Sean Christopher Avery is the latest
celebrity to join the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) New
Yorkers for Marriage Equality campaign.
“I treat everyone the way I expect to
be treated and that applies to marriage,” Avery says in his
30-second video ad.
“Committed couples should be able to
marry the person they love,” he adds. “Join me in supporting
marriage equality.”
The 31-year-old Avery currently plays
left wing for the New York Rangers. The Canadian-born professional
ice hockey player has also dabbled in the world of fashion, interning
at Vogue magazine in 2008 and working in 2009 for men's
fashion label Commonwealth Utilities.
Avery is among the growing number of
celebrities and prominent politicians to record a video for the
campaign that began last year.
Five gay rights groups – including
HRC – last month announced the formation of New
Yorkers United for Marriage to begin a new push for the
legalization of gay marriage in New York. The
campaign will be coordinated by Governor Andrew Cuomo's office.
This week, former
president Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea Clinton also
threw their support behind New York's latest effort to legalize gay
marriage.
Recent
polling shows a majority (58%) of New York voters favor giving gay
and lesbian couples the right to marry.