NYC Marriage Equality Rally

Last Sunday, I attended my first marriage equality rally on 45th St and 6th Ave in Manhattan. My friend Jeff was supposed to join me but he overslept and had to work that night. I missed the first big one at the height of Prop 8 because I was at the Bahamas . And on another occasion, I was working.

Broadway Impact created this event with the help of members of the theater community, presumably to attract crowds. While it cannot be denied that the presence of Broadway stars was a huge come-on, still, the GLBT community came in droves. It was like Gay Pride minus the flashy costumes and fancy floats. What's palpable was the overwhelming feeling of togetherness, of unity to fight against discrimination, to fight for equal rights, particularly marriage equality. On May 12, the New York State assembly passed the bill for Marriage Equality which is now slated for approval in the NY Senate by June. The goal of the rally is to appeal to the NY senators to vote yes on the bill. 

It was an afternoon of great, heartwarming speeches and Broadway tunes and rousing chants and raves. The cast of Hair (the Broadway musical currently nominated for Tony Best Musical Revival) kickstarted the rally with a beautiful rendition of "Aquarius" and then its lead actor, Gavin Creel, also nominated for Tony Best Actor in a Musical, led the energetic chorus for "The Flesh Failures/Let The Sunshine In." Gavin actually was one of the brains behind Broadway Impact. Politicians who took the stage include Assemblyman Dan O'Donnell, Senator Tom Duane, Mayor Mike Bloomberg, NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn and of course, Governor Paterson, who introduced the bill back in April. Other stars who came to speak were Chris Sieber and John Tartaglia of Shrek, Cynthia Nixon, who gave one of the best speeches that night (I have yet to find a transcript), fellow Sex and the City star, Kristin Davis, who was there for support, Frasier star and Tony Award-winner, David Hyde Pierce, playwright Douglas Carter Beane (The Little Dog Laughed, Xanadu), Ugly Betty star Ana Ortiz. Cheyenne Jackson and Audra MacDonald provided additional song numbers.

Overall, it was an overwhelming feeling to be there. I have been using "overwhelming" multiple times when describing what it was like to be there in the rally to my friends. It was a good feeling and I was really glad that I came. This was a cause I'm very passionate about being a gay New Yorker. The vibe was pretty optimistic, although I'm still bummed out by some of the lies and misconceptions that are still being thrown out there with this gay agenda crap. A lot of people are still misguided because of their religious upbringing and I personally think that this is not all about religion or the Bible at all. It's all about being treated as the next person regardless of gender or race or economic status. It's all about being able to enjoy the rights that straight couples have when they, too, profess their love for each other. After all, isn't it all about love anyway? 

I am sooo not done with this post. More on this in the coming days.

A huge turnout of hot gay men and women at the rally

one of my favorite signs in the rally

The cast of Hair preparing to preach "the dawning of the age of Aquarius"

Gov. Paterson deserves a huge Thank You for bravely introducing the bill

Cheyenne mentioned that he and his partner are together for 10 years, "which is in gay years is, like, 70." LOL! Love him!

I borrowed this sign from a very nice lesbian.