06/14/2012

Washington– Today the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, released a video ad featuring Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for its Americans for Marriage Equality campaign.  In the video, Villaraigosa says, “I believe gays and lesbians should be afforded the same fundamental rights as all Americans, to love whomever they choose, and to proclaim that love with marriage.”  The videos can be viewed online at www.hrc.org/marriageequality.
 
“Mayor Villaraigosa has been a trailblazer in the fight for LGBT equality since the beginning,” said HRC President Chad Griffin.  “Not only has the Mayor stood up against Prop. 8 in California, he’s continued to be at the forefront in using his powerful voice to send a message of fairness and equality all across the country.”
 
From service in the California State Assembly to his tenure as the Mayor of the second largest city in the nation, Antonio Villaraigosa has been an unwavering supporter of the LGBT community for decades.  Mayor Villaraigosa publicly supports marriage equality and has called for the overturn of Proposition 8, which repealed marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples in the Golden State. He has also been an early and leading national spokesperson for marriage equality.
 
This is the twenty-fifth release by HRC for the Americans campaign.  Past videos feature MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry, fun.’s Jack Antonoff, Krysten Ritter, Dreama Walker, Stanley Tucci, Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman, Cybill Shepherd, Kristen Bell, Jason Mraz, Rossana Rosado, The Rev. Al Sharpton, U.S. Sen. Al Franken, Michael K. Williams, Aisha Tyler, Scott Fujita, Josh Charles, John Leguizamo, Julian Bond, Mo’Nique, and Mayor Cory Booker.
 
About 53% of the American public supports marriage for same-sex couples, according to a number of nonpartisan polls, including Gallup, CNN, and Washington Post/ABC News.
 
Americans for Marriage Equality is a public engagement campaign featuring prominent Americans who support committed gay and lesbian couples getting married.  The campaign draws from a cadre of supportive professional athletes, film and music celebrities, and political and civic leaders.
 
For more information on the campaign or to see the videos, visit www.hrc.org/marriageequality.