Jason Collins. (Photo: Getty)

Earlier today, Washington Wizard's center Jason Collins became the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. And, Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who's vying to become the first openly gay mayor of New York City, is rather happy about it.

"What Jason did today is literally going to save lives," Ms. Quinn said in a statement. "Because the greatest athletes – who are children’s heroes more than athletes? – are also LGBT and it’s okay."

After Mr. Collins' outed himself, Ms. Quinn said, other athletes will feel more comfortable doing the same. In turn, children throughout the country will follow their lead.

“Today, Jason is opening a door for all other athletes moving forward," she explained. "But let’s think about something else: there will be a day soon when a young boy or a young girl is sitting watching the NBA finals or the Super Bowl or the World Series. And there on the screen will be an openly gay athlete. And that little boy, maybe he thinks he’s gay or maybe he knows he’s gay, and maybe he sat all alone in his room with that. But there will be that athlete on TV, proving to the world that stereotypes don’t matter, but showing others who you are and being true to yourself does."

Several other mayoral contenders also commented on today's news.

"Takes a lot of courage to do what [he] did," former Councilman Sal Albanese wrote on Twitter. "It's a great day in sports!"

While George McDonald, a Republican, said Mr. Collins is "a courageous athlete and deserves our respect."

View Ms. Quinn's complete statement below:

“I admire Jason Collins for his bravery and honesty. It takes a great deal of courage to be who you are, and it is not easy to come out of the closet on any day, in any profession. And we know that professional sports have never been a particularly welcoming place to the LGBT community.

“Today, Jason is opening a door for all other athletes moving forward. But let’s think about something else: there will be a day soon when a young boy or a young girl is sitting watching the NBA finals or the Super Bowl or the World Series. And there on the screen will be an openly gay athlete. And that little boy, maybe he thinks he’s gay or maybe he knows he’s gay, and maybe he sat all alone in his room with that. But there will be that athlete on TV, proving to the world that stereotypes don’t matter, but showing others who you are and being true to yourself does. What Jason did today is literally going to save lives. Because the greatest athletes – who are children’s heroes more than athletes? – are also LGBT and it’s okay.

“Jason’s courageous statement reaffirms what we already know: gay Americans are serving in every walk of life. We still have more work to do, but someday we will look back to Jason Collins’ bravery as a turning point that brought us closer to becoming a nation that fully recognizes we are all created equal.”

Senator Rubén Díaz addresses the anti-gay marriage crowd in D.C. (Photo: Díaz's office)

As the fiery Rev. Rubén Díaz Sr., a New York State Senator, thundered against same-sex marriage in the nation's capital, his son, Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr., was about to do the very opposite. The younger Díaz was joining a wave of politicians who have recently reversed their positions in favor of gay marriage, but his father said he was unswayed by the momentum against him.

“Marriage is sacred. Marriage is an institution established by God and it should stay that way,” he said. “The majority is not always right. 2,000 years ago the majority chose the rabbi and rejected Jesus. Now, the majority are rejecting the Bible and not choosing Jesus. I know my conviction and I know I will not change my view. I could be only one in the whole world and I would not change my view.”

Mr. Díaz Sr., a Pentecostal minister, was returning from an overnight vigil and march in Washington D.C. in support of the Defense of Marriage Act when his son blasted out a statement urging the Supreme Court to strike down DOMA, which denies federal benefits to gay couples. Never shy about espousing the glory of Christ, the elder Díaz, 69, suddenly found himself publicly at odds with his ambitious son, but he said he wasn't fazed.

“The beauty of America is that people can choose what they want,” he said. “My son respects my decision to follow the Bible. This will not divide the family. A lot of people would like to see the family divided. On the contrary, the family is stronger than ever.”

His son, reclining in his borough president’s office just a long fly ball from Yankee Stadium, concurred.

“We love each other, we’re family, we just differ on views and this is just one of many views I differ on with my father,” he contended. “But this is not about him.”

A Democratic assemblyman by the time he was 23, the younger Díaz rose in the political world before his father--a heroin junkie-turned-evangelical preacher--assumed his place in the State Senate. Mr. Díaz Jr. won the borough presidency with ease a decade later. Since then, he's mulled running for public advocate and has been gabbed about in political circles as someone who could one day be the city’s first Hispanic mayor. And, citing his openly gay niece and chief of staff, he said he simply had an epiphany on the marriage subject.

