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New York Senator Diane Savino, Gay Marriage Supporter, Is New Viral Hero

by Rachel Sklar | 12:51 pm, December 7th, 2009

» 8 comments

Diane Scavino New York State Senator Diane Savino is the new viral hero of the gay and progressive world (at least), thanks to her impassioned, thoughtful, rational comments in support of New York’s Marriage-Equlity bill last week, which failed with a vote of 24-38. On YouTube a clip of her speech is up to 296,215 views (this is a floor speech in the New York State Legislature, people) and there are numerous other clips of her speech on the site, adding to that total. Why? Because she’s awesome.

Savino’s great speech has garnered appreciative posts from around the web, including a must-read interview with New York‘s Daily Intel where she also reveals herself to be totally cool. (Savino represents Staten Island, and her eloquence, principle and the aforementioned coolness all made Staten Island a weird place to bash as low-class and racist on SNL this weekend). She is so great she deserves to be block-quoted:

Turn on the television. We have a wedding channel on cable TV devoted to the behavior of people on the way to the altar. They spend billions of dollars, behave in the most appalling way, all in an effort to be princess for a day. You don’t have cable television? Put on network TV. We’re giving away husbands on a game show. You can watch The Bachelor, where thirty desperate women will compete to marry a 40-year-old man who has never been able to maintain a decent relationship in his life…That’s what we’ve done to marriage in America, where young women are socialized from the time they’re five years old to think of being nothing but a bride. They plan every day what they’ll wear, how they’ll look, the invitations, the whole bit, they don’t spend five minutes thinking about what it means to be a wife. People stand up there before god and man even in Senator Diaz’s church, they swear to love honor and obey, they don’t mean a word of it. So if there’s anything wrong with the sanctity of marriage in America, it comes from those of us who have the privilege and the right and have abused it for decades.

Stick around, Senator Savino — I want to volunteer for your presidential campaign. Video below.

Related:
State Senator Diane Savino: Gay-Rights Defender, Karaoke Artist [Daily Intel]
Transcript: Diane Savino’s Speech on Marriage [courtneymandryk.com]

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http://the-w.com/ CRZ

Read in a vacuum, the selected block quote looks more like an argument AGAINST marriage of ALL kinds, rather than an argument FOR gay marriage.

She’s not married, right?

Has she ever been married?

Just wonderin’.

DISCLAIMER: I didn’t get married in a church, but I still meant every word of it.
http://www.twitter.com/kgotkin Kevin Gotkin

Did you watch the video, CRZ? I thought it was actually a touching and personal reminder that those who have the right to marry constantly forget that it was nothing they earned – it’s something too many people take for granted and her point (one of many) is that it should be just as normal for any loving couple.

I was so, so, so happy to see you wrote something on this, Rach! THANK YOU!
Eliza

@Kevin: I agree. That was very touching. Go Senator Savino!
SWWT

I dunno, it just makes me not ever want to get married.
blueblogger

I did the marriage thing once. Lasted two years. It was 40 years ago and never did it again. So I suppose you can tell how I feel about marriage personally. However, that does not mean that I think ANYONE else should not have the right to marry. I think that gays should have the same rights to be happy or miserable as the rest of us!!! ;-) Go Senator Savino
ImNotBlue

Look… I’m all for gay marriage. I don’t like the idea of the government telling me who I can and who I can’t marry.

BUT… I really think gay marriage advocates are doing it wrong. To pass something like this, to change people’s hearts and minds, you have to convince them this is a good thing and the right thing to do. Instead, they’re perusing a legislative decree to force upon everyone, and thusly keep getting rebuffed. Forcing people into accepting something will only make it less acceptable to them, and for reasons unknown.

They need to persuade people, not impose upon them. If they began a civil campaign, that didn’t insult people (as we saw last year in a Hollywood-produced ad), but explained what they want to do, and why it will be good for everyone… in two years, they’d have new laws passed easy. Instead, they’re going about it all wrong, and will continue to be met with resistance. And that’s a shame.
http://www.twitter.com/kgotkin Kevin Gotkin

Ooooohhhh ImNotBlue, maybe you would be blue if you understood the flaw in your logic. By your reasoning, every political group would just need to change a few things and POOF – all better! It doesn’t work like that at all. There are tons of “hearts and minds” groups working nonstop, like GLAAD, and there are tons of political groups working nonstop, like the HRC. Explaining “what they want to do” is also, um, never easy.

Sorry, I’m just not a fan of the just-make-it-happen argument. You’re not on the front lines. You have no idea how difficult it is to make change.
ImNotBlue

Kevin Gotkin says:
December 8, 2009 at 2:47 pm

It’s true… I’m not on the front lines. But I think spending a little more time with positive messages, and a little less time with, “Everyone who doesn’t support gay marriage is a homo-phone, a redneck, or an idiot,” would be really beneficial. Gay marriage advocates seem to be taking (at least to me, and as a non-frontline-er, I suppose I’m just an “average guy”) the same route global warming activists take: “I’m right, you’re stupid, do it my way, NOW!” And that’s not going to work! And even if it eventually does work, it won’t do anything to help encourage acceptance and tolerance amongst those who disagree.

I think a little more public finessing of the issue would really help the movement. Make folks think they WANT gay marriage, then you’ll be able to pass the issue easily… or easier than through dominant legislative decree.