New York Pride: Resources
Explore the visual highlights and core content from the New York Pride: The Fight for Marriage Equality exhibition that is currently on view in New York Metropolis Hall. This page also features related resources and opportunities for engagement through programs and events.
Title Panel
The exhibit begins with a large introductory panel that features the title, New York Pride: The Fight for Marriage Equality. Above the title is a graphic illustration of two intertwined wedding rings filled with colors from the Pride flag—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The design of this panel sets the tone for the rest of the exhibit, incorporating a vibrant rainbow ribbon that flows from panel to panel.
Exhibit Case
To the right of the introductory panel, is a large exhibition case that’s inset into the wall and has three continuous windows. In the first window an ophthalmic chair from the Whitney Young Health center is displayed. The middle window showcases the wedding ensembles of couple Albert T. Martino, Jr. and Harold Lohner III. A tan jacket with purple dress shirt and a gray jacket with a light blue dress shirt—both outfits have black slacks. In the third window wedding ensembles of couple Joyce Darlene (Jaye) Holly and Judy Elaine Yeckley are displayed. A sleeveless, long dark purple dress and a dark purple suit with a white blouse underneath. Both of these ensembles are accessorized with colorful scarves in shades of red, purple, and gold.
Photo Backdrop
As a backdrop to the displayed artifacts, are 13 large photo blow-ups that are hung above the artifacts that are exhibited. These images highlight LGBTQ+ activism in New York—from ACT UP’s AIDS healthcare protests in the 1980s, to marriage equality rallies in the 2000s, and celebrations of its legalization in 2011, including early same-sex marriages and pride parades that followed. Among the images featured are photos by Margaret McCarthy. These are recent acquisitions to our growing LGBTQ+ History collection and are a gift of the Margaret McCarthy Trust. NYSM H-2025.11.
Interpretive Text
Inside the exhibit case, slanted interpretive text panels run along the bottom edge of the windows, approximately one and a half feet above the floor. These panels provide descriptions of the artifacts displayed, and context on early healthcare disparities, activism and advocacy, and finally the 2011 passage of the Marriage Equality Act in New York. A few small artifacts related to activism such as pins are mounted right on the text panel and a cellphone used by lobbyists are directly attached to the panels.
Conclusion Panel
To the far right of the display, a final panel concludes the exhibit. It highlights a few key milestones in Marriage Equality and closes the exhibit with New York’s role in achieving federal marriage equality for LGBTQ+ people across the United States. A graphic highlights New York State by extracting it from a larger map of the United States, showing it as the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage. It notes the date marriage equality took effect in New York—July 24, 2011—as well as the nationwide legalization on June 25, 2015.
Why Marriage Equality?
The choice to marry represents a personal promise, and for many, a religious sacrament. Marriage is also a legal contract, with over 1,000 rights and responsibilities at the federal level.
The AIDS epidemic exposed many of the ways same-sex couples faced discrimination, particularly by being denied the right to marry. This was especially devastating for those who were ill and their partners. Marriage allows for the extension of health insurance benefits to spouses. Without the ability to marry, a person could be denied access to visit their partner in the hospital or the right to make medical decisions on behalf of their partner. Marriage also ensures access to survivor benefits for the widowed. Without the right to marry, these rights were withheld, often at the most difficult times.
Sticker, Silence = Death, Act Up NY, c. 1990, NYSM H-2018.31.2
The Silence=Death project used art to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic, and its logo was adopted by Act Up NY, and AIDS advocacy group formed in 1987.Facing Fear and Stigma in Healthcare
The onset of the AIDS epidemic was met with fears about the new disease, and how it could be transmitted. Without accurate scientific information, the public worried about contagion through low to no-risk activities, such as holding hands or using a public toilet. These fears led to denial of medical care for many people living with HIV as well as for the broader gay community, including dental and eye care.
In New York’s Capital Region, services for the HIV+ community, including access to medical care, were provided through a patchwork of non-profit and community organizations, including Whitney Young Health.
Ophthalmic chair, c. 1970, NYSM H-1989.18
This ophthalmic chair was donated to the New York State Museum by Whitney Young Health in 1989, at a time that they were expanding their services to better provide for underserved communities, including those who were HIV+.Activism for Equality
Work toward passage of marriage equality in New York was taken on by a diverse coalition of both national and state based activist organizations, and grassroots activists. Together, they lobbied state leaders, held rallies and marches, and got their message in the press.
