay and lesbian adoption; Wal-mart stores around the country currently sell a book that presents homosexuality as a disease that needs to be cured; and in a widely reported news story a young Wal-mart employee in Las Vegas was outed and shamed on the job last year by his supervisor and later filed a complaint with the Nevada Equal Rights Commission.

“Wal-mart is spending millions to try to convince the public to overlook these dark moments and unacceptable practices so that the damage it would do to New York City will be grossly underestimated. We are glad the Wal-mart Free NYC campaign is cutting through the spin and speaking the truth. People of all backgrounds need to know that Wal-mart’s so-called bargains have always come at too high a price. Instead of establishing a model for other companies, Wal-mart continues to set a bad example. New York City, a historic home of LGBT activism and resistance, is much better off without Wal-mart,” Carey said.

"We applaud the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force for recognizing that Wal-mart still opposes workplace rights and protections which LGBT people have long demanded and now receive at many other places of employment," said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), UFCW. "Wal-mart has a failed record on LGBT issues; the Task Force is right to highlight the costs and consequences of that failure as Wal-mart continues its increasingly desperate campaign to enter New York City via the noisiest intersections of profit and deceit."

“NYC is a place where we celebrate diversity and protect the rights of all people. Wal-mart, the world’s largest retailer, does not include transgender people in its non-discrimination policies. They also do not voluntarily offer domestic partner benefits to its LGBT employees, only doing so when required to by state law. This lack of inclusion in its diversity policies is the antithesis of what we in NYC want and expect from our corporate partners. These are yet two more reasons why Wal-mart is a poor fit to do business in NYC," said Christine C. Quinn, Speaker of the New York City Council.

About the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. We do this by training activists, equipping state and local organizations with the skills needed to organize broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and building the organizational capacity of our movement. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. To learn more, visit www.thetaskforce.org.

Some Of Her Best Friends by Liz Benjamin - Capital Tonight

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Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand finds herself gracing some very prominent real estate this morning: The front page of the NY Times. Above the fold, no less.

The story, accompanied by a photo of the junior senator, focuses on her unlikely and rapid rise from a relatively obscure upstate congresswoman to an influential senator who played a big role in two major lame duck session victories this week: The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and passage of the 9/11 health care bill.

In the piece, Gillibrand says she’s long been a supporter of gay rights. Writes David Halbfinger:

(I)n an interview, she said she had realized from an early age that discrimination against gays was wrong.

Her mother – a black belt in karate who the senator said “did things differently her whole life” – worked in the arts and surrounded herself with gay friends. During the height of the AIDS crisis, Ms. Gillibrand’s sister, a playwright and actress, volunteered to help children with AIDS.

And when Ms. Gillibrand was a young associate, working long nights at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, she recalled, “the straight men found time to date and get married and have kids and went home at six every night, and the only ones left were the women and gay men.”

So she wound up vacationing with gay colleagues on Fire Island and in the Hamptons, and forging lifelong friendships. “A lot of them are now having children,” she said. “And it never occurred to me that they should not have every benefit that I have.”

One of the first things Gillibrand did in the 24 hours after news broke of her selection by Gov. David Paterson to replace Hillary Clinton in the US Senate was to promise the Empire State Pride Agenda she would support the legalization of gay marriage.

This was a big switch for the former Blue Dog congresswoman, who had previously supported civil unions – much like Sen. Chuck Schumer (although he has since changed his position, too) and President Obama, who now says he’s still struggling with this subject, but his views are evolving.

Gillibrand later said she had always personally supported gay marriage, but thought the question of legalization should not be dictated by the federal government, but rather left up to individual states to decide. (New York, thanks to the state Senate, has so far failed to pass a same-sex marriage bill).

The newly-minted senator quickly latched on to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” issue, becoming an outspoken champion for its repeal. Gay advocates were wary of Gillibrand’s zeal, wondering if her newfound activism had more to do with political expediency and a need to curry favor with the left than an ideological shift.

Richard Socarides, a former aide to President Clinton and founder of Equality Matters, a gay advocacy organization, told the Times he was initially skeptical of Gillibrand, too, but was won over by her tenacity.

“If she has decided she’s going to get something done,” he said, “don’t get in her way, because you will get run over.”

