Issue Position: Marriage Equality

Issue Position

As a New York progressive, Kirsten strongly believes in equal rights for all. Since her days in Congress, Kirsten has spoken out in favor of full marriage equality, becoming one of the first members of the U.S. Senate to favor full marriage equality and the first from New York State.

For far too long, marriage and the basic rights of recognized relationships have been limited to straight couples. Kirsten wants New York to be at the forefront of providing gay and lesbian couples full marriage equality.

Being part of a family is a basic right, and Kirsten looks forward to the day that our country accepts this basic principle of fairness.

Civil marriage is a government institution, not a religious one. When a couple is granted a marriage license in a state, they are subsequently granted more than 1,000 federal rights and hundreds of additional state rights, including medical treatment, hospital visitation, employee benefits for families, parenting rights and custodial protections.

Kirsten believes that these rights should be afforded to all loving couples. As senator, she will work hard to make sure marriage equality becomes a reality for all.

In Washington, Kirsten is working on an aggressive agenda to provide equal rights for all, including repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, protecting people of all sexual orientations from hate crimes and employment discrimination, and eliminating the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in our armed forces.

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