Fashion icon Kenneth Cole and actress
Julianne Moore are among the celebrities appearing in new ads in
support of gay marriage in New York.
The ads, backed by the Human Rights
Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest gay advocate, feature prominent
celebrities and politicians urging New Yorkers to join the campaign
for gay marriage.
“I'm Julianne Moore, and I'm a New
Yorker,” says
Moore in the first ad released this week. “We all deserve the
right to marry the person we love.”
“I've always believed in the power of
matching pairs,” says Cole in a second video.
“We are so close to equal marriage
rights in New York,” Moore adds. “But we need your help.”
“Join us,” Cole says.
Other celebrities included in the
campaign are actress Kyra Sedgwick, New York City Mayor Michael R.
Bloomberg and the Rev. Al Sharpton.
An effort last year to legalize the
institution failed in the New York Senate after passage in the
Assembly.
This year, gay marriage proponents have
taken on the task of ousting senators who voted against the measure.
The gay rights group Fight
Back New York is targeting William Stachowski of Buffalo, Shirley
L. Huntley of Queens and Ruben Diaz Sr. of the Bronx, all of whom
face opponents in the primary on Tuesday.
HRC's Brian V. Ellner, who is in charge
of the group's push for gay marriage in New York, told the New
York Times that the group wants to build momentum on the issue
now, well ahead of a hoped-for vote next year.
“We want to build excitement and
momentum in advance of that,” Ellner said.