Governor Kathy Hochul on the podium in front of the Stonewall Inn.
dona aceto
Governor Cathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James begin a pre-election rally at the Stonewall Inn on November 5 with LGBTQ advocates, elected officials and celebrity television personality Andy Cohen.
The rally was one of several last-minute political events held during the final weekend before the culmination of the midterm election contests. The focus was on generating support for Hochul, James and Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, as well as Democrats in general.
Others present at Stonewall were drag artist Marty Gould Cummings; State Senator Brad Hoyleman, and council members Chi Ose and Crystal Hudson of Brooklyn and Eric Boucher of Manhattan. Melissa Schlarz, an out of Queens trans district leader, and former gay former MP Thomas Duane were also in attendance.
“You want to take away the rights of my LGBTQ community? You have to go through me first,” Hochul said, cheering the crowd. “I’m here for this fight.”
Cummings drew attention to legislative attacks on trans youth, the killings of transgender individuals, and the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in state homes. Cummings also emphasized abortion rights as an LGBTQ issue that affects women, trans men, and non-binary individuals.
“We must defeat the MAGA conservatives who want to put us back in the closet because we’ll never go back to the closet again,” Cummings said.
The event was energetic and positive, though at one point, videos on social media showed the two men engaged in a brief scuffle before Hudson stepped in and separated them.
