Crushed gay marriage supporters in New
York have begun campaigning against senators who voted against a gay
marriage bill.
Less than a week after the gay marriage
“betrayal” of state Senator Hiram Monserrate, a Democrat from
Queens, Empire State Pride Agenda, the state's largest gay rights
advocate, has endorsed a pro-gay marriage candidate for Monserrate's
seat and has vowed to unseat anti-gay marriage politicians in the
state.
In endorsing Assemblyman Jose Peralta
in the 2010 Democratic Primary, the group noted his previous votes in
support of gay marriage in the Assembly, which has approved the
measure three times since 2007.
“Jose Peralta has demonstrated time
and time again that he is a champion of equality and justice for all
New Yorkers and has consistently represented the interests of his
district in the New York State Assembly,” Alan Van Capelle,
executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda, said in a statement
released Tuesday. “His record on LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender] issues demonstrates that he does not duck-and-run when
our bills come up for a vote.”
“He has stood up for us in the
Assembly, and we will stand with him in his race for the state
Senate,” he added.
After the gay marriage bill was put to
rest on a 38 to 24 vote in the Senate Tuesday, openly gay Senator Tom
Duane, the bill's sponsor, said eight of his colleagues, both
Democrats and Republicans, had broken promises to him, including
Monserrate. He said he felt “betrayed.”
But Van Capelle's voting roster might
have read a bit differently. Soon after the Senate killed the bill
for at least this session, Van Capelle issued a statement that said
the silver lining was found in the public vote.
“Now we know where we stand, and
where we need to concentrate our efforts in the future. … To those
senators who do not yet see our families as deserving the same
protections as other families in New York, our message is simple: We
are more committed than ever to this fight. We will redouble our
efforts in your district to ensure that our voice is heard. We know
our cause is just. … If you cannot support us, we will find
candidates for public office who do, and we will work through the
democratic system to effect needed change,” he said.
Van Capelle repeated those sentiments
in his endorsement Tuesday: “Over the next several months, the
Pride Agenda will roll out endorsements of candidates who support
equality and will challenge sitting members of the State Senate on
both sides of the aisle whose record on equality is a stain on New
York.”