While not expressly mentioning the legalization of same-sex marriage, it is hard not to read Ms. Obama's comments as anything other than putting more pressure on the president to publicly endorse gay marriage.

President Obama has said that his views on the matter are "evolving," but pressure from allies has been increasing, including among New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman, who said has pushed for a marriage equality in the platform of the Democratic National Committee.

Ms. Obama made the comments yesterday in the context of explaining to the 400 or so attendees at the bowling fundraiser that Mr. Obama has already had a large impact on the shape of the Supreme Court--by appointing two females justices, for example.

"Let’s not forget what it meant when my husband appointed those two brilliant Supreme Court justices, and for the first time in history, our daughters and our sons watched three women take their seats on our nation’s highest court," Ms. Obama said. "But more importantly, let’s not forget the impact their decisions will have on our children’s lives for decades to come -- on their privacy and security; on whether they can speak freely, worship openly, and love whomever they choose.  But that is what’s at stake.  That’s the choice that we’re working for."

Several states have already passed same-sex marriage laws, but the future of marriage equality is thought to reside with the Supreme Court, especially after a California State of Appeals court struck down that state's gay marriage ban.

Same-sex marriage supporters marching on Washington in 2009. (Photo: Getty)

On Sunday, as Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator Chuck Schumer and over 400 other guests looked on, Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell married John Banta, his partner of over three decades. For Mr. O’Donnell, the wedding was the culmination of a more-than-four-year fight—which included numerous lawsuits and the introduction of five bills to the State Legislature—that finally resulted in same-sex marriage’s finally being legalized in New York last June.

“I began this battle when Eliot Spitzer was elected governor,” Mr. O’Donnell told The Observer. “I used to wake up every day thinking about how many votes I had or didn’t have. Now it’s like, what do I do now?”

As New York both literally and figuratively moves on from the marriage equality fight, gay rights activists are looking to see same-sex marriage become legal in other states. They also have a whole host of other demands with respect to support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth, not to mention workplace discrimination. With the fractious climate in the current American electoral landscape and the unique nature of the gay rights voting bloc, they may have an uphill battle to accomplish these goals.
It’s difficult to quantify the precise number of gay residents in the United States because the census counts only households reporting as same-sex couples. This leaves out single gay people as well as straight gay rights supporters. That being said, the gay rights contingent is still clearly smaller than the blocs supporting religious or racial minority groups. In the most recent census two years ago, the government found each state has an average of just 0.773 percent of households reporting as gay couples.

However many gay citizens there are, unlike other blocs they are not united in terms of class, racial or gender identity. Beyond the marriage issue, there isn’t necessarily a single unifying cause for the gay bloc to get behind.

Kerry Lux Eleveld, a writer who covered the White House for gay magazine The Advocate during the first two years of the Obama administration, pointed out that it is “difficult to speak with authority about the concerns of gay voters because of how diverse they are. It’s not a single set of concerns.”

Despite their relatively small numbers and lack of a single issue, Ms. Eleveld said supporters of gay rights have managed to remain influential by being vocal and politically engaged.

“I think the LGBT voting bloc is a powerful force in many ways,” Ms. Eleveld said. “In terms of voting, as well as pamphleting, canvassing, volunteering and also in terms of donations.”

During the 2008 election, President Obama received nearly $140,000 from organizations associated with gay and lesbian issues. Last May, Politico reported the president’s re-election was “banking on gay donors to make up the cash it’s losing from other groups of wealthy supporters who have been alienated and disappointed” by President Obama’s first term. The president, perhaps mindful of this fact, included 15 gay people on his finance committee compared with just one in 2008. So far in his first term, President Obama has repealed the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, called for the repeal of the federal ban on same-sex marriage and pushed the Office of Personnel Management to rewrite regulations banning discrimination of transgender federal workers.

Though President Obama may be counting on gay voters, many of them don’t seem to feel they can count on him. In June, the president faced large protests from crowds eager to see him do more to promote same-sex marriage outside a fund-raiser for gay supporters in New York.

According to Ms. Eleveld, while President Obama has done a lot to support the concerns of gay rights voters, there’s a lot more that could be done for gay, lesbian and transgender citizens at the federal level.

