Four New York State Senators and Their Same-Sex Marriage Money Dance

New York, NY---- The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today announced it is running an online advertisement throughout New York state in response to a Bloomberg-held fundraiser this evening for the four GOP senators that betrayed the trust of New Yorkers last summer by exchanging a vote for same-sex marriage for campaign contributions.

The advertisement, called "Money Dance," is modeled after the practice of some brides and grooms dancing for money with supporters at their wedding. In this case, the four Senators -- Roy McDonald, Mark Grisanti, James Alesi and Stephen Saland – are dancing with wealthy contributors like Michael Bloomberg and Tim Gill who purchased their allegiance during the recent legislative session.

"These four state Senators have betrayed New Yorkers in their quest for wedding cash," said Brian Brown, president of NOM. "They abandoned their stated values and their own promises to voters. We want to expose these Senators and their same-sex marriage money dance. NOM and our 'Let the People Vote' coalition will not rest until these legislators are turned out of office and the people of New York are allowed to vote on the definition of marriage."

The online advertisement is the latest in a series of efforts aimed at picking off every New York legislator that did not stand up for their constituents and allow a vote of the people before redefining marriage. Earlier this month, NOM ran a full-page advertisement in The Capitol asking David Weprin how his gay marriage vote worked out for him, referencing his September loss in the 9th Congressional District race. The print advertisement went on to further ask, 'who will be next?' At the end of September NOM and the "Let the People Vote" coalition announced a series of billboards that are being displayed in the districts of Senators McDonald, Grisanti, Saland, Alesi and Shirley Huntely warning them, 'they're next', referring to the pledge NOM made to hold every legislator that voted to redefine marriage accountable. Prior to the billboard launch, NOM funded mailers into the districts of the five state Senators and organized rallies in four cities that drew over 15,000 people. NOM alone has committed $2 million to fund the "Let the People Vote" effort.

The "Let the People Vote" coalition (www.letthepeoplevote.com ) was formed to bring together many diverse religious and ethnic communities around the central issue of traditional marriage to demand that New York voters, just like voters in 31 other states, be given the right to decide the definition of marriage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 30, 2011 NOM Launches Billboards Holding Senators Accountable For Their Vote To Redefine Marriage “You’re Next” Campaign Serves Notice That Senators Will Follow Weprin To Defeat New York, NY---- The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today announced that it has launched a billboard campaign in the districts of state Senators Mark Grisanti, Stephen Saland, James Alesi and Shirley Huntley to hold them accountable for their vote last June to redefine marriage in New York. NOM previously ran billboards in the district of Roy McDonald.

The new billboards say of the individual state Senator, “You’re Next” in reference to the defeat of David Weprin in the 9th Congressional District. NOM funded a major independent expenditure campaign in the Weprin race, making his vote to redefine marriage a decisive issue in his defeat in a district Democrats have held since the early 1920s.

“Just like David Weprin discovered earlier this month when he faced voters after redefining marriage, Mark Grisanti, Stephen Saland, James Alesi, Roy McDonald and Shirley Huntley will soon discover that the people of New York will not sit idly by while the institution of marriage is redefined without voters having any say in the matter,” said Brian Brown, president of NOM. “NOM and our Let The People Vote” coalition will not rest until these legislators are turned out of office and the people of New York are allowed to vote on the definition of marriage.”

NOM has committed $2 million to the “Let the People Vote” effort, including $40,000 on the billboard campaign. Previously NOM funded mailers into the districts of the state Senators, organized rallies in four cities that drew over 15,000 demonstrators and helped defeat David Weprin in the recent 9th Congressional District special election.

The billboards urge people to visit the www.LetThePeopleVote.com website. The “Let The People Vote” coalition was formed to bring together many diverse religious and ethnic communities around the central issue of traditional marriage to demand that New York voters, just like voters in 31 other states, be given the right to decide the definition of marriage.

I had the privilege of being at Bob Turner's victory party last night in Howard Beach, and speaking briefly with the Congressman-elect after his dramatic victory over pro-SSM David Weprin. For those following on Twitter, early in the evening I made what I thought at the time was a bold prediction that Turner would win by 5 points – only to see his margin grow as returns from Brooklyn came in, setting his eventual 8-point victory.

