By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CITY HALL — A group of Latino elected officials stood on the steps of City Hall Wednesday to call upon the State Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to pass marriage equality legislation immediately.
The show of support came on the heels of a recent Siena College Research poll that showed the majority of New York Latino residents support a measure ensuring equal marriage rights.
The May poll showed increasing support in the Latino community with 55 percent of those surveyed saying they support a push to make same-sex marriage legal, 41 percent opposed and four percent undecided.
The coalition of lawmakers and advocacy groups included Rep. Nydia Velázquez; State Sen. Adriano Espaillat; Assembly members Carmen Arroyo, Guillermo Linares, Felix Ortiz and Jose Rivera; and Council members Melissa Mark-Viverito, Rosie Mendez, Maria del Carmen Arroyo, Julissa Ferreras and Diana Reyna.
"Like the majority of New Yorkers, Senator Espaillat understands that marriage equality is a matter of basic fairness," said the senator's spokesman Ibrahim Khan. "Gay and lesbian couples who are engaged in a committed, loving relationship should not be denied thousands of rights that are afforded to straight couples."
Advocacy groups the Hispanic Federation, Make the Road New York, UPROSE, El Puente, Alianza Dominicana and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force joined in the rally.
Rev. Fabian Arias of Zion Lutheran Church in East Harlem also offered his support of the legislation.
