Remember Rev. Dr. King's measure of a man

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at moments of challenge and controversy," said the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

St. Vincent's MLK Vigil Becomes A Medical Crisis

A man passed out on the sidewalk about 25 feet from a candlelight vigil outside of St. Vincent's Hospital tonight during a celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In this video, the political commentator and artist Suzannah B. Troy describes to us the scene of the medical emergency.

St. Vincent's closed in 2010. On Jan. 23, the New York City Planning Commission, headed by Park Avenue socialite Amanda Burden, is expected to approve the luxury condo conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital, which will make billionaire real estate developer Bill Rudin over $1 billion in gross sales.

Earlier in the Day, activists for a single-payer healthcare system gathered at Union Square.

Activists advocating for a hospital to replace St. Vincent's, for example, joined in solidarity with the Physicians for a National Health Program, who held a speak-out on the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.

Bill Rudin Martin Luther King, Jr., Day - St. Vincent's Hospital Protest

Stop Closing Hospitals !

In 1966, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and most inhuman." In this video, activists protested outside St. Vincent's Hospital to say that it is unacceptable that hospitals are being closed in New York City with no plan to meet emergency, trauma, or critical care healthcare services. The healthcare gap that is being created is leading to a major divide between emergency healthcare between the haves and the have-nots, something that Dr. King would not have wanted.

Gov. Cuomo to LGBTQ New Yorkers : You're (Not) Getting Married Today

Was ''Marriage Equality'' just another fairy tale ''promise'' by Candidate Andrew Cuomo to be faithful to the LGBTQ community -- the way straight people recite their wedding vows to one another, nowadays, only to father babies with their maids ?

Because of campaign promises, everybody has been expecting New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to use his political capital to lobby for the passage of a marriage equality law by the New York state legislature.

The reality is that, now, marriage equality activists are losing patience with Gov. Cuomo, because he seems to be backpedalling. Over two months ago, Gov. Cuomo ''vowed'' to make a personal ''push'' for a marriage equality law.

Gov. Cuomo's marriage proposal was met with a resounding, ''Yes,'' because, for this engagement, he got down on one knee and opened a little velvet box : ''Mr. Cuomo’s commitment to using his political savvy and muscle could give advocates something they had long lacked: a unifying, persuasive leader who understands the wiles and ways of Albany,'' reported The New York Times.

But since making his proposal in March, LGBTQ New Yorkers have been left standing at the alter, waiting for Gov. Cuomo to show up at our wedding.

Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club - Queer Rising - Marriage Equality Press Release - Gov. Cuomo

Under the weight of heavy social opression that suffocates all LGBTQ New Yorkers -- including closeted gay legislators such as Sen. Carl Kruger, who is now facing corruption charges -- now come LGBT affinity groups such as the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club and Queer Rising to demand that Gov. Cuomo read up on wedding etiquette.

Another LGBT civil rights group, Connecting Rainbows, has already turned up the pressure on key ''NO'' vote senators, such as Sen. Shirley Huntley, who claims she is ''inbetween'' on equality.

In the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., :

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

(See also Andy Humm's poignant letter to the editor of The New York Times, which was reprinted by Michael Musto in The Village Voice.)

When Gov. Cuomo first made public his wedding announcement, LGBTQ New Yorkers celebrated, as if the trip down the isle was going to be imminent. Haven't we been invited to a similar fairy tale wedding before ? The wedding song that keeps getting played over and over is Stephen Sonheim's ''(Not) Getting Married Today'' from the musical, Company.

When are we going to hear Felix Mendelssohn's ''Wedding March'' from A Midsummer Night's Dream ?

Shirley Huntley Gay Marriage Protest

Senator Shirley Huntley Marched in Selma and Didn't Learn a Thing : Epic YouTube Video of Daring Protest in Jamaica, Queens, in Support of Marriage Equality

At noon on Wednesday, LGBTQ activists demonstrated in front and visited the office of Queens Senator Shirley Huntely in Jamaica Queens calling upon her to be a champion for full civil rights, including marriage equality for LGBTQ Americans.

Protesters unfurled a 20' banner that stated, "Sen. Shirley Huntley Marched in Selma and Didn't Learn a Thing," while blaring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, giving her a much needed wake-up call.

In 2009, Senator Huntely voted "No" on the marriage equality bill, which would grant same-sex couples the same 1,324 legal protections that opposite-sex couples already have. When asked the reason for her vote, she explained that she was speaking on behalf of her constituency in district 10.

This protest was organised by members of Connecting Rainbows.