“The administration, in some cases, has been responsive and has had a good record on LGBT concerns so far, but there’s always more that President Obama and the White House could do,” Ms. Eleveld said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that Obama could help move the conversation forward on marriage equality nationwide, but there’s a very large portion of the lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender community that, their number-one concern heading into the Obama administration was a Fair Employment Act and advancing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. It’s something that really could be advanced now if the president used his executive authority and issued an executive order.”

An executive order barring discrimination against transgender federal workers would be much harder for subsequent administrations to reverse than the Office of Personnel Management’s rewritten regulations. While the gay marriage debate captivated the attention of the American people with celebrity supporters and, according to a Pew Research Center survey released last fall, nearly 46 percent of voters in favor of marriage equality, the issues facing transgender people and the employment discrimination debate are much less widely discussed.

“The vast majority of Americans don’t know that gays and lesbians can still be fired in 29 states because of their sexual orientation and that transgender Americans can get fired in more than 30 states simply for their gender identity without any legal recourse,” Ms. Eleveld said. “I think there’s still a lot of education and awareness that needs to be promoted on behalf of transgender issues.”

Election year politics means President Obama needs to appeal to swing voters and turn red states blue, which may make him even less likely than he’s been in the past to cater to the needs of gay rights supporters. Assemblyman O’Donnell, who said he advises lawmakers in other states considering same-sex marriage law, acknowledged that supporting gay causes can be difficult for politicians.

“I undertook this in the political process, I got some bruises for it,” he said. “Trust me, it wasn’t all smooth sailing, but you can get it accomplished.”

For her part, Ms. Eleveld thinks the president would be wise to lean on gay supporters for his re-election campaign.

“From an electoral standpoint, this is, generally speaking, a very loyal and progressive voting bloc for Democrats, but votes aren’t the only thing that matters. This is a group of people that certainly put in a lot of time and energy into volunteering. … It’s also a group that has donated a lot of money to the Democratic Party,” Ms. Eleveld said. “I think one of the lessons from the 2010 midterms is that you absolutely have to motivate your base in order to fare well at the polls. I don’t think you can go for the middle at the exclusion of your base. That was an absolute problem for the Democrats at the midterms.”

Based on President Obama’s reported reliance on donations from gay and lesbian supporters, this may indeed be his strategy.

Locally, gay rights supporters may have an easier time since, with marriage equality passed here in New York, they’re focused on initiatives for youth that aren’t necessarily specifically gay causes.

Yetta Kurland, a prominent civil rights attorney in Manhattan and vice president of New York’s chapter of the Stonewall Democrats, said she believes the gay bloc in the Empire State needs to “focus on ensuring
proper accomodations for homeless youth” because “a disproportionate number of those children and youth are LGBT.”

Ms. Kurland also said it’s important to launch education initiatives for parents and students to help keep LGBT youth out of shelters. Mr. O’Donnell agrees that a focus on promoting tolerance is crucial.

“Yes, we have an LGBT teenage population that needs a lot of attention and shelters are obviously first and foremost on that list, but bullying has become very, very important. It is those kids who are not gender conformant who are most likely the targets,” he said. “If you can work seriously on reducing the bullying you may be able to prevent some of that homelessness from occurring, you may prevent kids from running away.”

Mr. O’Donnell authored the anti-bullying Dignity for All Students Act in the Assembly, but he said there’s still much more that needs to be done.

“The next step of Dignity will have to be expanding it, because it doesn’t apply to colleges, which I think it should and there’s also the question of cyberbullying,” he said.

Mr. O’Donnell also agrees that parents must be educated to prevent children from becoming runaways because their families are intolerant of their sexuality.

“You hear these tragedies every day where a kid gets thrown in front of a train, or jumps out of a window, or slices themselves up because of what’s happening to their sense of value and worth,” Mr. O’Donnell said. “Even though Dignity was monumental, there’s still more work that needs to be done.”

hwalker@observer.com

Daniel O'Donnell (Photo: NYS Assembly)

After introducing five bills to legalize same sex marriage over the past four years, Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell is marrying his partner, John Banta, on Sunday now that New York State passed the marriage equality law. Their invite contains a reference to their long wait for a wedding.

Assemblyman O'Donnell and Mr. Banta, who have been together for more than three decades, featured a picture of a tie on their invitation with an inscription that says, "John Banta and Danny O'Donnell are tying the knot (at last)."