So, Gillibrand has managed to turn something that was once viewed as a character flaw and political liability – her absolute refusal to take “no” for an answer – into a big plus.

At yesterday’s Zadroga press conference, Schumer said some of his colleagues contacted him to beg for mercy, asking him to get Gillibrand off their respective cases. He recalled, “I said: NO! And the result of all that hard work we see today.”

“What a great victory for a new legislator,” Schumer continued. “Isn’t that fabulous? For any legislator, but for someone this new to do so much so soon is utterly amazing.”

Gays Call "Don't Ask, Don't Rell" Repeal a Civil Rights Milestone | Video | 7online.com

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"Gays call 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal a civil rights milestone
Kemberly Richardson reports"

Target Ain't People - Boycott Target..!

In January, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations can spend unlimited $$ in our elections.

In July, Target gave $150,000 to the anti-gay, anti-worker candidate for Gov. of MN.

Last week, a quarter million people pledged to boycott Target

Yesterday . . .



http://targetboycott.org ----Learn more---Take Action---Sign the Petition----

Despite John Sampson’s Efforts, Gay Groups To Back Shirley Huntley Challenger Lynn Nunes by Chris Bragg - City Hall News

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The Empire State Pride Agenda and the Human Rights Campaign, two of the state’s most prominent gay rights groups, are poised to throw their weight behind Lynn Nunes in his primary challenge to State Sen. Shirley Huntley on Tuesday, sources close to both groups confirmed.

ESPA’s board still had to meet Monday night to finalize their endorsement, the sources said, but the board was expected to formally vote to endorse Nunes as well as a slew of other legislative candidates on Tuesday.

Huntley was one of eight Democratic senators who voted against the same sex marriage bill last year. Nonetheless, the groups’ support for Nunes had been in doubt, with neither backing Nunes in their first round of endorsements. This had riled many in the gay activist community.

Democratic Senate Conference Leader John Sampson, a strong Huntley ally, has been pushing behind the scenes on Huntley’s behalf in an effort to convince the groups to remain neutral, insisting that Huntley was still a possible ‘yes’ vote for the bill, according to multiple sources close to the groups.

Huntley, meanwhile, recently met with leadership of the Empire State Pride Agenda in an effort to get the group to remain neutral in the race, she confirmed. But the effort apparently was unsuccessful.

“I told them my position and explained to them why I voted like I did,” Huntley said, adding that it was “not a surprise” for ESPA to back Nunes.

Huntley had taken a strong rhetorical stand against the same sex marriage bill. Last year, Huntley told the poet Maya Angelou, who was lobbying on behalf of the gay marriage bill that, “If they gave me a million dollars, tax free, I just wouldn’t vote for it,” according to the Times.

Huntley has a strong base of support in her southeast Queens district from the leadership of socially conservative black churches, and has cited those constituents as the reason why she voted against the bill. Huntley’s supporters have pegged Nunes’ support of gay marriage as opportunistic and say it could hurt him in socially conservative neighborhoods in the district.

A number of grassroots gay rights groups, including the Stonewall Democrats, Marriage Equality New York and the Jim Owles Democratic Club had already endorsed Nunes. Allen Roskoff, president of the Jim Owles Democratic Club, said a push from these grassroots groups had helped convince ESPA and HRC to finally back Nunes.

“It’s important that the LGBT community support anyone who is running against their enemies,” he said. “Lynn Nunes is a logical choice.”

Both HRC and ESPA have political action committees that give money to candidates, though the extent to which they will offer Nunes financial support on manpower remains unclear. The organizations are also targeting State Sens. Bill Stachowski and Ruben Diaz, Sr. in primaries and are likely to support a number of Democratic challengers in general election State Senate races.

Even if they do not spend heavily on Nunes’ behalf, ESPA’s endorsement is seen as a crucial stamp of approval to donors in the local gay rights community. The Washington D.C.-based HRC, meanwhile, has a national network of donors that its endorsed candidates are expected to now be able to access.

Spokesmen for both HRC and ESPA declined official comment on the endorsements.

Fight Back New York, an independent expenditure group pouring money into races against anti-same-sex marriage incumbents, has yet to announce whether it will target Huntley. A spokesman for the group also declined to comment.

Nunes, who is receiving heavy financial support from charter school backers, already had a financial advantage in the race with over $155,000 raised as of the last campaign filing. Huntley had raised $106,000 over the past six months.

