Op-Ed : Hold Speaker Quinn Accountable For Lack Of Marriage Equality In New York City
Over the last year, a prominent campaign was announced, encouraging ''... LGBT Americans and straight allies to withhold time and money from political entities that are not fighting as hard for our equality ... .''
''Democrats and Republicans are holding our equality hostage -– promising progress if we vote them back into office year after year, but never actually delivering on those promises. It’s time for us to call them on their game of chicken. We are insisting on progress before we will prop up political parties and committees that expect us to donate while they fund anti-equality candidates and fail us time after time.'' This includes, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who is presumed to be aggressively raising money and support in preparation to mount a 2013 campaign for New York City's mayoral office.
On 13 January 2011, Speaker Quinn attended an event sponsored by Freedom To Marry, a national marriage equality organisation. Speaker Christine Quinn shows up to gay rights events -- or gay engagement announcements, like the one that took place on the evening that this YouTube was made -- but Speaker Quinn has never introduced any law to establish marriage equality in New York City. In contrast, Gavin Newson helped to reshape marriage equality for the United States by allowing same-sex couples to receive marriage licenses in San Francisco. New York voters need to hold Speaker Quinn accountable for having taken no action during all her years as Speaker to make marriage equality a reality.
At a time when, if we expect to make real progress in terms of gay civil rights, we need ''All Hands On Deck,'' here we find that, instead, Speaker Quinn still has her hands in the cookie jar. If gay marriage ever becomes legal in New York City, it won't be because of Speaker Quinn.
