Stand up pour Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg, maire de New York est un ardent defenseur de l'égalité des droits pour les homosexuels, il se bat pour la légalisation du mariage gay
Retrouvez ci dessous son discours de Cooper Union Collége

"NEAR EQUALITY IS NO EQUALITY"

Mr. Bloomberg spoke in personal terms about why he is an advocate for gay marriage, declaring that he sees the "pain the status quo causes."

"When I meet a New Yorker who is gay, when I speak with…family members and members of my staff who are gay, or when I look into the eyes of my niece, Rachel, I cannot tell them that their government is correct in denying them the right to marry," he said.

"I can't tell them that marriage is not for them. I can't tell them that a civil union is good enough," he said. "In our democracy, near equality is no equality. Government either treats everyone the same, or it doesn't. And right now it doesn't."

Glaringly absent from the speech was any mention of how Mr. Bloomberg wavered on this issue for years before taking a firm stand as he prepared to run for re-election in 2005. During his first campaign for mayor and most of his first four-year term at City Hall, Mr. Bloomberg consistently ducked questions about gay marriage.

In recent years, the mayor has sought to position himself as a strong voice in the campaign for gay marriage. For example, he traveled to Albany earlier this month to lobby state lawmakers on the issue. In 2009, the Senate rejected a bill that would have permitted same-sex couples to marry by a 38-to-24 margin. The state Assembly has consistently backed gay marriage, and the issue has the support of both former Gov. David Paterson and his successor, Andrew Cuomo.

In his speech, Mr. Bloomberg said state lawmakers have a clear choice: "Do you want to be remembered as a leader on civil rights? Or an obstructionist?"
"On matters of freedom and equality, history has not remembered obstructionists kindly," the mayor said. "Not on abolition. Not on abortion. Not on women's suffrage. Not on workers' rights. Not on civil rights. And it will be no different on marriage rights."

When the mayor's niece introduced her uncle, she said the mayor does not "agonize" about "defending these rights."
"It's not hard for him to come to these positions," said Ms. Tiven, who heads a national organization supporting equal immigration rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV-positive community. "These issues are very clear to him and uncomplicated."

Brian Ellner, who is heading a campaign for gay marriage, said the mayor's history on this issue doesn't "complicate what he said today." Last year, Mr. Ellner withdrew his candidacy for executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, a gay group, in part because of controversy surrounding his support for the mayor.
"The mayor's message today is going to move a lot of people across this nation," Mr. Ellner said. "It's time to get it done."

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