Reached by phone, Nunes declined comment on the endorsements since they had not been formally been made public by the groups.

Queens Pride House Tries to Stay Afloat by Mark Lord - Queens Chronicle

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Photo Caption: Queens Pride House director, Daniel Castellanos addresses a crowd at Tuesday night’s meeting. Photo by Pauline Park

Queens Pride House, the only community center for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered communities in the borough, is waging a battle to prevent itself from becoming yet another victim of the difficult economy. At an emergency community meeting on Tuesday night, organizers suggested that unless the group’s financial situation improves, and quickly, it may be forced to shut its doors for good next spring.

Nestled between a laundromat and a mini-market, a couple of flights up from a beauty salon, a billboard outside QPH touts the organization as “Working together against injustice, discrimination and violence in all forms.”

“We’re a young organization,” said treasurer Charles Ober, “and we have a huge fiscal challenge.”

QPH opened its first office in Queens Borough Hall in 1997. After years of identifying funding sources and community needs, the organization opened for service in Woodside in 2001.

“We wanted to be who we are here in our own neighborhood,” said Daniel Castellanos, one of the original founding members and current director of the organization.

In 2006, the group outgrew its space and joined two other community-minded organizations to create the Diversity Center of Queens at its current location in Jackson Heights.

QPH provides a variety of health-related programs and services, as well as social and cultural programming, in areas such as substance abuse, immigration, employment, healthcare, legal assistance and youth services. The organization served a total of 4,588 people last year alone.

Now, QPH is calling upon the community it has assisted for over a decade to come to its rescue.

“We came out of a grassroots structure,” explained Ober, “and we still run as one.” The group’s estimated annual operating budget is $300,000.

Originally, all staff members were volunteers.Since the move from Woodside, several individuals have become paid employees.Recently, because of budget issues, five of the organization’s eight paid workers have been laid off.

Like many other funded organizations, QPH seems to have been caught up in a bureaucratic tug of war.

“The governor wanted certain things that the legislature refused to pass, so the governor vetoed what the legislature wanted to pass,” said Ober.

As a result, most of the $83,000 that had been anticipated from the state is, at least temporarily, on hold.

Inequities in city funding have left the organization wanting, as well.

In a financial report distributed by Ober at the meeting, statistics indicate that QPH received only $5,000 from Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras’s (D-Corona) office for the current year, placing it in a distant last place for funding among the five boroughs LGBT centers. Its Manhattan counterpart, by comparison, received $225,000 from the City Council.

Last year, QPH received a total of $12,500 from three council members.

Compounding the group’s woes is the fact that the two other organizations that had been sharing rent expenses have both gone out of business, according to Pauline Park, president of the board of directors of QPH.

“We now have the full burden of the rent,” she said.

If Queens were a city, it would have the ninth largest gay population in the United States. Castellanos said “Our needs cut across many groups. We are an immigrant community; we have many issues of diversity.We don’t want to lose that.”

In an attempt to overcome the current crisis, the organization is considering sharing its office space with other organizations.An Internet fund-raising campaign is in the works and fundraising committees are being formed.Volunteers have been recruited to replace the laid-off staff members, but more are needed.

Despite the severity of the situation, the organization’s leaders remain die- hard optimists.

“I’m thrilled we had over 50 very enthusiastic community members here,” Park said. “I was excited by all the positive energy. By the end of next spring we’ll see if we can keep our doors open.”

“We will stand based on the grass roots in this room,” said Ober, regarding the standing-room-only crowd.“We expect some of our money to be released by the state.”

“It is disappointing that we were moving in the direction of a dream.We don’t want to slow down. We want to make that dream a reality,” said Castellanos.

