As Alicia Keyes croons about concrete jungles in the background, Michael Bloomberg’s new ad on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign to support gay marriage shows the mayor saying, “I’m a New Yorker and I support marriage equality.” The ad then cuts to the words, “New Yorkers Support Full Marriage Equality. Do You?” displayed across City Hall. Or as the Post describes it, “Mayor Bloomberg — who has no problem telling New Yorkers not to smoke, gobble trans fats or sprinkle too much salt on their food — insists, ‘Government shouldn’t tell you who to love or who to marry,’ in a pro-gay marriage Internet video released yesterday.” That is a very helpful place to remind readers about Mayor Bloomberg’s other policies, because supporting equal rights is exactly the same as restricting artificial fats from restaurants. Surprised by Albany’s defeat of the bill to legalize gay marriage last December in a state where a slight majority support it, HRC’s latest Internet campaign, developed by Brian Ellner, a former Bloomberg administration official, aims at building public support.
With Andrew Cuomo pledging his support to marriage equality, and a Democratic legislature, advocates hope to have a new vote early next year. HRC says it plans to televise its campaign — which also features spots by Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon, Tom Colicchio, Al Sharpton, and more — as the debates heats up. Of course, only one of those people is mayor of New York City. As we pointed out when Bloomberg, who has been a long-standing advocate for gay marriage, called the first bill’s chances “zero, zero” last fall, his political donations have the power to shift votes.
Mike’s wedding video: Legalize gay marriage [NYP]
Related: Could Bloomberg Make Marriage Equality Happen If He Wanted To?