“The world didn’t end when marriage equality was passed in 2011,” he explained. “It just didn’t. It didn’t affect my personal quality of life. It didn’t affect Hilda’s, my wife, or my kids. My kids aren’t worse off because of marriage equality. So people are starting to be like, 'Wait a minute, you know, then what are we against? Are we against love?'”

His father, clearly, doesn’t accept that sort of reasoning. The lone Democrat in the State Senate to vote against a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in New York two years ago, Mr. Díaz Sr. has further drawn attention to himself--beyond his fire-and-brimstone preaching--for regularly shooting off opinionated missives, confidently entitled “What You Should Know,” that sharply criticize gay marriage, abortion and stem-cell research--the latter, for example, he once equated to “Hitler using the ashes of the Jews to make bars of soap.”

But, despite the reverend's constant pronouncements to the contrary, same-sex marriage is now almost universally embraced by city elected officials and for Mr. Díaz Jr. to further climb up the political ladder he may need to ensure his 2007 vote against gay marriage doesn't become a future liability. That is why El Diario columnist Gerson Borrero, never a fan of the Díaz clan, believes the borough president's recent revelation is little more than a calculation.

“For him to say that somehow he has found a new calling, that he understands that people have a right to love whoever they fall in love with and have the same rights as any other human being and at the same time also say he found thoat out as a result of his chief of staff influencing him and then also his niece, is a weak and really dishonest crutch,” Mr. Borrero said, arguing that the younger Díaz needs to more forcefully denounce his father. “This is simply a political ploy."

For his part, Mr. Díaz Jr. said electoral ambitions had nothing to do with his announcement, which he insisted was simply the same change of heart countless others have professed.

“What I also didn’t want is for people to think I was doing it for some type of political reason, to be honest with you,” he explained. “There was much talk about perhaps me running citywide. ... There’s no major opponent against me; I’m not running citywide. I just thought that this was the time for me to do the right thing.”

Christine Quinn in the Bronx with supporters and her father, Larry.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn launched her campaign yesterday with a nod to her roots by kicking off a five borough "walk and talk" tour at the intersection of Broadway and Isham Street in Inwood a stone's throw from a church with ties to her family. Ms. Quinn used the tale of her grandparents' journey from New York to Ireland to emphasize the main theme of her campaign--fighting for the middle class. Along with articulating her message, the five borough tour allowed Ms. Quinn to directly address the central questions and controversies surrounding her campaign, namely, her seemingly close ties to the current occupant of City Hall, Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"It's very exciting to get to be here right across the street from the church where my parents were married, and my sister was baptized and my grandfather was buried, from right near where my mother grew up to announce that today I am officially running to be the mayor of the great City of New York," declared Ms. Quinn in the first of the day's five speeches. "This is a city where, 100 years ago, all four of my grandparents, really just kids basically, got on ships and went across oceans ... They had heard that magical things could happen here, that if you came here you could get work, you could get decent housing, you could be free and you could get out of poverty. And that's what this city did for them and for my family it gave us a gateway into the middle class. ... That's the ultimate truth about New York, that it needs to remain and become even more that place of opportunity, a place that's a beacon for the middle class and people who are fighting so hard to get into that middle class."

In addition to describing her vision for providing "middle class and working class people" with "decent housing," "affordable childcare," "great public schools,"  "safe streets" and "good jobs," Ms. Quinn focused on another core element of her pitch to voters--her experience. According to the polls, Ms. Quinn is the overwhelming frontrunner in the race. She's also the highest ranked elected official among the major Democratic candidates. These factors have led her rivals to spend a good deal of time and energy alluding to controversial aspects of her career, namely the perception she's too close to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and that she is responsible for stopping the Paid Sick Days legislation. Ms. Quinn not-so-subtly dismissed the critiques from her rivals by repeatedly casting the mayoral campaign as a choice between her  proven record and "fingerpointing."

"If you look at my record, it's not one of criticism and fingerpointing, it's one of action, results and delivering," Ms. Quinn said. "Our job is to get things done to keep this city moving forward."