Activism Artifacts from the NYSM History Collection
Buttons, stickers, a ring, and a sign supporting Marriage Equality.The New York State Marriage Equality Act
Work for the right to same-sex marriage in New York began in the streets through activist actions in the 1970s, was argued in courts in the mid-2000s, and started the legislative process in 2007. While a bill passed the Assembly in both 2007 and 2009, it failed to pass the Senate on both occasions. These setbacks led to increased public awareness and a groundswell of activism.
The Marriage Equality Act was passed by the New York State Assembly on June 15, 2011. On June 24, it was passed by the State Senate and signed by the Governor. The law took effect 30 days later, on July 24, 2011, with marriages held at the stroke of midnight across New York, marking a historic moment in the fight for marriage equality.
Motorola cell phone, c. 2011, gift of Robb Penders, NYSM H-2012.3
Deborah Glick speaking at the New York State Capitol for the 25th Anniversary of Stonewall, June 1994. NYSM H-2024.45
Glick, the first openly LGBTQ+ member of the New York State Legislature, was a co-sponsor of Assembly Bill A8354, the Marriage Equality Act.
Albert T. Martino, Jr. and Harold Lohner III, married July 24, 2011
Albert and Harold married at Albany City Hall just after midnight on July 24, 2011, upon New York State officially passing the Marriage Equality Act. They were the first same-sex couple to marry in the City of Albany. Empire State Pride Agenda, a lobbying group that worked toward passage of the law, provided the sashes which were gifted to the State Museum by the couple.
Photographs from the 2011 Martino-Lohner Wedding (Courtesy of Michael P. Farrell, Lori Van Buren, Times Union) and items donated to the NYSM History Collection, including their suits and a "Just Married" sash.
Joyce Darlene (Jaye) Holly and Judy Elaine Yeckley, married October 6, 2012
Jaye and Judy met online in 1998. According to Jaye, they waited to marry “until it would come with the same rights and responsibilities to which opposite sex couples were entitled.” They initially married in a civil ceremony March 24, 2012 to maintain their health insurance coverage as Jaye’s employer eliminated the domestic partner category. The formal ceremony was held on the Hudson River on October 6, 2012, aboard the Dutch Apple cruise ship, with 40 celebrating friends. While Judy’s family celebrated the union and attended the wedding, Jaye’s parents were not supportive. They have since reconciled and Judy is now welcomed as a family member. Purple is Jaye’s favorite color and she was delighted to find a dress with pockets, at David’s Bridal.
Jaye and Judy’s rings are engraved with the words “SOMETIMES” and “ALWAYS.” In the early days of their relationship, it wasn’t always safe to say, “I love you.” “SOMETIMES” and “ALWAYS” were their code words allowing them to express their love that others were not ready to acknowledge.
(Left) Wedding portrait, photograph by Jenny Yates; (Top Right) Wedding Ensembles donated to the NYSM History Collection; (Bottom right) Wedding bands, photograph by Jenny Yates.
Milestones for Marriage Equality
GAA president Jim Owles seated at the City Clerk’s desk, with a wedding cake, at the Marriage Bureau Zap on June 4, 1971
On June 4, 1971, the Gay Activists Alliance held a zap style protest, an engagement party for two same-sex couples, at the New York City Municipal Building to challenge the City Clerk’s threats of legal action against a same-sex church wedding that was held earlier that year.
Credit: Richard C. Wandel Photographs/LGBT Community Center National History Archive
Jay Blotcher and Brook Garrett’s wedding, New Paltz, NY, February 27, 2004
New Paltz Mayor Jason West officiated weddings for dozens of same-sex couples on February 27, 2004, at a time when New York’s laws did not permit same-sex marriage. This resulted in legal action against West, but created significant national publicity around the issue of marriage equality.
Credit: Courtesy of Jay Blotcher
Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd’s wedding, Niagara Falls, NY, July 24, 2011
The wedding of Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd is often cited as the first in the state. The couple wed at Niagara Falls, historically a popular wedding and honeymoon destination.
Credit: Dr. Michael Yeh
New York’s Role in Federal Change
New York was the sixth state to legally recognize same-sex marriage. Like previous legislation, including women’s suffrage, proponents saw the passage of marriage equality in a populous state like New York as an important step toward achieving marriage equality at the federal level. Many activists in New York turned their attention to that larger goal.
On June 25, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. This landmark decision granted same-sex couples in all 50 states equal marriage rights and legal recognition.