In an interview on former Governor David Paterson's radio show in December, Assemblyman O'Donnell said several Albany lawmakers are on the guest list for his nuptials.

“It’s going to be a large wedding. I made the commitment to a variety of my colleagues who were willing to take the political courage to vote ‘Yes,’ sometimes under difficult political circumstances, that–when I got there, that I would welcome them to the party,” Assemblyman O’Donnell said. “Governor [Paterson], you of course, and the current governor, Governor Cuomo, and the Lieutenant Governor are all included on the guest list. It’s going to be a large party.”

Read the invite below.

Stephen Saland (Photo: NYSenate.gov)

Casting the decisive vote in the State Senate legalizing gay marriage last June evidently paid off for Stephen Saland. According to newly released campaign finance disclosures, Senator Saland raised a whopping $425,202.50 in contributions since last summer. During the same period last year, he raked in only $5,684.41.Senator Saland was one of four Republicans who backed the marriage bill. Their vote led the quartet to face the ire of some conservative voters, but it also earned them the backing of a group of wealthy supporters who subsequently raised funds on their behalf.

Senator Saland's contributors for the second half of last year included a trio of boldface names. Billionaire real estate developer Steve Roth and his wife, Broadway producer Daryl Roth, each contributed $16,800 to Senator Saland's war chest. Developer Daniel Tishman tossed in $2,500. Senator Saland, who has held the 41st District Senate seat since 1990 is up for re-election this year.

Daniel O'Donnell (Photo: NYS Assembly)

Openly gay Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell, who introduced five bills to legalize same sex marriage over the past four years, is marrying his partner of more than three decades now that the state passed the marriage equality law in June.

Assemblyman O'Donnell announced his impending nuptials on former Governor David Paterson's talk radio show yesterday. "I'm here on your radio show today to announce that I'm getting married. John and I have decided to get married, we've been together for 31 years and our wedding will be on January 29th at Guastavino's on the East Side of Manhattan, which is a beautiful, beautiful  locale," said Assemblyman O'Donnell.Invitations have been mailed out and the guest list for Assemblyman O'Donnell's wedding sounds like it's set to include a who's who of Albany politics. Assemblyman O'Donnell told Governor Paterson that he was going to be invited along with several Albany lawmakers.

"It's going to be a large wedding. I made the commitment to a variety of my colleagues who were willing to take the political courage to vote 'Yes,' sometimes under difficult political circumstances, that--when I got there, that I would welcome them to the party," Assemblyman O'Donnell said. "Governor [Paterson], you of course, and the current governor, Governor Cuomo, and the Lieutenant Governor are all included on the guest list. It's going to be a large party."

Assemblyman O'Donnell said he and his intended planned to celebrate their union and New York's legalization of same sex marriage.

"What has happened in the six months since it's been enacted in New York? The sky hasn't fallen," said Assemblyman O'Donnell. "We're going to celebrate our relationship, we're going to celebrate the right of gays and lesbian couples to get married."

"I stand strong with the LGBT community because they are a part of me and I am a part of them," said James.

James -- a two-term Council member who recently opened a 2013 campaign committee for an unspecified office -- went on to invoke her race and religion as reasons for her support of the LGBT community.

"To treat someone different is wrong, is immoral, and for me, it is really unChristian-like," she said. "And for me to be a Christian is to accept you as you are."

Also at the event were Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and City Comptroller John Liu, both likely candidates for mayor in 2013, along with Senator Gillibrand and representatives of various elected officials.

Here's video of James' remarks, and a transcript.

City Councilwoman Letitia James:

"A lot of African-Americans have asked me 'why do you support gay marriage? Why did you come out early on? Why do you stand strong with the LGBT community?'

"And I stand strong with the LGBT community because they are a part of me and I am a part of them. I stand with them because no one should be treated differently, no matter your race or sexual orientation or your gender. And that we are all a part of one human family. And that to treat someone different is wrong, is immoral, and for me, it is really unChristian-like. And for me to be a Christian is to accept you as you are and to accept me at the place that you are and to accept you as equal.

"And so I stand with you always. I stand with you in demanding that the federal government also give you full rights. I stand with you when you marry. I stand with you when you adopt. I stand with you when you live next to me. I stand with you with all of your rights because I want all of my rights. And I stand with you today, and that's why I am here today."