After her first speech, Ms. Quinn took a few questions from reporters. Politicker asked about her strong showing in the polls, which have her with almost enough of a lead to avoid a runoff race against the other candidates in the Democratic primary.

"I hadn't noticed," quipped Ms. Quinn before downplaying the numbers. "Look, it's March, we're at the beginning of this race and we're walking, and talking and running to win. And that means working every single day, taking nothing for granted. ... We won't know who won until election day and those are the only numbers that really matter."

She also touched on the attacks from her opponents when she was asked about Bill de Blasio's particularly relentless drumming on the Paid Sick Days issue.

"Again I hadn't noticed ... but thank you for telling me," Ms. Quinn said of Mr. de Blasio's salvos. "I support the goal of having Paid Sick Leave, but I don't want to impose it at a time that could have a very negative effect on small businesses who are still being impacted by the recession, who are being impacted by the effects of Hurricane Sandy still economically." 

Ms. Quinn's relationship with Mayor Bloomberg came up at multiple points during the day with both reporters and a heckler in Queens asking about backing the overturning of term limits that enabled his third term. Ms. Quinn characterized her choice as letting voters decide whether or not they wanted to keep their elected officials in the wake of the recent economic crisis. On the mayor, she suggested they simply haven't butted heads because of her aversion to "fingerpointing."

"I really don't want to waste a lot of time talking about everything that's wrong, talking about how you can't fix it, talking about how terrible everything is," said Ms. Quinn adopting a mocking tone. "I want to get things done, I want to fix things."

Ms. Quinn's campaign is a historic one. If elected she would be both the first female and the first openly gay mayor in New York City. The historic nature of her candidacy drew some supporters to accompany the tour including a female former NYPD detective who brought two young girls and encouraged them to pose for a picture with Ms. Quinn at her second stop in the Bronx.

"This is women's history," she said as Ms. Quinn gave the children a hug. "This is history kids."

Though her status as a pioneer was palpable on the tour with Ms. Quinn's wife, Kim Catullo, accompanying her along the way, her sexuality and marriage was not shown in the video that officially launched the campaign yesterday morning. While in the Bronx, she took a question from a reporter about why these details were absent from the clip.

"The campaign video was about telling New Yorkers more about me and I think it would be hard to imagine that New Yorkers don't know that I'm a lesbian and don't know I got married. You know, it was on the cover of the New York Times and the cover of the New York Post. So, we were trying to get new information and more information out," Ms. Quinn said. "I think it would be insane for any New Yorker to think I'm not incredibly proud as the first lesbian, openly LGBT speaker of the New York City Council."

Reporters were not the only ones Ms. Quinn spoke to during her trip around the city. With a pack of sign-wielding supporters, family members and her press corps in tow, Ms. Quinn shook hands and introducing herself to voters. Apart from the lone heckler and a few passerby who grumbled as Ms. Quinn and her entourage passed, the reception she received was overwhelmingly enthusiastic during her first three stops in Inwood, the Bronx and Queens.

The relatively high name recognition that's fueling Ms. Quinn's status as a frontrunner was also on display. Before Ms. Quinn arrived in the Bronx, a cook named Ernest Aragonez was standing with two friends outside a bodega. He said he hadn't made up his mind about who to vote for and seemed to no little about the candidates, but he had a distinct impression of Ms. Quinn.

"Who's the other one? Casmiaditis? How do you pronounce that? That's the other one, John Casmiaditis," Mr. Aragonez said when we asked him who was running, mispronouncing the name of Republican candidate John Catsimatidis.

He said he didn't know any of the candidates besides Ms. Quinn and Mr. Catsimatidis, but he had heard  "enough to know that Christine Quinn is pretty good."

When Ms. Quinn arrived and began making brief remarks in the Bronx, Mr. Aragonez interrupted her.

"Christine Quinn for mayor! Very good!" he shouted.

"Thank you very much," Ms. .Quinn responded. "I'm bringing you to all my press conferences. You're a good amen chorus, as they say."

Mr. Aragonez wasn't the only one present who didn't have extensive knowledge of the other candidates. Dana Snyder, a volunteer with reddish hair who carried one of Ms. Quinn's signs said she supported the candidate because she "speaks her mind" and is "particularly left of center." She didn't know about anyone else in the mayor's race.

