Stachowski Under Siege

On Tuesday, February 23, a group of LGBT activists descended upon Albany, NY to lobby for marriage equality. Approximately 50 people traveled from Buffalo and Rochester with OUTSpoken for Equality, a local LGBT rights organization started by Kitty Lambert. They spent much of the day meeting with state legislators that voted “no” on the Marriage Equality Act in December of 2008.

The afternoon started out well enough with a how-to lobby session hosted by Marriage Equality New York.  From there groups of four or five formed to formally sit down with representatives that are being targeted by the LGBT community. “Putting a personal face, and a personal story,” to their nay vote, Ron Zacchi said, will hopefully influence the senators and assemblymembers to reconsider their denial of equality to the LGBT community.

The late afternoon, however, took on a different tone as Kitty Lambert and members from OUTSpoken for Equality gathered to make a powerful statement to their local foe, State Senator William Stachowski (D- Lakeview).  Quickly and quietly, teams swept the Capital building, plastering the walls outside of his office with bright pink signs that carried slogans like, “why do your religious beliefs get to stand on the throat of my religious beliefs,” and “Bill, what about MY family?”  The group topped of their display with giant notifications reading “Senator Stachowski’s BIG GAY Retirement,” which is an actual event being hosted this summer by OUTSpoken for Equality. The glitter encrusted, rainbow painted posters promised a fabulous send off for a man that has spent his last 30 years fighting against LGBT rights.

Eventually, the Sergeant-at-Arms was called to Senator’s Stachowski’s office and the anti-valentines, as the group described them, were promptly removed.

OUTSpoken for Equality also posted messages of thanks and love outside of LGBT friendly legislator’s offices, including State Senator Antoine Thompson, Assemblymember Sam Hoyt, and Assemblymember Mark Schroeder.