The Campaign to Win Marriage in New York

The first statewide TV ad for marriage equality premiered in New York on Thursday, and Freedom to Marry, part of the New Yorkers United for Marriage coalition, is asking Americans everywhere to help keep the ads on the air by making a $10 donation.

In the new ad, New Yorkers Mary Jo Kennedy and Jo-Ann Shain, a committed couple for almost 30 years, explain why marriage matters to them. The 30-second spot is the first in what is reported to be a $1 million media blitz in the days leading up to an anticipated vote on marriage in the state legislature by June.

The coalition, also made up of the Empire State Pride Agenda, Human Rights Campaign, Log Cabin Republicans of New York State, and Marriage Equality New York, is working with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who plans to tour the state in the coming days, to pass a marriage equality bill in the upcoming weeks. Their work includes legislator contacts, phone banks, in-district visits, and the media campaign.

In addition to polling that shows a record-breaking majority of New York voters support marriage equality, momentum continues to increase with business leaders, religious leaders and labor unions expressing their support to state lawmakers. This week, President Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton brought their voices to the effort to bring marriage equality to the third most populous state in the nation.

Watch the ad, now airing across New York State, below, and visit Freedom to Marry to make a donation.