State Sen. Diane Savino: America's Favorite New Marriage Equality Spokesperson

by Michael Jones · 2009-12-07 09:00:00 UTC
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State Sen. Diane SavinoLast week's loss for marriage equality in New York state was a heavy pill to swallow for many LGBT rights activists. But despite the defeat, there's at least one positive outcome from having New York's State Senate debate same-sex marriage legislation: the world got a chance to hear from State Sen. Diane Savino.

Savino has become somewhat of a marriage equality sensation these past few days, testifying in support of marriage equality legislation on the floor of the State Senate. And while her argument might not have swayed enough votes in the legislature, it's certainly capturing the hearts and minds of thousands across the web. So far, almost 300,000 people have watched her testimony on YouTube, catapulting her into rockstar state legislator status.

What was her message? Pretty simple, really. Marriage equality is about fairness and love, not Republican or Democratic politics.

"This vote is a vote about the issue of fairness and equality," Sen. Savino said in her floor speech. "It is about the fairness of people who are of the right age, of sound mind, who choose to live together, share everything together, and want to be able to have the protections that government grants to those of us who have the privilege of marriage and treat it so cavalierly in our society."

Color us swooned. Here's a politician who is not married herself, but gets that if marriage can happen between two heterosexuals who are relative strangers, why shouldn't it be able to happen for same-sex couples who have been together for decades?

But even beyond that, Sen. Savino has done something that not a lot of politicians have been willing to do: take the politics out of the marriage equality debate. This, for her, is a conscience vote. And if there were people who voted against same-sex marriage because of how it might cost them politically, then she's got a word for those people: cowards.

"This is a conscience vote like the death penalty or [reproductive] choice," Savino said in an interview with New York Magazine, shortly after the vote. "I never have an issue with people who feel strongly about this from a position of principle. What I do object to is people who voted no for political reasons because they [thought they] couldn't get reelected in their district -- or that the backlash would be too much."

What we won't object to? More of Savino. Check out her YouTube clip below.



(Image courtesy of http://www.nysenate.gov/senator/diane-j-savino.)

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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