NYC: Foes and friends of marriage equality organize separate rallies

Just last night, the New York State Assembly approved a marriage equality bill by a tally of 89-52.

While the outcome wasn't surprising (the legislative body passed a similar bill in 2007), debate on the floor was impassioned - moving at times and infuriating at others - with the final vote improving on 2007's tally of 85 for and 61 against.

Of course, the true test will come if and when the State Senate introduces its own version of the bill since - despite a slight Democratic majority, Governor David Paterson's increased visibility on the bill, support from both US Senators from New York, AND backing from Senate Majority Leader Malcom Smith - it's uncertain if there are enough votes to pass it.

Surprisingly, in the face of the State Senate dragging its feet on the issue, there have been few public demonstrations or rallies to prod them in the right direction (compared to - say - the spate of press conferences and gatherings following the impact of the weddings that took place in San Francisco in 2004, or the couple of Join the Impact rallies in the wake of passage of Prop. 8 in California).

I had heard rumblings that a few organizations were doing something this weekend but couldn't find specific information... until yesterday. From a press release:

This Sunday, May 17, stars of Broadway and Television will come out to perform and rally in support of love, peace and marriage equality. Please join us from 5:00pm - 7:00pm ET on Sixth Avenue at 44th street in Manhattan as we let the sunshine in.
[NOTE: ENTRANCES TO RALLY AT: 45, 46, 47TH Street from THE WEST SIDE!!]

Yes, kiddies, bring your jazz-hands, because it will be a very Broadway event. As a matter of fact, the entire cast of HAIR will be on scene to sing "Let the Sunshine In" (will they get naked?) and Broadway luminaries such as Audra McDonald and Cheyenne Jackson will make appearances too. Oh, and Senator Tom Duane and Assemblymember Danny O'Donnell, sponsors of the marriage equality bills on each side of the legislature, will make impassioned speeches to those gathered. I hope there is a nice turn-out despite the last minute official announcement. It was put together by Broadway Impact and backed by the Empire State Pride Agenda, Marriage Equality New York, the Civil Rights Front and Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS.

Of course, this is not the only marriage-related rally on Sunday.

A number of homophobic Hispanic evangelical preachers, led by State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., are urging clergy and parishioners to stand against same-sex marriage by demonstrating outside Governor Paterson's New York City offices earlier in the day.

That one is scheduled to begin at 1pm and take place at 633 Third Avenue (btwn. 40th & 41st Streets).

Diaz organized a similar rally in September but it was a big flop.
Still, Diaz has been trumpeting this march to anyone who will listen and, unlike past events he has organized, this one seems to be getting mainstream media play, so I expect a big turn out.

In 2004, Diaz drew an estimated 5,000 people to rally against marriage equality and in support of President Bush outside the Bronx Courthouse. At the time, national anti-gay organizations joined the call and pured resources into the event, busing parishioners and clergy from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. If Diaz gets the backing from national organizations such as the National Organization for Marriage, it wouldn't surprise me if the rally drew just as many people.

Back then, Diaz expressed anger in Spanish language media that the rally did not receive any mainstream media coverage. As far as I know the only English-language press coverage it received was from Gay City News. In terms of media presence, I have no doubt that he'll finally get his wish on Sunday.

If it's a large turn-out (say 5,000+ people) watch him beam on television on the nightly news. If it's a small to medium turn out (say 500 to 2,500), watch him beam anyway and inflate the numbers. In either case, I will be there to see how it goes down.

But don't be fooled! Diaz might draw a specific segment of the Hispanic community but he is on the losing end of history. Four recent polls indicate that Latinos in New York actually back marriage equality for same sex couples (check this out as well as this).

Related:

• Sunday: NYC Marriage Equality (Joe.My.God)

My New York: Gotham City stands up for same-sex marriage tonight

Update: Towleroad, as always, has the most comprehensive rundown.

Oh what a beautiful sight! Thousands of people in a semi-impromptu demonstration the likes I haven't seen since that huge rally in Manhattan after the death of Matthew Shepard. All demanding equal rights for same-sex couples following the passage of California's Proposition 8 and chastising the Mormon church for pouring so much money into the effort to deny same-sex couples the right to marry.

