By Laura DeKoven Waxman
April 16, 2012

Homewood Borough (PA) Mayor Tim McGuire is the 200th mayor to join Mayors for Freedom to Marry.

The group was launched January 20 during The U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting in Washington (DC) by Conference of Mayors President Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Houston Mayor Annise Parker, and San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders – all co-chairs of the group. The co-chairs, along with many other mayors, Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran, and Freedom to Marry National Campaign Director Marc Solomon participated in a well-attended and well-covered press conference.

Villaraigosa has invited all mayors to join the effort. In a February 13 e-mail to mayors he wrote, “This critical coalition is working to win the freedom to marry in more states, grow the national majority for marriage, and end federal marriage discrimination.” A full list of the mayors in the group is available online at http://www.freedomtomarry.org/pages/mayors-for-the-freedom-to-marry. Mayors who wish to join and have not done so already may do so on that web page as well.

At its 2009 annual meeting, the Conference of Mayors unanimously approved a resolution stating that: “The U.S. Conference of Mayors supports marriage equality for same'sex couples, and the recognition and extension of full equal rights to such unions, including family and medical leave, tax equity, and insurance and retirement benefits, and opposes the enshrinement of discrimination in the federal or state constitutions.”