"I don't really know very much to be honest. I really only know about Quinn. I'm only a temporary New York resident, so I can't actually vote," Ms. Snyder said explaining that she's a Maryland native who's currently studying at Barnard.

They may not have known much about the other mayoral options, but the people Ms. Quinn encountered in the Bronx were certainly enthusiastic about her candidacy. As she walked down the street a BX5 bus stopped next to her and the driver opened his doors to shout, "Hi Christine! How you doing?"

She jumped on board to give him a quick hug and then hopped back down saying she didn't want to delay the bus.

"That's all right," the driver said. "I'll be late for you."

A Spanish translator walked alongside Ms. Quinn and helped introduce her to the Latino locals in the Bronx. It was clear her approach to the Latino community would not match Mayor Bloomberg, who often holds forth in heavily accented Spanish. She told us she would not be following his example.

"It's funny, I can hear my mother yelling at me in high school to have paid better attention in Spanish," said Ms. Quinn. "It wasn't my forte, but I'm trying, little by little I'm trying."

Another difference between Ms. Quinn and the infamously health conscious Mayor Bloomberg was apparent when she met Angel, a churro vendor who told her she had his vote. Ms. Quinn instructed a staffer to buy a bag of his churros for the volunteers.

"We're going to get some for the truck," she said, adding, "I don't want any that are sugar free."

President Barack Obama delivering his State of the Union address this evening. (Photo: Getty)

President Obama included his discussion of environmental issues and climate change after outlining initiatives to grow manufacturing jobs and before discussing plans to improve national infrastructure and help home owners. He closed this portion of his speech by describing all of these proposals as potentially spurring job growth.

"These initiatives in manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, and housing will help entrepreneurs and small business owners expand and create new jobs," President Obama said in the prepared version of his remarks.

Sandwiched in between his policies on manufacturing jobs, road and bridge construction and housing, President Obama expressed a need for the government to "do more to combat climate change." To bolster this argument, he cited several weather events, including Hurricane Sandy."

"Yes, it’s true that no single event makes a trend. But the fact is, the 12 hottest years on record have all come in the last 15. Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and floods--all are now more frequent and intense," said the president. "We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence. Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science--and act before it’s too late."

President Obama went on to call for a "bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change" that would "make meaningful progress on this issue while driving strong economic growth." Specifically, he called for expanding solar and wind energy initiatives, fastracking oil and gas permits to take advantage of a "natural gas boom" that he said has "led to cleaner power and greater energy independence" and funding research and technology to help natural gas burn "even cleaner." He also proposed using oil and gas revenues from public lands to "fund an Energy Security Trust that will drive new research and technology to shift our cars and trucks off oil for good." He hinted this was also a good economic move by noting it was supported by "a non-partisan coalition of CEOs and retired generals and admirals."

The President also stuck with the strategy of casting his policies on more controversial issues in terms of potential economic benefit when he brought up immigration.

"Our economy is stronger when we harness the talents and ingenuity of striving, hopeful immigrants," President Obama said. "And right now, leaders from the business, labor, law enforcement, and faith communities all agree that the time has come to pass comprehensive immigration reform."

On this front, President Obama said he would push for "strong border security" and for "establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship" including background checks, taxes and penalties, English language requirements and prioritization for those who have been attempting to come to the U.S. through legal channels. He closed his call for immigration reform by citing another potential economic benefit--an influx of "highly-skilled" workers.
 
"Real reform means fixing the legal immigration system to cut waiting periods, reduce bureaucracy, and attract the highly-skilled entrepreneurs and engineers that will help create jobs and grow our economy," said President Obama.
 
President Obama closed his speech by bringing up another potentially controversial issue, gun control. Though he didn't turn to economic arguments to support his plans for increased regulation of firearms, he framed the issue as a question of securing the safety of the nation's children, and as a result, far more important to the future of the nation than any plan to improve America's financial situation.

"Of course, what I’ve said tonight matters little if we don’t come together to protect our most precious resource--our children," the president began. "It has been two months since Newtown. I know this is not the first time this country has debated how to reduce gun violence. But this time is different. Overwhelming majorities of Americans ... have come together around commonsense reform."