For further information on Queens Pride House, or to make a donation, visit queenspridehouse.org

Guest Column by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: Beyond Pride - Pam's House Blend

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On Sunday, I was proud to march in Manhattan's Pride parade all the way from 38th St. & 5th Ave. to Christopher St. in the West Village, near where the Stonewall riots took place 41 years ago this week. It was on June 28, 1969 that a group of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender New Yorkers stood up, fought back, and openly challenged a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar on Sheridan Square. Gay New Yorkers, for the first time, took to the streets and publicly identified themselves and the modern gay rights movement was born. The Stonewall Uprising was an act of unheralded bravery that kicked off a battle for LGBT equality, a fight that we are still waging to this day. As you know, the LGBT community remains subject to the injustice of institutionalized prejudice every day. The time is long overdue to grant LGBT Americans the equal rights and equal protection they deserve. It's unconscionable that in 2010 America, LGBT men and women are barred from openly serving in our armed forces, can be fired from their jobs or denied housing simply because of who they are, and are denied marital status and benefits. This must change. So, as Pride month comes to a close and we look toward the ongoing battle for equality, I'd like to outline my legislative agenda to eradicate this institutionalized prejudice towards LGBT Americans. It is an agenda that I pledge I will continue to fight for all year round even as we look back, remember and celebrate the events that kicked off what I consider to be the civil rights march of our generation.

1. Repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Since 1993, over 13,000 brave men and women have been discharged from the United States Armed Services solely because of who they are and who they love. We have lost over 800 soldiers in mission critical posts, including 10% of our foreign language experts, especially in Arabic and Farsi, who are invaluable in the global fight against terrorism. This policy is detrimental to unit cohesion and morale, as well as antithetical to the moral foundation upon which our Army and nation have been founded. One year ago, I asked the Senate Armed Services Committee to hold the first hearings on the subject since 1993. During this vital hearing, Admiral Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified that, “For me personally, it comes down to integrity – theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.” This testimony ensured the historic votes in which the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House of Representatives voted to repeal DADT. I call on my Senate colleagues to ensure that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal language remains in the 2011 Defense Authorization bill. It is time for Congress to fully repeal this destructive policy to strengthen America - both militarily and morally. 2. Pass a fully sexual and gender identity inclusive Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). It is against the law to terminate an employee on the basis of race, religion or gender. However, LGBT Americans can still be fired from their jobs with no recourse or legal redress. No statute addressing sexual orientation and gender identity exists at the federal level, and working LGBT Americans are at risk every day, especially in tough economic times, of losing their jobs. We must do better: all Americans should be viewed the same in the eyes of the law and deserve equal protection in the workplace. 3. Ensure that Immigration Reform includes the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). When Congress takes up comprehensive immigration reform, I will push for language supporting this key measure in the final bill. I support a system where LGBT couples can sponsor their partners and place them on a path to citizenship. Too many families are kept apart every year due to this injustice. 4. Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The right to enter into a federal civil marriage contract with the person who you love should be a basic right, not a privilege, and should be recognized in all 50 states and accorded all of the over 1,000 federal rights and privileges granted to non-same sex married couples. According to the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal system classifies marriage as only existing between a man and a woman. DOMA should be repealed outright. Marriage equality should be the law of the land. 5. Amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include full federal protections for LGBT Americans. We should amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to grant full equality to LGBT Americans. This watershed bill is among the most important strides our nation has made in the last century, providing equal protection under law to all Americans, regardless of race, gender and religion. Sexual orientation and gender identity should be included in this landmark legislation. It is a matter of justice, fairness, equal opportunity and equal protection. I'm sorry I'm not able to stay and answer questions in the comments right now but look forward to reading them all. Thanks for all your hard work and activism on behalf of equality. P.S. You can see more pictures from Pride on my Facebook page. And please join our Out For Kirsten Facebook page as well.

Crowd Heckles Harold Ford Jr. On Gay Marriage Stance by Josh Robin - NY1

Possible U.S. Senate candidate Harold Ford Junior received an icy welcome Wednesday from The Stonewall Democratic Club, a leading gay democratic club over what he called misguided votes on same sex marriage.

NY1's Josh Robin filed the above report.

Van Bramer Disappointed: Many Queens Senators Voted Against Gay Marriage | Sunnyside Post

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The New York State Senate rejected a bill Wednesday that would have made New York the sixth state to allow gay marriage, stunning advocates such as Jimmy Van Bramer, the NYC councilman-elect who represents Sunnyside, Woodside and Long Island City.

The New York measure needed 32 votes to pass and failed by a wider-than-expected margin, falling eight votes short in a 24-38 decision by the state Senate. The Assembly had earlier approved the bill, and Gov. David Paterson had pledged to sign it.

