Rising Tide for Same Sex Marriage
By Michael Boyajian
The Fishkill Democratic Committee gathered recently for its monthly meeting and to hear from Didi Barrett who is expected to run against New York State Senator Stephen Saland an opponent of same sex marriage. Didi Barrett is important to the gay community because she is a candidate who has pledged to support same sex marriage and because she is the first of many candidates who will ultimately be running this year in support of marriage equality making it a movement unseen since the days of abolition. After the debacle of same sex marriage in the state senate last year the gay community vowed to field candidates against all those who had opposed the measure.
Didi Barrett spoke to the committee about the logistics of her campaign at one point asking those in attendance to raise their hands if they liked what was going on in Albany. No hands were raised. She then asked if anyone was ashamed of what was going on in Albany and every hand went up.
She was then asked point blank if she supported same sex marriage and she answered yes without hesitation saying that it is not right to deny the happiness of marriage to any group of state residents. One committee member abruptly stated that she would lose half the vote in Fishkill because of that. But he was corrected by another member who pointed out that gays are also Republicans making reference to a local leader. It should also be noted that the area’s Republican Assemblyman, Joel Miller, is a vocal supporter of same sex marriage and he is re-elected time and time again.
Ms. Barrett then moved onto other issues like the budget crisis and property taxes and her solutions to these serious problems. She also discussed local issues and how her family’s six decade roots in the senate district give her insights into the needs of the community. After she left the Fishkill Democratic Committee quickly moved to vote their support for her candidacy for state senate. Ms. Barrett has embarked on a series of “living room” appearances throughout the district meeting and greeting a broad spectrum of voters. She will officially declare her campaign against Senator Saland in early April becoming one of many around the state who will run this year as a rising tide in support of equality gains momentum.
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