HRC Blog

The latest: Talkin’ Queer Politics in Manhattan

January 28, 2009

Good morning. We'd like to start things off today with this report from Anthony Hayes, our field organizer who helps organize and keeps us in the loop on what our HRC members are up to in New York:

It seems that politics is the topic that dominates conversations and you know that when you get a room full of New Yorkers and Assemblyman Danny O'Donnell together the conversation is just gett'n started. HRC local steering committee hosted its monthly forum called Talking Queer Politics (TQP) at our favorite midtown bar Therapy. Just over 40 New Yorkers showed up to meet their openly gay Assemblyman. With a new democratic majority in the New York state senate, New Yorkers had a lot on their mind about marriage and our newly-designated US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. It is an exciting time for NY since we have a governor who has said he would sign a marriage bill into law and a new majority leader in our NY state senate who said he will bring the bill to the floor when he has the votes. Assemblyman O'Donnell (pictured, right) encouraged people to keep the pressure on their NY state senators by calling, emailing, and showing their financial support when fair-minded candidates are up for re-election. His message was clear that in order for us to secure the votes we need our community must stay engaged with their elected officials. The audience wanted to know his opinion on new US Senator from upstate, Kirsten Gillibrand. The Assemblyman made it clear that for our community we had a friend in Gillibrand and that he supported her when she was a Congresswoman. He also discussed the conversation he had with Governor Paterson about filling the vacant seat. He said he was honored to be considered and remarked how times had changed for our community. Thank you, Assemblyman O'Donnell for taking the lead on passing the marriage equality bill in the New York Assembly last year. It is such leadership and conviction that clearly put him on Governor Paterson's list of potential candidates for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by now-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. We're looking forward to Assemblyman O'Donnell "Talkin' Queer Politics" some more as the Marriage Equality bill comes up for consideration again. [Pictured below: Anthony Hayes with Assemblyman O'Donnell and Rick Raven, HRC New York steering committee volunteer co-chair.]