Council Members-elect Jimmy Van Bramer (26th District) and Danny Dromm (25th District), who made history last month by becoming the first openly gay elected officials in the borough of Queens, voiced deep disappointment with the five Queens State Senators who voted against the bill.

Van Bramer and Dromm also applauded the two Queens Senators who voted for the bill – Senate President Malcolm Smith and Senator Toby Stavisky – for their courage and leadership.

Van Bramer and Dromm expressed particular disappointment with the two Senators who represent them, George Onorato (Van Bramer) and Hiram Monserrate (Dromm), who voted no.

Onorato has been targeted by advocates over his stance throughout the year. Same-sex marriage advocates have held a number of rallies in Astoria. However, Onorato has been clear for some time that he opposes gay marriage, but had promised not to block it from getting to the senate floor for a vote.

District 26 Council Member-elect Van Bramer said: “Today was an opportunity to celebrate and honor our diversity, to take a stand for human rights and human dignity,” adding that “Two members of the Queens delegation – Senators Smith and Stavisky – embraced this vision. But sadly, five other Queens Senators voted to deny a basic civil right to their own constituents. Their views are not representative of a diverse, inclusive borough that just elected two openly gay elected officials for the first time.”

New York State also doesn’t allow civil unions, but has several laws, executive orders and court decisions that grant many of the rights to gays long enjoyed by married couples.

Maltese Sues to Block Guv's Gay Nuptials Order by Jeremy Walsh - Howard Beach Times - YourNabe.com

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An anti-gay-marriage group that counts state Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Glendale) among its supporters has sued the state of New York to overturn Gov. David Paterson's executive directive favoring gay marriage.

The Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund filed the lawsuit June 3 in Bronx Supreme Court on behalf of Maltese, state Sen. Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn) and 14 other legislators and New York residents. The first hearing in the case was held last Thursday.

The suit asks the court to invalidate Paterson's May 14 directive ordering state agencies to recognize out-of-state gay marriages.

It cites the resulting state expenditures on services and family benefits as a violation of state finance laws.

"The governor should respect New York's marriage laws over the laws of foreign jurisdictions," said Alliance Defense Fund attorney Brian Raum in a prepared statement. "Gov. Paterson is overstepping his authority and the democratic process by issuing a directive at odds with New York public policy on marriage."

Maltese's office did not respond to requests for comment by press time Tuesday.

Though there is no Queens-based organization dedicated to promoting gay marriage, local gay activists did hold a gay marriage rally in 2006 that attracted a crowd of 2,000 people.

Leaders among the borough's gay and lesbian community condemned the suit.

"This is the same thing that happens with all this legislation," said Jackson Heights Democratic District Leader Daniel Dromm. "When Mayor Ed Koch in the '70s tried to implement an executive order to prevent discrimination in employment and benefits, they tried to overturn it unsuccessfully."

Elmhurst resident Sebastian Maguire, an outreach director for the group Marriage Equality New York, said the suit would likely not get very far.

"I think it's very interesting that the right-wing groups that have cried judicial activism in the past are now turning to the courts to get what they want," he said. "Their main contention is that Gov. Paterson somehow circumvented the democratic process. However, that's simply not the case. I think the judge recognizes that as well."

Maltese's own efforts to block gay marriage date back to 1996, when he first introduced a "defense of marriage" bill in the state Senate.

In 2007, Maltese sponsored a "Defense of Marriage" bill meant to keep gay marriage illegal. The bill did not leave the judiciary committee and was reintroduced in 2008.

Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jwalsh@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.

Gay Dems' Pick in Queens Opposes Gay Marriage by Paul Schindler - GayCityNews

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In a meeting last week with the editorial board of the Queens Tribune, Elizabeth Crowley, a candidate for an open City Council seat who won the endorsement of the Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens, stated her opposition to marriage equality for same-sex couples. Crowley was joined at the editorial board meeting by the other three candidates in the race, including Charles Ober, an out gay Ridgewood civic activist who is the former board president of the Queens Pride House, the borough's LGBT community center. The election, which takes place on June 3, is a nonpartisan contest for the 30th District seat representing Ridgewood, Glendale, and Middle Village.

