The Bilerico Project | Daily experiments in LGBTQ

The battle for gay marriage is on in New York. Yesterday, Governor Andrew Cuomo released a video urging New York residents to call their state senators to ask them to support marriage equality.

The votes needed to pass the marriage bill are uncertain. In order to avoid a repeat from 2009, Governor Cuomo, a staunch supporter of gay marriage, is hesitant to bring the bill to the floor until it is certain that there are enough votes to pass. There are a few senators who have not taken a stance on whether or not they support gay marriage. These senators are the key targets for the New Yorkers United for Marriage phone banks.

Last month, New Yorkers United for Marriage (NYUM), a coalition of major LGBT organizations including Freedom to Marry, Marriage Equality New York, Human Rights Campaign, Log Cabin Republicans, and the Empire State Pride Agenda joined forces to ensure the passage of marriage equality legislation in the Empire State.

Check out NYUM's TV spot:

The strategic partnership is certainly paying off. NYUM has organized dozens of phone banking sessions across New York State. While I am not about to disclose the actual numbers of calls made to senators, the broad assessment is that the sessions have drawn hundreds of volunteers, generating a great deal of calls to registered voters, resulting in a multitude of voicemails being left for senators. The Senators' voicemail boxes are filling and re-filling. The voices of New York are certainly being heard.

NYUM has organized phone banking sessions every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from now until at least June 9th. The marriage bill must be brought to the floor before the end of the legislative session on June 20^th. My partner and I joined our friends at New Yorkers United for Marriage for a night of phone banking. If you're in New York, I encourage you to join us for phone banking.

To learn how you can get involved or to make a donation, please visit New Yorkers United for Marriage. To sign up for a phone bank in New York, click here.

Like me on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter. Join me on The Bilerico Project