By CHRIS JOHNSON, Washington Blade
Jan 23 2009, 11:30 AM |
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New York Gov. David Paterson (D) was expected to announce today that he has selected a New York congresswoman with a supportive stance on gay issues to succeed Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate.
Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the expected successor, voted for hate crimes legislation and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in 2007.
She scored 80 on the Human Rights Campaign’s congressional scorecard in the last legislative session, losing points for not co-sponsoring a bill to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the Uniting American Families Act, the Early Treatment for HIV Act and the Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act.
When asked about her position on same-sex marriage in an interview published in the January/February 2009 edition of InsideOut, Gillibrand said that on the federal level she wants to “actually make civil unions legal in all 50 states, make it the law of the land.”
“Because what you want to fundamentally do is protect the rights and privileges of committed couples, so that they can have Medicare benefits, visit in the hospitals, have adoption rights,” she said. “All [the] things that we give to married couples, committed gay couples should be eligible for. And then the question of whether you call it a marriage or not, what you label it, that can be left to the states to decide.”
Alan Van Capelle, executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda, was quoted in the New York Daily News on Friday as saying that he discussed with Gillibrand on Thursday night where she stands on gay issues.
“I am very happy to say that New York is poised to have its first U.S. Senator who supports marriage equality for same-sex couples,” Van Capelle said. “She also supports the full repeal of the [Defense of Marriage Act], repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and passage of legislation outlawing discrimination against transgender people.”
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