Athens Park is your average gathering place for traditional Astorians to gather, and a typical Sunday afternoon would likely find groups of older men playing chess, couples with their dogs, and perhaps a skateboarder. The place was unrecognizable this Sunday - packed to the brim with folks of all backgrounds who had come together to demonstrate their support for marriage equality. There were speakers and performances, and stories that bring the issue vividly to life as a clear civil rights issue. The Broadway Boys sang "Imagine" in soaring a cappella. One speaker told the story of her mixed-race parents who were almost not allowed to marry. Another demonstrator spoke of a time when his wife was ill, and shared a hospital room with a lesbian woman whose partner was not allowed to visit after hours - they ended up sneaking her partner in as a part of their own family.

Marriage is a civil right. Click here to get involved.

“I would ask every man and every woman who’s had the blessing of having children, ‘Would you deny your son or your daughter the ecstasy of finding someone to love?' To love someone takes a lot of courage. So how much more is one challenged when the love is of the same sex and the laws say, ‘I forbid you from loving this person’?”
- Maya Angelou, phoning New York state Sen. Shirley L. Huntley (D-Queens) and asking that she support marriage equality.

[images via kempsternyc at flickr]