John posted about Ken Mehlman lobbying GOP Senators below. Time is running short. Only two weeks left to the session in the NY legislature.
There's a new ad running in New York from the coalition of groups. Meet Paul and Iris Blumenthal.
What do you think?
The Courage Campaign sent a letter to its members in 11 districts last week. From Adam Bink: In New York State, the State Senate is due to adjourn on June 20th. They may fudge that a day or two, but that means we h
ave just a few weeks left to get the final votes and pass legislation to legalize same-sex marriage for deserving couples. That would make New York State the largest state in the nation to have marriage equality, as well as the largest where those elected by the people vote for equality in the legislature.I had to read that line about getting married in the hometown synagogue twice. I wasn't sure if Adam was making an announcement. He wasn't.
We are at 26 Senators who said they will support the bill. We need 32. 31 votes plus the Lieutenant Governor will not do it. We have the votes in the Assembly and Gov. Cuomo not only will sign the bill, but is carrying on the mantle of Gov. Paterson in being outspoken on this issue. NOM has been mobilizing across the state. Yesterday’s Quinnipiac poll showed 58% of New Yorkers support this.
I recently found out that if I were to be married, my husband and I would be the first couple to be wed in my hometown synagogue in suburban Buffalo, NY. So it’s real personal for me, as well as family and friends back home and in other parts of the state, like Rochester, where I went to school, and NYC, where I have a lot of friends who have been waiting a long time for the state to recognize their commitment.
So we at Courage Campaign sent out a note to those in targeted districts across the state this morning, asking members to pick up the phone and make those calls. If you’re a New Yorker (or have friends, family, and colleagues there) and your State Senator isn’t a sure vote one way or the other — a list which most particularly includes Sens. Addabbo, Alesi, Ball, Griffo, Grisanti, Huntley, Kruger, Lanza, Little, Martins and McDonald — please pick up the phone and tell him or her to support equality. The full list with contact information is here. Back home, I have wonderful family and friends who live in the district of Sen. Grisanti in Buffalo (most famously the target of Lady Gaga’s calling out), who are calling every day.
The NY legislature is scheduled to adjourn on June 20th. We're getting down to the wire. And, the latest whip count from Act on Principles is here:
