More than 60 people crowded into Monument Square in downtown Troy Monday afternoon for a Rally for Respect, to protest the intolerance of Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino and his campaign.
The event was organized by the Joanne Yepsen for Senate campaign, which has been running an active Rensselaer County campaign from the county committee’s office in the Cannon Building.
County Democratic Chairman Tom Wade served as emcee and emphasized that voting against Paladino’s anti-woman, anti-gay, anti-poor intolerance was vital.
Yepsen agreed. After cataloging Paladino’s racist/sexist e-mails, his recent ant-gay statements, and his opposition to all abortions, she concluded, “Vote for progress, vote for justice, vote for integrity, vote for me, and vote for Andrew Cuomo.
Marty Rouse, national field director of the Human Rights Campaign, and Troy City Councilman Ken Zalewski, spoke of their concerns about Paladino’s anti-gay remarks.
Rouse recalled that he had been bullied as a child, and Zalewski, responding to Paladino’s comment that he did not want children "to be brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid or successful option. It isn't.", emphasized that he did not choose to be gay, and neither did his partner of 17 years.
The Rev. Cornelius Clark, president of the Troy Area Chapter of the NAACP, and the Rev. Nina Nichols, pastor of Christ Church, United Methodist in Troy, also spoke about the need for tolerance in our public officials.
No comments:
Post a Comment