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May 16, 2011 Posted by CouplesforEquality in Marriage

DONORS TO G.O.P. ARE BACKING GAY MARRIAGE PUSH

By Nicholas Confessore and Michael Barbaro

Paul E. Singer, one of the most generous Republican donors in the country.

Lucas Jackson/Reuters
Paul E. Singer, one of the most generous Republican donors in the country.

As gay rights advocates intensify their campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in New York, the bulk of their money is coming from an unexpected source: a group of conservative financiers and wealthy donors to the Republican Party, most of whom are known for bankrolling right-leaning candidates and causes.

Their behind-the-scenes financial support — about $1 million in donations, delivered in recent weeks to a new coalition of gay rights organizations — could alter the political calculus of Albany lawmakers, especially the Republican state senators in whose hands the fate of gay marriage rests.

The donors represent some of New York’s wealthiest and most politically active figures and include Paul E. Singer, a hedge fund manager and top-tier Republican donor, as well as two other financiers, Steven A. Cohen and Clifford S. Asness.

At the same time, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a billionaire businessman and philanthropist who…

Click here to read the full story @ The New York Times

The Amazing Pace of Chip Arndt, Co-founder of CouplesforEquality.org
Tags: gay marriage, GOP, ny times