President Obama said these "commonsense" gun control reforms include background checks and banning high-capacity magazines.

"Each of these proposals deserves a vote in Congress. If you want to vote no, that’s your choice. But these proposals deserve a vote," President Obama said. "Because in the two months since Newtown, more than a thousand birthdays, graduations, and anniversaries have been stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun."
 
Though President Obama took on climate change, immigration reform and gun control in his speech, there were two notable hot-button issues he didn't address; gay marriage and abortion. The president only briefly alluded to gay and lesbian issues once in his speech when he described efforts to take care of the country's armed forces and cited the plan announced yesterday to provide benefits to same-sex spouses of servicemembers as an example of his administration's commitment to the troops.

"We must to protect those who serve their country abroad, and we will maintain the best military in the world," said the president. "We will invest in new capabilities, even as we reduce waste and wartime spending. We will ensure equal treatment for all service members, and equal benefits for their families--gay and straight."

Reproductive rights and the abortion debate were not mentioned at all in the president's speech. However, issue featured prominently in Senator Marco Rubio's Republican response to the State of the Union, which began on a loud, pro-life note.

"The State of the Union address is always a reminder of how unique America is," Mr. Rubio said. "But America is exceptional, because we believe that every life, at every stage, is precious."

(photo msnbc.msn.com)

While selling his book at Princeton University earlier this week, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia defended moral opposition to gay marriage by asking, “If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder?" According to the Associated Press, Mr. Scalia said he wasn't equating murder and homosexuality but rather making a logical argument entitled "reduction to the absurd," but Council Speaker Christine Quinn, an openly gay candidate for mayor next year, wasn't remotely satisfied with his explanation.

"It's offensive!" Ms. Quinn exclaimed on Hardball yesterday evening. "Sexual orientation is who we are as people, it's how we're created if we're the LGBT [community]. To compare that--even in a way you want to say was some philosophical exercise--to a heinous, horrible crime of murder? It's just wrong. He can say it's a slip of the tongue and that's fine and we all of them; God knows I have. Just apologize. But don't compare me to a murderer because I'm a lesbian. Just don't do it. It's wrong."

Mr. Scalia’s comments come as the Supreme Court is poised to hear two cases on gay marriage. There are concerns among LGBT activists of how the court, with its conservative faction headed by Mr. Scalia, will ultimately rule. Nevertheless, Ms. Quinn was optimistic about the outcome of the decision even as she criticized Mr. Scalia's remark.

"He wasn't teaching a law class there, he was  making a point, I believe, about what he actually thinks," she argued. "The job of the Supreme Court when they're going to take up this very important matter isn't what they personally think about LGBT people, it is what the Constitution sets out as a framework for protecting the rights of Americans. That's the question here and I believe the Supreme Court is going to rise to that occasion, as they have before, and look at those important issues. And really, the justice should apologize for what he said there."

Watch below:

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Bill de Blasio and Chirlane McCray at this morning's rally.

A rally hosted by Al Sharpton's National Action Network this morning that was ostensibly held to discuss the situation in the State Senate featured all of the likely Democratic mayoral candidates blasting the New York Post for a cartoon the tabloid published in response to Politicker's story about Bill de Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray's, past as a lesbian activist. Mr. de Blasio, with Ms. McCray by his side, was the last of the candidates to speak. Mr. de Blasio began by thanking Ms. Sharpton for supporting him and his wife in the days since the story came out, which he said had been "painful and challenging for us." He went on to talk about meeting Ms. McCray.

"Twenty one years ago Chirlane and I were working in City Hall for Mayor Dinkins. I met this beautiful, strong woman. And I've said many times, for me it was love at first sight. It may have taken Chirlane a little longer," said Mr. de Blasio. "I got to know her and I saw a human being that I fell deeper and deeper in love with, a human being. And I am so proud of the years of struggle and activism, of what she did for women, for the LGBT community, for people of color and the anti-apartheid movement. I am so proud of this woman and the good work she did."

