Actress Fran Drescher appears in a new ad 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.

“With a voice like this, you know I got to be a New Yorker,” Drescher says in the ad, referring to her unmistakable nasal drawl. “But I'm also an American. And to me that means justice and equality and liberty for everyone.” (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)

The campaign has previously featured singer-songwriter Moby, actress Julianne Moore, fashion designer Kenneth Cole, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, the widow of tennis great Arthur Ashe, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

In his ad, Moby says, “One of the things that made me most proud of being a New Yorker for decades is the fact that we embrace all people and walks of life.”

The campaign hopes to build momentum on the issue now, ahead of a hoped-for vote next year to legalize gay marriage in the state after last year's failed bid.