Rights

Bloomberg Picks Up Gay-Marriage Fight

Urges New York lawmakers to pass measure.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called on state lawmakers to approve a bill allowing same-sex marriage during a speech across the street from the site of Abraham Lincoln’s historic address on slavery. Governor Andrew Cuomo is also pushing for lawmakers to pass the bill. In 2009 the state Senate defeated a bill that would have allowed same-sex marriage. “Today, a majority of Americans support marriage equality, and young people increasingly view marriage equality in much the same way as young people in the 1960s viewed civil rights,” Bloomberg said. “Eventually, as happened with civil rights for African-Americans, they will be a majority of voters. And they will pass laws that reflect their values and elect presidents who personify them. It is not a matter of if—but when.”