The state of New York has long recognized out-of-state, same-sex marriages and the enactment of the Marriage Equality Act further cements our state’s position on this critical civil rights issue. My office will fight every day to defend the fundamental guarantee of equal protection under law for all New Yorkers.

This past Sunday, July 24th, marked the first day of legal, gay marriages in New York state.  Marriage Equality advocates are now turning their attention to the overturning of DOMA, which still prohibits recognition of gay marriage at the federal level.

Consider his latest round of bigoted remarks from Sunday (the day before National Coming Out Day). Paladino told a group of Hasidic Jewish leaders that he does not want children to be “brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid or successful option” and added that the gay pride parade is “not an example we should be showing our children.”

Tragically, his homophobic comments come amidst a rash of suicides by gay youth around the nation and a string of vicious attacks against gay men right here in New York.

The timing is no coincidence.

No, Paladino is not condoning hate crimes or the bullying of gay students. But by denouncing the gay lifestyle and – even worse – insinuating homosexuality is a threat to children, Paladino is feeding the fear and animosity that drives the bullies.

That’s what makes him dangerous.

And the gay community is not the only target of the systemic bigotry that’s become so pervasive in this season’s discourse. The so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” was merely a downtown Muslim community center until Paladino and others began suggesting it was a monument to “those who attacked our country” and that Muslims are trying to “take over.”

The ratcheted-up, divisive rhetoric coming from Paladino and others this campaign season is very much to blame for the heightened intolerance that spurns the type of tragedies we’re witnessing.

Carl Paladino may be days from electoral defeat. But in the meantime, he and fellow bigotry-peddlers are poisoning the discussion.

Here’s how it works – Target has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Tom Emmer’s PAC, a very anti-gay MN politician running for Governor. Emmer is a good friend of Bradlee Dean, the front man for Christian Rock group You Can Run But You Cannot Hide which has appeared as various GOP events and who he has referred to as “nice people”. While Emmer is anti-gay, his friendship with Dean gives us an idea of how anti-gay. Bradlee Dean literally wants to kill homosexuals and has said things like:

“[Homosexuals] play the victim when they are, in fact, the predator. On average, they molest 117 people before they’re found out. How many kids have been destroyed, how many adults have been destroyed because of crimes against nature?”

And don’t forget the classic:

“Muslims are calling for the executions of homosexuals in America. This just shows you they themselves are upholding the laws that are even in the Bible of the Judeo-Christian God, but they seem to be more moral than even the American Christians do, because these people are livid about enforcing their laws. They know homosexuality is an abomination”

If you’re wondering, boycotts of Target are being organized and you can see the original articles here:

http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/targets_150000_donation_to_fund_anti-gay_politics

http://sfist.com/2010/07/23/targets_anti-gay_support.php

The campaigns first “target” is Hiram Monserrate, who is running in the special election for the seat he was thrown out of earlier this month.

They are playing for keeps:

The committee will start going after Mr. Monserrate, who was convicted of assaulting his female companion in a confrontation that left her requiring more than 20 stitches, by mailing fliers this week to voters in his district. The flier shows still frames of a surveillance video that shows him dragging his companion, Karla Giraldo, through the hallway of his apartment building in Jackson Heights, Queens. He was acquitted of a felony assault charge by a judge, who convicted him of misdemeanor assault.

“He brutally assaulted a woman and tried to cover up his crime,” the flier says. “Now he has the nerve to run again. Many of us have voted for Hiram before. But we cannot vote for him again.”

In the three weeks that remain before the election, Fight Back New York expects to send out at least five different fliers, upwards of 100,000 pieces of mail. The district’s population is around 300,000, but voter turnout in special elections is typically quite low.

Fight Back New York hasn’t decided which senators it will target in the fall, but I think it’s clear that some of the incumbents will be regretting their votes.

It’s official. The Legislature will be returning to Albany for a special session at noon next Tuesday. Gov. David Paterson issued a proclamation this afternoon calling lawmakers back to the Capitol.

On the agenda – or rather, on HIS agenda, since the legislators are not legally required to address anything they don’t want to – are: Paterson’s $5.2 billion two-year deficit reduction plan, gay marriage and the spending cap/circuit breaker proposal.

You know what that means, folks: get your butts to New York Equality and start those phones ringing in Albany.

Liz Benjamin – Daily News

Not unexpectedly, the move worsened an already bad situation (as if things could really get any worse in Albany).

