Tag Archives: Thomas Duane

A mayoral campaign press conference for New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn turned violent yesterday when an anti-Quinn protester slapped openly gay state Sen. Brad Hoylman in the face. The protester, seen above shaking his fist at openly gay former state Sen. Tom Duane, said that he blames Quinn for the closure of St. Vincent’s Hospital in the West …

Two Democrats are running to fill the seat of openly gay NY Sen. Tom Duane, who is retiring after a distinguished career highlighted by last year’s passage of marriage equality. One of those running for Duane’s West Village seat is Brad Hoylman (above right), who is openly gay, engaged and the father of a 18-month old. His opponent, Tom Greco, …

New York Sen. Tom Duane, the nation’s only openly gay and openly HIV-positive state legislator has announced his retirement. On Monday, Mr. Duane, a Democrat, will announce his decision to call it quits, opening up the seat in a district that stretches from the Upper West Side to Greenwich Village, and across to the East Village. No, it is not …

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill creating state services for LGBT senior citizens. The bill was sponsored by openly gay state Sen. Thomas Duane and openly bisexual state Assemblyman Micah Keller. The bill authorizes the replication of various state programs currently offered to traditionally underserved populations. Via press release from Duane’s office: “Governor Cuomo has once again …

By far the most popular person at yesterday’s parade was Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose team had distributed thousands of placards reading “Promise kept! Thank you, Governor!” Hit this Gothamist link for lots more photos from the day.

Empire State Pride Agenda “Love and fairness wins the day for all New Yorkers and our families. Today is a historic day and a victory for equality and justice – it is the culmination of many years of work by the Pride Agenda and others across the state,” said Ross D. Levi, Executive Director of the Empire State Pride Agenda. …

The vote was 33-29!!!! I love you, New York. Now please excuse me as I slip away for some heavy drinking. Marriage equality in New York has been one of the top focuses of this here website thingy for a long, long time.

Openly gay New York state Sen. Thomas Duane says that he will introduce a marriage equality bill with the aim of forcing a vote by this June. “I think everyone is aware that we have to make the lives of New Yorkers better in every way – economically, as well as to provide equality to New York families,” Duane said …

Openly gay and openly HIV+ New York state Sen. Tom Duane was arrested along with several other AIDS activists in a protest at City Hall tonight. The act of civil disobedience was meant to draw attention to a housing bill that was vetoed by the governor earlier this year. The bill would insure that poor people living with HIV/ AIDS …

The Log Cabin Republicans are the sponsor of today’s street fair in the West Village, where their booth is across from the tube socks and next to the gypsy wear. The LCR’s is just one of the city’s 321 annual street fairs, a number that Bloomberg recently capped after complaints that most of them are run by the same three …

The anti-bullying Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) has finally passed in the New York Senate after nine consecutive years of shooting the bill down. A large part of the credit for this success goes, of course, to the bill’s Assembly sponsor, Daniel O’Donnell and its Senate sponsor, openly gay Sen. Thomas Duane. The bill passed overwhelmingly in the Assembly …

All three space shuttles will be retired next year. Openly gay NY state Sen. Tom Duane wants to bring one of them to NYC for permanent display in Manhattan onboard the Intrepid aircraft carrier. “On Thursday, by a unanimous vote, the state senate approved a legislative resolution spearheaded by State Senator Thomas K. Duane that enthusiastically endorses the Intrepid Sea, …

NY Sen. Thomas Duane, via press release: Today’s vote against Marriage Equality makes me very angry. Promises made were not honored. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community, and all fair-minded New Yorkers have been betrayed. I am enraged, deeply disappointed and profoundly saddened by the vote today. In 2006, when the New York State Court of Appeals shamefully …

Openly gay NY Sen. Thomas Duane expresses his thanks to Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson after her touching speech about her gay brother during her unexpected “yes” vote on marriage equality in the New York Senate today. You can express your own appreciation to Sen. Hassell-Thompson by phone or email here. [Photo credit: Nathaniel Brooks/NYT]

NY state Sen. Thomas Duane continues to vow that there are enough “yes” votes for the state Senate to pass marriage equality, but he won’t say who the equality-minded Republicans are. According to a WNYC-FM reporter, Duane says those Senators “have to come of out the closet on their own. Gov. Paterson has called the Senate back to Albany today. …

Over at Gay City News, Paul Schindler has written an inside look at the negotiations to get the state senate to agree to a marriage equality vote before the end of the year. The Empire State Pride Agenda’s Alan Van Capelle and openly gay Sen. Thomas Duane remain optimistic that “the votes are there.” “For the very first time, we …

“Once again Mike Bloomberg is talking out of both sides of his mouth. The fact of the matter is Mike will stand up in press conferences and talk the talk but at the end of the day he never walks the walk. Mike Bloomberg has consistently supported the Republican Party and its anti-gay marriage agenda. As far as I know, …

Our newly beardless governor has renewed his pledge to bring marriage equality to a vote in the New York Senate in a special session he plans to call over the state budget. “I am anticipating a special session and I am anticipating this is one of the issues that we will address,” Paterson told The Advocate Thursday night, shortly after …

Openly gay and openly HIV positive New York Senator Tom Duane delivered one of the most blistering, heartfelt, and painful speeches I think I may have ever heard yesterday. The NY Daily News: Sen. Tom Duane gave an eyebrow-raising performance on the Senate floor early this morning in hopes of moving his colleagues to support a bill that prevents people …

The office of openly gay New York state Sen. Thomas Duane sends this message via email: “The month long stalemate in the Senate has ended. I am pleased that the Democratic Conference remains, as they were elected to be, in the majority. It is now time for the Senate to get back to work. The June 8th coup was a …