Senator Gilibrand (photo credit: azi paybarah / observer)

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand emerged from the fight to abolish Don't Ask Don't Tell as arguably the upper chamber's most ardent spokesperson for gay rights.

It also helped her get out from under the large shadow of the state's ubiquitous senior senator, Chuck Schumer (who also supports the repeal but has focused more of his attention on the economy and the fiscal woes of the middle class).

At a LGBT-themed forum in Manhattan last night -- her umpteenth event that day -- Gillibrand quickly knocked down a question about Michele Bachmann's plans to undo some recent gay rights victories on the federal level.

Guy in the audience [around the 1-minute mark]:

"Michele Bachmman, who I heard she wants to turn the clock back, bring back Don't Ask Don't Tell. There's a push among the Republican Party to have a national act against Marriage Equity. Is it a possibility?"

"No. They will fail," Gillibrand said, confidently and with no further elaboration -- which drew cheers and applauds from the audience. "Thank you," she said, as the audience was still applauding, and walked out the room.

The forum's moderator, State Senator Dan Squadron said, "Let that be a lesson to all of us in brevity and effectiveness."

"I was this close to writing  a check to him and I tore it up," Savino told me. "He knows damn well" rules were followed, she said. "He should just defend his vote." Weprin, as a member of the Assembly, voted for the bill.

"I am calling on him to rethink" his comments, she said, referring to Weprin's interview with the conservative Orthodox Jewish news outlet, Voz is Neias. 

"Him questioning it is a way to pander to people he thinks will be angry with him…Don't be questioning the legality of our vote."

Weprin is running for the congressional seat vacated by Anthony Weiner in the 9th congressional district covering parts of Brooklyn and Queens where there is a sizable Jewish population, some of whom oppose same-sex marriage.

"I find this offensive" Savino told me. "Once people think you're not being honest about your position, then they question all of your positions."

Update: A spokesman for Weprin's campaign disputes Savino's characterization of the candidate's position. "David Weprin voted for marriage equality and stands by that vote. He has never indicated otherwise."

David Weprin, during an interview with Voz is Neias.

Critics of New York State's recent bill legalizing same-sex marriage have been arguing that the State Senate violated its own procedural rules when they voted on it last month.

Most of their complaints are tenuous at best (yes the bill didn't age for three days as required by rules, but that's because Cuomo signed an "order of necessity" so, it's legit). But the complaints give critics of the bill a foothold on the public perception battle over which side was acting on behalf of "the people."

In an interview with the major Jewish news organization, Vos is Neias, Democratic congressional candidate David Weprin agreed with the outlet's assertion that that some violations may have taken place in the State Senate and that the matter deserved some type of investigation.

Weprin is running in the 9th congressional district, where there is a sizable Orthodox Jewish constituency which opposes same-sex marriage. His opponent, Republican businessman Bob Turner, has already called attention to this issue.

Alleged improprieties raised by Vos is Neias around the 6-minute mark in this video include: violating the state's open meeting laws -- which is patently not true --, that opposing senators were denied the chance to debate the bill, that it wasn't sent to the property committee before the vote, campaign contributions were offered in exchange for votes.

Weprin, who voted for the bill as a member of the Assembly, said:

"I am too particularly concerned about procedural violations, if they were done. The violations that you refer to actually occurred in the other house, in the State Senate, not in the State Assembly. And I think there should be investigations and I think the process should be looked into I think from all sides point of view, people have to feel that there was a fair process, that the vote took place without coercion. Similar to when you're in a court of law, you have to state that you're taking a position or any kind of plea in any kind of criminal case without any threat of coercion or any undue influence. So there is no question I would be open to any kind of, you know, investigation, looking into procedural issues."

Weprin went on to defend his vote noting it defended "religious organizations from being sued for not willing to perform same-sex marriages as well as adoption agencies that felt it violated their religious beliefs."

When asked if he'd support a public referendum on the issue -- the interviewer said "This wasn't done by the people. This was done by the representatives." Weprin said "you could technically make that argument about a lot of pieces of legislation" and that it is actually an "old argument."

Quinn took a shot at unnamed opponents of the new. "They're calling for a referendum," she said. "Not for nothing, but they weren't calling for a referendum when they won in 2009."

[Note: The headline was changed from an earlier version.]