Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker appears in a new campaign calling for the legalization of gay marriage.

The nationwide campaign by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest gay rights advocate, is patterned after two similar efforts launched to win marriage equality in New York and Maryland.

“Hi, I'm Mayor Cory Booker. I support marriage equality,” Booker, a rising star in the Democratic Party, says in the 50-second spot.

“I support it because from my earliest of ages I made a pledge that we will be a nation with liberty and justice for all. I support marriage equality because I believe in the 14th amendment – equal protection under the law. And I support marriage equality because I support love and in this nation we need a lot more of it.” (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)

Unlike previous campaigns which sought to increase support for legislation introduced in specific states, the new initiative is not tied to any specific proposal.

“Americans for Marriage Equality will help drive the national conversation on marriage equality at a critical time as the issue moves through the electoral, legislative and judicial arenas. We look forward to changing more minds,” HRC President Joe Solmonese said in a statement.