Fabulous Beekman Boys for Marriage Equality

Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, stars of The Fabulous Beekman Boys, are the first same-sex couple to appear in the New Yorkers for Marriage Equality Campaign from the Human Rights Campaign.

"In our small upstate village, our neighbors treat our relationship as equal to theirs," says Ridge as the video displays barn imagery.

"It's time the law did, too," adds Kilmer-Purcell.

As New Yorkers from the more rural upstate region, Ridge and Kilmer-Purcell speak for an important but underrepresented constituency in the marriage equality debate. Republicans dominate the upstate senate seats, but not a single GOP senator supported the bill that failed by a 38-24 vote in 2009. Advocates are hopeful of another vote by this June.

"Josh and Brent represent one of the thousands of same sex couples from all around our state who are in loving committed relationships but are denied the right to marry," said HRC senior strategist Brian Ellner. "These upstaters deserve the same rights and responsibilities as all New Yorkers."

The New Yorkers for Marriage Equality Campaign, which has appeared online and on the city's Taxi TV, features prominent New Yorkers to move viewers to lobby their state lawmakers. Other videos in the New Yorkers for Marriage Equality campaign so far have included Barbara Bush, daughter of former president George W. Bush, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, former mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Joan Rivers, Whoopi Goldberg, Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon, Russell Simmons, Julianne Moore, Ethan and Ryan Hawke, Moby, Fran Drescher, Mark and Sunrise Ruffalo, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, Kenneth Cole, John Slattery, and Daphne Rubin-Vega.