Back then, after the Matthew Shepard rally, I was quoted in the Village Voice marveling at how e-mail networking had made the humongous vigil a reality. Appropriate, then, that tonight's vigil was brought to you pretty much courtesy of Facebook. To be sincere, I expected perhaps 1,000 people or less. As if! One estimate I heard tonight placed the crowd at 16,000 (smaller than the Matthew Sheppard vigil but just an amazing number for something that was almost ethereal in execution. Rex Wockner has a post on what might be called Activism 4.0 (personally - despite the turn out - I am uncertain how the energy can be truly channeled effectively in the future). Kudos to organizer Corey Johnson.

BTW - If you missed tonight there is another protest Saturday (more details here)

Snapshots from tonight:

Winner! Best sign of the night!

Runner up!

Le Joe Jervis est hoaging le camera (jeez! is Joe.My.God everywhere?)

The closing shot: The end of the night rally at Columbus Circle just outside Central Park.

'cept c'est le moi! c/o le Ozed guy! Thanks John!


More pictures here

A short vid below:


Related:

• Prop 8 backlash hits NYC Mormon Temple (Andy Humm / Gay City News)
  
• 15,000 march against Prop 8 in NYC (Wockner)
• NYC: Thousands rally for equality (Joe.My.God)
• Of the instant (John Ozed)
  
• Lavi Soloway's photos here
• NYC against Proposition 8 - aka Prop Hate (Pop Bytes)
  
• Thousands protest Prop 8 in Manhattan (Boy in Bushwick)
• Prop H: Child brides, YES! Gay marriage, NO! (Bitten by a Zebra)
  
• An amazing protest at the Mormon Temple in Manhattan (Father Tony / Bilerico)
• NY turns out for anti-Prop 8 march (Pam Spaulding)
• 10,000 New Yorkers turn out to protest Prop. 8 (Queerty)
• Thousands gather in NYC to peacefully protest proposition 8 (Brian Juergens / After Elton)
  

Honored... Pt. 2

Oh lordy, the heat! Still, yesterday evening I managed to get to the New York City Council chambers pretty sweat-free. And I was pretty shocked by how many people were in the room which made it hard for me to find a seat even as an honoree (as I recently mentioned the City Council was observing the 198th anniversary of the independence of Colombia).

Colombian singer Cabas was in the audience but left soon after he made some initial remarks. There were ten honorees and we were told to keep our speeches short.

Councilmember Hiram Monserrate (left) read each of the proclamations presented to the honorees and mine did not seem to leave much more to say about my life's work. I wondered how the crowd would react by the mention of my work in LGBT communities but people seemed to take it in stride. Good stuff!

In my speech I said the main reason for coming to the United States was the fear of not being able to live an open life in Colombia back then but that I was thrilled to see how much things had changed since then. I mentioned the recent Colombian Supreme Court ruling granting certain rights to same-sex couples and told the audience that perhaps the United States should follow Colombia's lead.

I finished by dedicating the honor to my mother for the sacrifices she made for her three sons when we moved to the United States - She will be retiring as a college professor upstate New York this year and heading back to Colombia next year. Applause. And that was that (well, there were other honorees and some even thanked their moms as well).

I felt bad for my friend William who sat down for the whole ceremony and probably understood little of what was said since it was conducted in Spanish. I was grateful for his offer to act as my photographer last night.

To celebrate we headed to that other big Colombian heritage tradition: Xanadu on Broadway! (at the very least I believe the original incarnation did boffo-business at the Colombian movie box-office even as it tanked in the United States).

Confession: I never saw the movie but if it's half as funny as the Broadway show, I'm there! (check the very gay-licious website).

After the show, William tried to get me to do some scandalous poses in front of the theater but I had to behave myself. After all I had my City Council proclamation in hand! I have to say that I loved Kerry Butler's voice and her tongue-in-cheek take on Olivia Newton-John's Australian accent. I did the usual pose with the show star photo after I noticed her leaving the theater (below).

The temperature had fallen down by night-fall (not by much though) but the humidity was way up. By the time I got home I was drenched in sweat so my sancocho soup warning was not too off the mark. Took a nice shower and went to bed.

All in all, a very nice evening. Thanks to readers who were kind enough to send congratulations through the blog reply section or in private.