Singer-songwriter Moby 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.
“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,” Moby says in the ad. (The video is
embedded in the right panel of this page.)
The campaign has previously featured
actress Julianne Moore, fashion designer Kenneth Cole,
Moutoussamy-Ashe,
the widow of tennis great Arthur Ashe, and New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg.
In
his ad, Bloomberg says he supports gay marriage because
“government shouldn't tell you who to love or who to marry.”
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.
The campaign is an effort to build
momentum on the issue now, well ahead of a hoped-for vote next year.
On Thursday, Democratic
gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo said he wants to be the New York
governor that signs a gay marriage bill into law.