Our story detailed how Ms. McCray was involved in prominent lesbian activist groups and, in 1979, wrote an article for Essence entitled "I am a Lesbian" in which she described coming out to her family, several relationships with women and how she strongly preferred women to men "both emotionally and physically." Though Ms. McCray, who is an unpaid advisor on Mr. de Blasio's campaign, has played a prominent role in her husband's political career and they have extensively discussed her other political work, her past as a lesbian activist was never mentioned by the campaign and one of the landmark lesbian groups she was a member of was simply referred to as a "feminist" organization on the campaign's website.

The New York Post cartoon about the story featured Mr. de Blasio wearing lingerie aside Ms. McCray in bed. Ms. McCray is on the phone telling someone "I used to be a lesbian, but my husband, Bill de Blasio, won me over." It was drawn by Sean Delonas, who has made several other controversial cartoons in the past including several mocking the gay community and one after President Barack Obama signed the stimulus bill that depicted a chimpanzee being shot by a police officer who said, "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill." Mr. Sharpton has also been featured in several controversial Post cartoons.

After discussing meeting his wife, Mr. de Blasio directly addressed the tabloid.

"I say to the New York Post, first, my first response is as a husband and a father: leave my wife alone, leave my children alone. And don't misinterpret that sentence for a moment to mean that Chirlane McCray cannot defend herself, because I assure you she can, but I'm offended they denigrated a woman who is a role model by any measure," Mr. de Blasio said.

He went on to proclaim, "It's time for us to say once and for all to the New York Post: Stop dividing this city!"

"I think there are actually some people at the Post who have a conscience, some people at the Post who are good people," said Mr. de Blasio. "I don't know how they tolerate this, or how they tolerate the cartoon of Reverend Sharpton years ago, or how they tolerate the depiction of the President of the United States of America. I don't know how they stand for it."

Once Mr. de Blasio was finished, Ms. McCray took the microphone.

"I'm a bit uncomfortable standing here talking. I would rather be writing an article. But I wrote the article 33 years ago because I believe it's so important to speak out for what's important to you, no matter how your words might be twisted or turned," she said. "It's important because, when you verbalize something you put it out there for people to deal with. Right? Your silence will not protect you. I think that is the lesson of the day here...silence is just not a good thing."

Before Mr. de Blasio and Ms. McCray spoke, the other mayoral candidates also slammed the Post. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who is a lesbian, said the Post cartoon was "the worst" thing in the coverage of Ms. McCray's past.

"What Chirlane McCray did by writing that essay, let's be clear in the late 70's and early 80's was life saving. That wasn't 2012, that wasn't a time when the Supreme Court was taking up gay marriage. It  was a totally different world. A world when the president and the federal government turned their backs on thousands of people dying of AIDS every day," said Ms. Quinn. "Think of what it felt like, if you were a child struggling with your identity to see that cartoon in the New York Post. And maybe to see people you love--I hope not--but see people you love laugh at it. Think of what--that did not save lives at all. So I want to first say I'm so sorry that this has had to happen and echo what Reverend Sharpton said: Those folks who covered this in a way that's homophobic and racist and sexist need to apologize first and foremost to Ms. McCray and to Public Advocate de Blasio, but also to the entire city of New York because it is just wrong."

Comptroller John Liu echoed the criticism of the Post's cartoon and the other comics it has published in the past. He also brought up another controversy that the tabloid sparked this week--the cover photo it ran featuring the moments before a man who was pushed onto subway tracks was run over by a train.

"Not only the picture, but the words that came with the picture in big letters; 'THIS MAN IS ABOUT TO DIE,'" said Mr. Liu, who has spent time with the man's family. "The Post, they have a lot to apologize for. They have to answer to the people of New York and we have to hold them accountable. Stop buying this rag! We've got to tell them that there is a line they cannot cross and they cross it too often. This is not journalism, this is not reporting the news. This is far worse than any National Enquirer or any supermarket tabloid you can buy and they call themselves, 'The Nation's Oldest Newspaper.' That's not what a newspaper is."

Former Comptroller Bill Thompson said he was "in shock" after seeing the cartoon about Mr. de Blasio and Ms. McCray.

"I saw--and Bill and Chirlane are friends--saw the New York Post and, again, they have sunk to the lowest possible level. The cartoon that was there yesterday, I'm still in shock," Mr. Thompson said. "The first thing you think about is, my God, how could they do this to a family? How could they do this to their children? How could they do this?"

