New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Jean
Moutoussamy-Ashe appear in new ads supporting 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.
“My late husband, Arthur Ashe, and I
fought discrimination throughout our lives,” Moutoussamy-Ashe, the
widow of tennis great Arthur Ashe, says in one video. “I know that
he would support marriage equality.” (The video is embedded in the
right panel on this page.)
In
his ad, Bloomberg says he supports gay marriage because
“government shouldn't tell you who to love or who to marry.”
The
campaign has previously featured actress Julianne Moore and fashion
designer Kenneth Cole.
An effort last year to legalize gay
marriage 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 group Fight Back New York has already taken out two of its marks.
Hiram Monserrate was defeated in a special election held in March
and primary
voters overwhelmingly picked Tim Kennedy, a pro-gay marriage
candidate, over incumbent Bill Stachowski. The
group is currently taking aim at New York State Senator Ruben Diaz
Sr., the Senate's most vocal opponent of gay marriage.
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.