Gay rights group the Human
Rights Campaign (HRC) has endorsed Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's
2010 bid to keep her New York seat.
“Senator Gillibrand has emerged as
one of the strongest advocates in the Senate for full equality for
the LGBT community,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese in a
statement issued Thursday. “Gillibrand has time and again stood
for fairness for all.”
Gillibrand is the New York senator
appointed by Governor David Paterson after President Obama tapped
Hillary Clinton to head the State Department. In accepting the post,
Gillibrand immediately announced her public support for gay marriage,
a move many commentators have said was necessary to win Paterson's
endorsement.
Shortly afterwards, the state's senior
senator, Charles Schumer, followed suit, telling the New York
Daily News in March that “equality is something that has always
been a hallmark of America.” With Schumer's about face, the
state's entire Senate delegation now publicly supports gay marriage
for the first time.
Gillibrand, a Democrat, also floated a
bill that would have paused military discharges of gay soldiers as
Congress debates whether to repeal the military's ban on open gay
service, also known as “don't ask, don't tell.” The plan,
however, fizzled due to lack of support.
HRC previously endorsed Gillibrand's
2008 bid for re-election to the House.
“I am very honored to once again have
the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign,” Senator Gillibrand
said in a statement.
“Equality, civil rights, and equal
justice for the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender]
community must be a clarion call for our party and our generation,”
she added.