It caused Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. to jump into the open arms of the Republicans – albeit, he claims, just for a little sandwich break – which so worried Sen. Carl Kruger as to the status of his post as Finance Committee chairman that he just HAD to come over and see what was going on.

Diaz Sr. soon returned to the Democratic fold after receiving what Senate sources insist was a pledge from Sen. Malcolm Smith (remember him?) that the marriage bill would never see the light of day. 

What all this means is unclear. What IS abundantly clear is NYers want it brought to a vote, and they wrote a TON of letters to make that abundantly clear to their State Senators. MYD President Al Benninghoff is in Albany literally as I type this to deliver our latest stack of letters from newyorkequality.com. Look at the mountain, which is nearly twice the size of the last one: 

See quarter for scale. Awesome!

If you haven’t recently made a call to your State Senator or Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson, make the call today! To say that time is running out no longer encapsulates the urgency of the matter. Do it now! 

Pride or Protest? – The Daily Politics 

“It’s about strategy,” she said. “If you do taxes for local governments and mayoral control, if those get done, the Republicans won’t stay for more. If you want leverage, you say, ‘No, you can’t just go home if you get the mayor off your back and the counties can do taxes.’ I think it’s very important to go to the governor, the only one who can fix this situation, and say, ‘Your active list must include measures that are the true progressive goals of the party.’”

Krueger mentioned reproductive freedom and tenant protections along with marriage equality as part of that package.

Use our FREE calling tool to tell Senator Sampson that he must make sure progressive goals such as marriage equality make it on to the active list TODAY. We don’t have much time before the 2009 session draws to a close.

Paterson said that if both sides can not reach a leadership agreement by Tuesday, Court of Appeals Chief Justice Jonathan Lippman would serve as the Senate’s presiding officer.

While Paterson said initial agenda would be limited to time-sensitive legislation, he said other issues, including same-sex marriage and Tier 5 pension reform might be included in later sessions.

We can debate whether this is constitutional later. If the session goes forward, it means that MYD and our New York Equality coalition have a small window of time in which to urge the Senate to put marriage equality on the active list. (The “active list” is the list of bills that will be brought to the floor on any given day in session.)

We’re in full agreement with Senator Duane:

The Manhattan Democrat, who is carrying Gov. David Paterson’s marriage program bill, sent a letter to all of his fellow bill sponsors today in which he declares himself to be “deeply troubled” by the fact that neither Sen. Malcolm Smith nor Sen. John Sampson has pledged to bring the measure to the floor for a vote since the coup:

“I have come to the conclusion that I cannot support any Leader who does not demand that marriage equality come to the floor and pass in 2009. I urge that you, as a co-sponsor of the marriage equality legislation, will do the same.”

That’s why it’s very important that MYDers put the pressure on newly-selected Democratic Conference leader John Sampson to bring the bill to the floor. (He’s publicly ‘undecided’ on the issue.) You can use NYE’s handy-dandy (and FREE!) click-to-call tool to be connected to this office directly.

Do it today–the special session begins on Tuesday!

And don’t forget to follow us at @goMYD, tweet with #nyequality and join our Facebook page.

(P.S. Meanwhile, “coalition” conference GOP+Espada is saying there is no need for the governor to call a special session because they will be holding their own sessions every day this coming week; also, no need for a judge to preside–the Senate has a president pro tem, and his name is Pedro Espada Jr.)

A talented MYDer has taken the next step by creating a video to support our #nyequality efforts. (BIG shout-out to writer/director/editor Shannon Manning and illustrator Maria Schneider!!) 

Enjoy, share, make viral! And of course, if you haven’t yet, visit newyorkequality.com to contact your State Senator and urge them to pass this important civil rights legislation.

The latest effort comes from the New York Civil Liberties Union, which launched a new Web site that features features videos of 12 lesbian and gay couples from around the state telling the story of how they met their respective partners and urging viewers to contact their local lawmakers and ask them to vote “yes.”

The couples are from key areas represented by lawmakers who are so far holding out on marriage, including Queens, Long Island, Brooklyn and the Syracuse area.

The idea behind these efforts…is to put a human “face” on gay marriage in hopes of convincing lawmakers that this is an intensely personal issue and not merely a political hot potato.

If you haven’t done so already, make sure to visit MYD’s newyorkequality.com to write a letter ot your state Senator and make your voice heard on this important civil rights issue. We delivered a huge stack of letters last week and we need another one soon. View the vote count here. Spread the word!