The gay club made its pick of Crowley despite the fact that she did not answer its candidate questionnaire, did not attend its endorsement meeting, and sent a representative who could not answer when asked her position on marriage equality or transgender rights. Asked about Crowley's statement to the Tribune, Larry Menzie, the club's communications chair, said, "It's surprising because she did send a representative to the club and she showed interest in getting our endorsement. I'm not going to try to minimize that." Menzie then added, "It doesn't make Charlie Ober any better of a candidate. We're not comfortable with Ober's relationship to our club."

Menzie and Daniel Dromm, a Democratic district leader who was a founder of the club, both earlier criticized Ober for his participation in a short-lived rival LGBT club in the borough. Dromm, who is running for the 25th District Council seat in Jackson Heights next year, acknowledged that the club pressed Ober on how supportive he had been of Dromm's work on behalf of the LGBT community, but argued that the questions posed a fair test of the 30th District candidate's own dedication to the borough's gay community.

A blog posting charged that Crowley's campaign had reneged on its promise to feature the Queens gay club's logo in its campaign literature. Dromm volleyed back on that charge, saying that ads Ober took out in Queens newspapers were "whitewashed" of any reference to the fact he is gay or enjoys the endorsement of the Stonewall Democrats of New York City.

Crowley is the cousin of Congressman Joe Crowley, the head of the county Democratic Party, and a featured speaker at a political fundraiser for Dromm prior to the Queens LGBT Pride Parade on June 1. Joe Crowley is a supporter of same-sex marriage.

Gay Council Bid in Queens by Paul Schindler - GayCityNews

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A June 3 special election to fill the City Council vacancy in the 30th district in Queens will have five names on the ballot - among them Democrat Charles Ober, only the third openly gay candidate for government office in the borough's history; Tom Ognibene, an outspoken Republican with an anti-gay record who held the seat until term limits forced him out in 2001; and Elizabeth Crowley, whose cousin happens to be Joe Crowley, a congressman and the county's Democratic boss.

The 30th district, comprised of Ridgewood, Glendale, and Middle Village, is a conservative part of Queens, represented in the State Senate by Republican Serphin Maltese, who has sponsored a state Defense of Marriage Act, fortunately forestalled in Albany. His Assembly partner on that effort is Democrat Anthony Seminario, who represents a portion of the 30th.

According to GothamGazette.com, the district is 53 percent white, 32 percent Latino, seven percent Asian, and only two percent black. Just over half of the voters are registered Democrats, with only a quarter identifying as Republicans, yet the GOP has held the Council seat for the past 16 years.

At a candidate forum in Glendale in early April, strong opposition was voiced in the crowd and among some of the candidates to bilingual education and to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan, which shortly afterward went down to defeat in Albany. Only Ober said anything positive about the congestion plan, though he emphasized some reservations. Several mentions of the "Brooklyn border" during the evening indicated community anxiety about the proximity of Bushwick and East New York, two neighborhoods with predominately people of color populations.

In a race that includes three Republicans and two Democrats and will be decided in a nonpartisan vote, the divides among the candidates have played out as though two primaries were simultaneously being contested. Ognibene has been harshly critical of the GOP machine in Queens for supporting Anthony Como, a Maltese aide who just resigned his post as a Queens County elections commissioner.

Ober meanwhile has taken on the county Democratic establishment for endorsing Crowley, who also got the party's nod in 2001 when, at age 23, she garnered just 40 percent of the vote against Dennis Gallagher, the Republican. Gallagher's resignation after pleading guilty to two sexual abuse misdemeanor charges set the stage for the special election. Ober charges he was never given consideration by the Democratic organization.

Ober similarly complains that the Working Families Party ignored his candidacy at the time it made its endorsement. Crowley has racked up an impressive series of labor endorsements, with nods ranging from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1199 to the Uniformed Fire Officers Association.

But the most surprising fault line - and also, at least temporary, alliance - emerged in late April when Ober, who is a longtime Ridgewood civic activist as well as the former president of the Queens Pride House, the borough's LGBT Center, became the target of a vicious anti-gay hate flyer mailed to district voters. Calling Ober "a faggot," the mailing asked, "What kind of message does it send to our children?," warned that Glendale and Middle Village could become "Queerville U.S.A. 11385 and 11379" if "a pedophile" were elected, and claimed, "God gave them all aids [sic] to die and rot in hell."

