New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn have once again pledged their
support for gay marriage at a local fundraiser yesterday.
Bloomberg told attendees at the
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center's annual
dinner benefit that he supports gay marriage and will continue to
pressure political leaders to pass a gay marriage bill.
“We see that the tide is turning,
that support is mounting,” Bloomberg told the audience. “Make no
mistake, the time will come, I think in the nearer term than further
out, and we will pass this bill.”
Bloomberg said he would be happy to
testify in support of gay marriage when the Legislature introduces a
bill.
Openly lesbian Quinn commented that
Senator
Charles Schumer's recent endorsement of gay marriage proves
support is widening among politicians.
“Everything's different this year in
a way that I think is very positive for the movement of the bill,”
Quinn told the New York Daily News. “When we get the green
light from our leaders in the [state] Senate that it's the right time
to go, he [Bloomberg] and I will up there.”
A gay marriage bill was passed by the
New York Assembly in 2007 but Republican leaders blocked the bill in
the Senate.
Democrats gained control of the state
Senate on November 4. Activists were hopeful new leadership would
pass a gay marriage bill this year, but Senate Majority Leader
Malcolm A. Smith admitted during a Human Rights Campaign fundraiser
last month that he does not have the votes to pass such a bill.