Big-city mayors come out for same-sex marriage

A bipartisan coalition of 80 U.S. mayors has started a "Freedom to
Marry" campaign to build public support for giving same-sex couples the
right to marry under U.S. and state laws.

"It is not about what
you want to believe or what you think is right or wrong," said New York
Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a Washington news conference on January 20.
"It is also not about what organized religion should or should not do.
This is a civil rights issue," said Bloomberg, who presided at the
same-sex ceremony of two staffers last July.

Bloomberg and other
mayors cited moral and monetary reasons why same-sex couples should be
permitted to marry. After New York legalized gay marriage last summer,
Bloomberg said, hotels, caterers and banquet halls all benefited.