That was more than enough to garner Ober sympathetic coverage in newspapers and on TV, but there was a curious silence from the Crowley camp. Then, Ober teamed up with Ognibene - an ardent critic of the LGBT-inclusive, ultimately failed Children of the Rainbow public school curriculum 15 years ago and in 2005 a participant in a City Action Coalition rally denouncing a Manhattan judge's ruling in favor of same-sex marriage rights - in a press conference speaking out against the flyer.

Suddenly, the Crowley team became animated on the issue, her campaign manager issuing a statement saying, "It's outrageous that Charles Ober is allowing himself to be used by Tom Ognibene and the Republicans, since Ognibene's entire career has been an affront to everything Ober claims to stand for."

Michael Reich, executive secretary of the county Democratic Party, went so far as to say, "It looks like [Ober and Ognibene] manufactured an issue and tried to get press on it."

Ober is aware that many Democrats object to his having appeared with Ognibene; in fact the issue became contentious when he appeared last week before the Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens, which gave its endorsement to Crowley instead.

"He did not place any pre-conditions on his appearing with me," Ober said of his decision to stand with Ognibene. "He did not limit his remarks, he categorically condemned the flyer. Crowley didn't condemn the flyer, only the press conference."

But then, in a statement many Ognibene observers might find dubious, Ober added, "He also specifically said that things are different now." The Democrat said he could not reject out of hand the opportunity to lessen polarization on gay issues.

If Ober's decision to appear with Ognibene was puzzling, so too was the endorsement made by the Queens gay Democrats. Ober responded to the group's questionnaire and appeared at the endorsement meeting. Crowley did neither, and the representative she sent was unable to answer questions about her candidate's positions on gay marriage and transgender rights. Ober promises that, if elected, he will work to lobby state legislators representing the district on marriage equality.

When asked for the gay Democrats' rationale, Daniel Dromm, a longtime leader in the club who is an elected Democratic district leader in Jackson Heights and a candidate for City Council next year, explained, "I don't know that everyone in Queens is up to par with gay and lesbian issues. We need to continue doing that education." Dromm noted that Crowley has a strong record on labor and immigrant rights issues, and said the club was confused by a written answer Ober gave regarding his commitment to a woman's right to choose.

Asked about that issue, Ober said he made clear he is pro-choice but also wrote that "the city should make sure that no woman has to have an abortion out of economic necessity." He said none of the club members asked him about the issue at the endorsement meeting.

According to Dromm, the club vote was 19 for Crowley, one for no endorsement, and zero for Ober.

Both Dromm and Larry Menzie, the club's communications chair, pointed to a long-festering issue regarding Ober's participation in a short-lived rival LGBT club in Queens, which Menzie said attacked the Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club for not being open to people of color. "He never apologized for that," Menzie said, adding that there was a strong sense among members of, "Where have you been?"

"We never agreed with the premise that we were attacking the other club," Ober said, responding to Menzie's charge. "Our club intended to reach out to people of color, not to criticize anyone."

Menzie also suggested that political viability was at play in his club's decision, saying, "It's more than likely if a Democrat wins it will be her and then we could have an open dialogue about our issues." Both he and Dromm noted that the Ridgewood Democratic Club, of which Ober is president, did not endorse him, due to the influence of local Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, who is backing Crowley.

Campaign fundraising filings suggest that Crowley, in addition to her strong backing by the Democratic Party, will have a big financial advantage. She reported just over $100,000 in funds raised; Como and Ognibene each show a total slightly under $30,000; but Ober has collected just $14,000.

Pauline Park, a gender rights activist and Pride House co-founder, was harsh in criticizing the gay Democrats' endorsement, saying, "It's really hypocritical and extraordinary that they would not endorse a qualified gay candidate especially when they endorsed a candidate who has no apparent qualification for public office at all except that she's the cousin of the county boss."

Park also argued that Dromm's Council ambitions were behind the club's decision to endorse the county organization's choice, though he in turn cited a string of endorsements the club has made contrary to the party's pick - including City Councilman Hiram Monserrate in his first race and Mark Green in the 2006 attorney general primary.

Still, the one other LGBT club that has weighed in - the Stonewall Democrats of New York City - endorsed Ober, and its president Matthew Carlin confirmed the group is working to organize volunteers on his behalf.

The Empire State Pride Agenda, the state gay rights lobby, has not taken a position in the race.

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