What a tremendous day for marriage! New York's 9th Congressional District, which Obama won, Clinton won, and which has had a Democrat in Congress since 1923, showed Tuesday that marriage is important. David Weprin was not able to defend himself against his vote to support same-sex marriage in New York, and his constituents made that clear. 42 percent of them oppose same-sex marriage. 29 percent said marriage was a significant issue in this race. And Tuesday a strong majority showed Weprin that they have had enough.

Read the rest of NOM President Brian Brown's report on the victory in New York on the NOMblog now!

Thank You! Thanks to the thousands of you who came together on July 24th to stand up for marriage and the right to vote. Together we are sending a powerful message to Albany and to the nation – Let the People Vote!

And if you weren’t able to be there, please take a moment to watch the videos from the rallies below, and then sign up to receive regular updates on the Let the People Vote campaign!

The week of September 12th was a huge week for marriage. By now you’ve probably read the headlines that Democrat David Weprin was defeated and Republican Bob Turner elected in New York’s 9th Congressional District. This is an amazing victory because the marriage issue was front and center and became a major factor in the outcome of the race. Turner becomes the first Republican to hold this seat since the early 1920s!

New Hampshire’s legislature also voted to repeal same-sex marriage and North Carolina’s elected officials have successfully placed a marriage amendment on their ballot to be voted on next year - defining marriage as between a man and a woman. These marriage successes underscore the fact that New Yorkers are being denied the right to vote.

Click Here for More Articles New York National Review The Turner campaign’s success in garnering Jewish votes was, no doubt, aided by the conservative instincts of the Russian and Orthodox communities, many of whose members were angered by Weprin’s New York Assembly vote to legalize same-sex marriage..."

The Wall Street Journal "...Some conservative Jewish groups attacked Mr. Weprin, a state legislator, over his vote earlier this year in favor of gay marriage."

The Jewish Week "As he left P.S. 255 on Avenue S in Midwood, Brooklyn, Tuesday morning, Albert Tebele said he voted against Democrat David Weprin because of the candidate’s vote in the state Assembly to allow gay marriage in New York."

New Hampshire Reuters "…lawmakers in New Hampshire, one of only six states that allow same-sex marriage, moved on Wednesday to repeal the state law allowing gay nuptials."

Nashua Telegraph "A group of state legislators endorsed a bill Wednesday to repeal the same-sex marriage law and replace it with civil unions for gay and lesbian couples."

North Carolina Watauga Democrat "It's up to North Carolina voters to decide on a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. This comes after both the state House (76-41) and Senate (30-16) passed a bill Monday and Tuesday aimed at putting the issue on ballots."

The Macon County News "…the North Carolina General Assembly on Monday the House voted to approve a proposed amendment (Senate Bill 514) to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriage as well as ban the recognition of any civil union. By passing the bill, supporters rallied that the general public will be able to vote on the amendment and decide for themselves whether or not they want to change the constitution."

For all the concern over Rino Roy’s SSM vote I wonder where the supporters for Kathy Marchione are. How can we beat them when the homos pour money and support into McDonald’s pocket and we don’t take action to support the candidate to put him out of office. It’s really sad to see Kathy trying to function with no money. Makes you think no one really cares.

An excerpt of my email from NationforMarriage.org:

“Recently, I read a letter to the editor from a local New York
> paper-The Record from Troy, NY-that posed a great question. The
> author said he’s been receiving mailings from Senator Roy
> McDonald’s campaign trumpeting his accomplishments in office, but
> with one conspicuous omission from the list-namely, the Senator’s
> vote to legalize same-sex marriage. The author thought this was
> strange, since McDonald had claimed that taking political favors
> and money in exchange for his vote on this issue was “the right
> thing to do.” If it was the right thing to do, why not celebrate
> it and advertise it?
>
> Well, the reason is clear: McDonald, like his fellow Senator Mark
> Grisanti, knows that imposing same-sex marriage on the people of
> New York was the wrong thing to do-both ethically and
> politically. And these corrupt politicians are hoping voters
> forget their betrayal, so they won’t have to face the music on
> Primary Day this Thursday. But voter’s haven’t forgotten, and
> they’re cuing up the orchestra to play these clowns off the
> stage!snip”

An excerpt of my email from NationforMarriage.org:

“For all the concern over Rino Roy’s SSM vote I wonder where the supporters for Kathy Marchione are. ..”

I was thinking the same thing. Everyone was so upset at the time, and now all we hear are crickets. Small wonder the left is winning these days.

But there’s still time to vote Roy McDonald and Mark Grisanti out of office.

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