Gillibrand Attends Two Fire Island Fundraisers

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand returned to Fire Island Pines, N.Y., on Saturday, Aug. 6, to attend two fundraisers for her 2012 re-election campaign.

The first event took place at the home of Michael Lin and Jim Spencer and the second took place at the Blue Whale. Neither fundraisers were open to the press; but she discussed the Defense of Marriage Act, the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' and marriage equality in New York in an interview shortly after she arrived on the beach.

Gillibrand is among the co-sponsors of a bill that would repeal DOMA-the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the Clinton-era law on July 20.

"It's very important that we work hard to unwind that very discriminatory and corrosive law," she said.

Gillibrand remains optimistic that the DOMA repeal bill will receive bi-partisan support in the Senate.

"I think we can work very hard in the Senate and we can build upon the success of repealing 'don't ask, don't tell,'" she said, noting several Republican senators backed the DADT repeal bill that President Barack Obama signed into law late last year. "We can take that base of support for equality and begin to try to apply it to the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. So many of the laws in New York and the laws of the United States... are there to protect families and children, especially during difficult times, so we want to make sure all of those protections are in place for all American families."

When asked whether the president has done enough for LGBT Americans, Gillibrand described him as "a leader in the LGBT equality agenda." Obama and the Pentagon officially certified the repeal of DADT late last month. Gillibrand also cited the White House's announcement in February that it would no longer defend DOMA in federal court as another of the administration's LGBT-specific accomplishments.

Gillibrand acknowledged, however, those who continue to express frustration that the Obama administration is not moving fast enough on these issues.

"For all marches for equality and for civil rights, they all take too long and we shouldn't have to go another day without full equality in this country-that doesn't mean we can achieve it in a day," she said. "It means we have to fight harder, stay determined, stay focused and continue on the march, but for a lot of people it is too long; it has taken too long and that's the nature of achieving something as important as full equality in the United States for all Americans."

Gillibrand once again applauded the passage of New York's marriage equality bill-several of her staffers traveled to Albany with supporters of nuptials for same-sex couples in the weeks and months leading up to the June 24 vote. "A lot of very dedicated people came together and got it done and I believe New York can well be the leader in bringing marriage equality to the rest of the country," said Gillibrand. "New York being a large state-the first of the large states to pass marriage equality-I think it will become a bell weather of things to come."

Tea Party Republicans Have "Hijacked Politics"
Gillibrand visited Fire Island less than 24 hours after Standard and Poor's downgraded the country's credit rating.

She said she has "serious concerns" about the "legitimacy of the downgrade" based on the Obama administration and economists' claims that Standard and Poor's overestimated the country's future deficits by $2 trillion. Gillibrand voted against a bill that passed the Senate on Aug. 2 that raised the country's debt ceiling.

She was quick to blame what she described as the Republican-led Tea Party movement in the House for the political stalemate that nearly caused the country to default on its debts. Gillibrand said their politics have caused Congress' historically low approval rating of just 14 percent.

"They've hijacked politics," she said, arguing the debt ceiling negotiations took place behind closed doors on Capitol Hill with Tea Party Republicans dictating the outcome. "I think American voters are rightfully concerned that this is not what they voted for-in fact, what they voted for was a focus on the economy, on creating jobs and on people who are willing to build a consensus and get things done. They've seen the exact opposite out of this Tea Party-led Republican Congress in the House."