New York Gov. David Paterson sends extraordinary message to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocates

New York Gov. David Paterson sends extraordinary message to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocates



NEW YORK, April 8 — New York Gov. David Paterson addressed a standing-room-only audience at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s New York Leadership Awards last night, in which he was honored for his longstanding work on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights.

“Held hostage” to the Albany budget process, Paterson sent an extraordinary message via video to the assembled crowd. Remembering that this year commemorates the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and remembering King’s legacy of “his ability to go beyond the issues of his neighborhood,” Paterson urged “New York’s civil rights leaders to recognize that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities deserve equal rights as well.”

The governor said he was “proud to have run on a ticket that advocated for marriage equality and to win on that premise.” Underscoring the remarkable triumph of the passage of the marriage equality bill in the New York State Assembly, Paterson reiterated that more people understand “that when people love each other they should be able to express it in every way that they deem necessary and possible and they should have all the rights that the rest of us have.”

He vowed “to push on until we bring full marriage equality to New York state” and promised to fight for an end to bullying in schools, for transgender rights and for affordable health care for everyone.

Paterson concluded with a call to “change the face of New York which will be a catalyst for change in national policy.”