Mr. Thompson also noted the past cartoons by the paper and said "this isn't the first time that we've seen something that offends us just as human beings, just as decent people" from the Post. He closed by offering Ms. McCray and Mr. de Blasio an apology.

"Bill and Chirlane, I believe that your family's supposed to be left out of campaigns. I've had my wife attacked and there's nothing lower than that," said Mr. Thompson. "While you won't get an apology from the Post, on behalf of good people from New York, I'm sorry you have been dragged into this mud by this newspaper."

Additional Reporting by Colin Campbell. 

Residents of Maine and Maryland voted to legalize gay marriage. It was the first time same-sex marriage was approved by voters rather than being legalized in a legislature, as it was in New York in 2010. As of this writing, a gay marriage referendum was also leading in Washington, which rejected same sex marriage in 2009.

Along with the wins for gay marriage, Democrat Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay U.S. Senator with her win in Wisconsin. Here in New York, the state gained an openly gay congressman in the Hudson Valley after Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney defeated Republican incumbent Nan Hayworth in the 18th district.

Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize the production sale and possession of medical marijuana for recreational use. Massachusetts also legalized marijuana for medical use. Despite these victories for marijuana advocates, a recreational marijuana initiative failed in Oregon, as did a medical marijuana proposal in Arkansas. Montana also voted to make its medical marijuana laws more restrictive. However, In spite of these setbacks the passage of bills legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes was a major landmark for advocates of the substance.

John Hickenlooper, the governor of Colorado, initially opposed his state's medical marijuana initiative. However, on NBC he indicated that, though the drug is still illegal federally, his state would at least "want to decriminalize it" in the wake of last night's vote. Mr. Hickenlooper also issued a statement indicating his desire to "respect" the wishes of voters.

"The voters have spoken and we have to respect their will," Mr. Hickenlooper said. "This will be a complicated process, but we intend to follow through. That said, federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug, so don’t break out the Cheetos or gold fish too quickly."

(Photo: Wikimedia)

This afternoon, a New York federal appeals court struck down a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act, commonly known as DOMA, which excluded federal benefits from same-sex couples in states recognizing such marriages. And Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn, both loud advocates in favor of gay marriage, blasted out a rare joint statement approving the legal decision.

“Today’s decision affirms that DOMA deprives same sex couples of equal protection under the law," Mr. Bloomberg said. "This ruling is an important step in ensuring the rights of men and women are not dependent upon who they love and who they chose to spend their lives with. We have much more to do, but we are another step further on the road to a more perfect union for all Americans.”

The decision, Windsor v. USA, was the result of a lawsuit filed by a New Yorker, Edie Windsor, who married her spouse, Thea Spyer, in Canada and had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in real estate taxes after Ms. Spyer died. Before today's ruling, married heterosexual couples did not have to pay the same taxes upon the death of a spouse.

Ms. Quinn, who married her partner after New York enacted gay marriage last year, mentioned Ms. Windsor's dilemma in her own statement.

“Today, we’re one step closer to striking down the Defense of Marriage Act," she said. "This morning’s ruling by the Second District Court affirms what those on the side of justice and equality have always known that DOMA is an indefensible assault on our civil liberties. Edie Windsor’s tenacity and courage throughout the fight to have her marriage, and the security and benefits that come with it, recognized by the Federal Government is an inspiration to us all. But it’s also a reminder of the road we have ahead until full equality is granted all people. I want to thank Robbie Kaplan, James Esseks and all those who have fought so hard for their tireless efforts on this important case.”

And, in a separate press release, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman also blasted out his support for the ruling:

“Today’s decision is a major step forward in the fight for equality. I am pleased that the court recognized that the federal Defense of Marriage Act lacks an adequate justification and violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. As we argued in our brief in this case, the court examined the proposed justifications for the statute with special care, both because the statute burdens gay and lesbian married couples, and because it intrudes on the traditional role of states in defining marriage. The State of New York has long recognized out-of-state, same-sex marriages, and the enactment of the Marriage Equality Act further cements our state’s position on this critical civil rights issue. My office will continue to fight every day to defend the fundamental guarantee of equal protection of the law for all New Yorkers.”

