Alan Van Cappelle, Empire State Pride Agenda's Executive Director

Tomorrow is Equality and Justice Day and activists from around New York State will convene in Albany, NY, to address the issue of same-sex marriage with every New York State Senator who is not in favor of same-sex marriage.

Kitty Lambert and Cheryl Rudd lead the group Outspoken for Equality and are working on the passage of the Marriage Equality Bill in New York.  Michael James, chair of the Stonewall Democrats of Western New York's group is also part of this effort.

The group has worked with many politicians who support gay marriage and are now focused on New York State Senators Rath, Volker, and Maziarz, who are apparently opposed to same-sex marriage.  According to Lambert, when she asked Senator Maziarz (photo 1) why he was against same-sex marriage, Maziarz responded, "I'm a devout Catholic,"....

Update: 8 May 2008

Empire State Pride Agenda's Executive Director, Alan Van Cappelle, threatens "If senators do not vote for the legislation, "we're going to find new legislators to sit in their seats,"...".

Van Cappelle is referring to Summary Bill Number 08590, which can be viewed here: http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A08590, and passed by the New York State Assembly last year, providing same-sex couples the right to marry in New York State. The Bill would also provide protection however to clergy who choose not to marry same-sex couples.

According to the article, published by the Star-Gazette Albany Bureau, a 2005 report by the Williams Institute, a University of Southern California research organization, there are an estimated 592,337 gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual people living in New York State; more than 50,000 are same-sex couples, with approximately 20% raising children: http://www.stargazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080429/UPDATE/304290054