Today was the first day we met with legislators. It was a very busy day. For the past two days, a very generous man named Andy opened his home, heart, and spirit to us, as we stayed there in Rochester with him. We left early this morning because we had a 9:15 breakfast in Albion. We met with a few constituents for breakfast before our meeting with Assemblyman Stephen Hawley. One of the constituents help me set up an interview with a local newspaper about our visit. The more GLBT visibility in that area, the better. A lot of the constituents were straight allies, and it was really interesting to see the issue from a different angle.

Assemblyman Stephen Hawley was our first official meeting so far. Though he voted NO in the NY Assembly, he says he personally supports marriage equality for all couples, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Hawley says he only votes based on what his constituents want him to do, though he has never done a poll of Albion residents on this issue, like he has on others. Assemblyman Crystal Peoples was next and she supports marriage equality and voted YES. She says that her job is to interpret “man’s law”, and not “God’s law”. She is very strong in her faith, and believes it is not for anyone to decide what basic rights a person can or cannot have, even if she doesn’t agree with it personally. Finally, we met with Senator Antoine Thompson. This meeting was one of the best. He doesn’t understand why equal marriage rights is such a big deal because it’s just common sense; he voted YES and has our support 100%. We are currently at an empty apartment in Buffalo preparing for our actions in Buffalo and Niagara Falls. A local pastor was extremely generous in letting us use her property for these four nights.

Last night, we all had Chinese food.  It was the last dinner the Freedom Riders of the 1960s ate before they embarked on their journey.  My fortune cookie said, “You will be asked to lead in new ways”.

Finally, we are all on the road. This morning, all 4 routes joined in a group photo one last time. It was a very surreal moment, not only because we were upset to be leaving each other, but that we knew we were beginning something much greater than ourselves. We were officially beginning to embark on the Right To Marry Campaign. We all packed up our vans, said goodbye to the Comfort Inn, and drove to the state Capital to meet with some members of the media. Unfortunately, the South van couldn’t make it because of a scheduling conflict. After meeting with the press, we all hugged, took lots of pictures, said good luck, and went on our different routes. 

The western van’s first stop is Elmira. During the 3 hour drive, many of us got calls from senators’ offices saying that the senate had been called back into session, and the meetings had to be rescheduled. Regardless of us meeting with the politicians or not, our schedule still will not change. We are so excited to finally be on the road, talking and meeting with everyday people talking about one of the most important issues of our generation. I know for me, I am extremely excited to meet the youth of New York. Growing up in today’s society is hard enough for anyone, and adding the GLBTQ factor in makes it even harder. One of the reasons I am here is because millions across our country and around the world cannot be. I look forward to sharing my stories with them, and hopefully empower lots more to stand up and be counted.