Update: From Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz:

“Today I applaud the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for upholding the ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, and by doing so reaffirming what Brooklyn and New York City has already said loudly and clearly: love is love. It is only fitting that this ruling came right here in New York, in a city built on diversity and progressive thought. We are now one step closer to a country in which members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community will have the right to marry, just as my wife and I are able to celebrate our love and commitment through marriage. This decision and last year’s legalization of same-sex marriages in New York State both serve as a reminder of the ideals on which our nation was founded: all people are created equal and deserve to be treated as such.”

...and from Governor Andrew Cuomo:

"In June 2011, New York State inspired the rest of the nation by becoming the largest state to achieve marriage equality. Today’s ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit provides further momentum for national progress on this important civil rights issue. What we did here in New York can only be the beginning, and we must continue to work together until all Americans are free to marry whom they love and are entitled to all of the rights and benefits of marriage equally, regardless of sexual orientation."

...and from Rep. Jerry Nadler:

“Now it’s six in a row,” said Nadler. “Yesterday, we found out Speaker Boehner had already wasted $1.5 million taxpayer dollars losing five DOMA cases in a row. Today, we learned that a sixth court has just ruled DOMA unconstitutional.”

“As the amicus brief I spearheaded in this case pointed out, and as the court agreed, there is no justification for denying Edie Windsor the same right as all other spouses to her full inheritance without paying a tax penalty,” continued Nadler. “Edie lives in my congressional district, and was with her wife, Thea Spyer, for 44 years. The last thing she should have to worry about following the loss of her spouse is an unjust tax penalty imposed for no other reason than the fact that she and her wife were the same gender. Now is the time to stop defending this unjust law and repeal it once and for all. I hope today’s ruling brings us one step closer to that goal,” Nadler said.

Nydia Velázquez (photo: noh8campaign.com)

Veteran Congressman Charlie Rangel joined his New York colleague Nydia Velázquez and twenty-four other members of the U.S. House today to speak out against homophobia worldwide, and for gay marriage legislation, of course.

“I believe that hatred of any kind has no place in America. I'm proud to participate in a campaign that promotes the progress that our country has made over the past few years with regard to the rights of the LGBT community," Mr. Rangel said in a press release announcing his participation. "This is a wonderful way to support their struggle for equality and to discourage discrimination based on who people love."

For her part, Ms. Velázquez stated, “This is a very important issue for America and is a collaboration that is conducive to make our nation a more perfect union. It is a great day when there are efforts to promote peace, togetherness and respect and dignity for all human beings.”

The project in question is a series of stylish silent photos of subjects with duct tape over their mouths, symbolizing their voices being silenced by California's Proposition 8, which restricted marriage between a man and a woman in 2008.

View all of the photos here, and Mr. Rangel's photo below:

(Photo: Getty)

Later this afternoon, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani will be holding a press conference on the steps of City Hall to specifically condemn a controversial campaign advertisement sent out in the Republican primary for a Queens State Senate seat.

The mailer, produced by attorney Juan Reyes's campaign, accused his GOP rival, Councilman Eric Ulrich, of being hypocritical on gay marriage because, among other things, he has dinner with an openly gay colleague on the City Council and has hired gay staffers in his government office. New York State, of course, has a statute that would forbid this type of discrimination in hiring.

In addition to criticizing Mr. Reyes and his campaign literature, Mr. Giuliani will be officially endorsing Mr. Ulrich to boot. The press release announcing today's event noted that Mr. Reyes often touts his legal work in the Giuliani administration when making his campaign pitch to voters.

The mailer is the latest in a series of increasingly creative and provocative arguments coming out of the Reyes campaign in recent days. Notably, he's accused Mr. Ulrich of supporting an anti-democratic, Stalinist mindset by being the favored candidate of the Senate Republican establishment, and compared one of Mr. Ulrich's controversial advisers to Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter franchise.

Mr. Reyes has also sent voters mailers from Ireland, as well as a DVD tracing his heritage, to stress that he's not strictly of Latino descent.

The winner of tomorrow's Republican primary will face off against Democratic incumbent Joe Addabbo. Senate Republicans redrew the district in question to contain  many more conservative voters than it had previously, making it one of the top pickup opportunities for the GOP in November.