Emotional Quinn breaks down when discussing gay marriage

12/3/09 By Jason Fink

Emotional Quinn breaks down when discussing gay marriage

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn broke into sobs Thursday during a City Hall news conference after several exchanges with reporters over the defeat of a gay marriage bill in Albany, the second time she has become so publicly emotional about the issue.

Quinn, 43, who is openly gay, was asked to assess the lobbying efforts on behalf of the bill, which was defeated 38-24 in the state Senate Wednesday, a bigger margin than even opponents expected.

“The people who voted no are the ones to blame,” Quinn said, her voice rising.

She was then asked if this summer’s coup in the state Senate, or the recent campaign against Dede Scozzafava, an upstate Republican forced out of a House race by a conservative challenger unhappy that she supported gay marriage, affected Wednesday’s vote.

“My father’s 83-years-old. Kim’s father is 83-years-old,” she said, referring to her partner, as tears began to stream down her face. “So how a roomful of people who have never met me don’t think it’s fair to raise the likelihood that her father and my father could see us dance at our wedding, well I don’t really care about a coup. I don’t care that people ganged up on Dede Scozzafava . . . What I care about is that my life isn’t any better today. So I think this press conference is over.”

Last month, Quinn also publicly welled up with tears when discussing the debate over gay marriage.

Other supporters of gay marriage scheduled a large protest in Union Square Thursday night to denounce the state Senate vote.

The bill, which was approved by the assembly and has the support of Gov. David Paterson, is almost certainly dead until after next year’s elections.
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Emotional Quinn breaks down when discussing gay marriage

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