Today, Assembly Member O’Donnell returned from a successful trip to lobby for Marriage Equality in Ireland. While there, Assembly Member O’Donnell met with Lawyers for Yes, a group campaigning for Marriage Equality in Ireland, and with Brian Sheehan, director of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN). He also met with the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and visited the Oireachtas, the Irish legislature, where he lobbied TDs (the Irish equivalent of Members of Congress) on behalf of Marriage Equality. Returning home today, Assembly Member O’Donnell reflected on his trip, saying:

Visiting Ireland brought me back to the last few months of fighting for Marriage Equality in New York. In every fight for Marriage Equality, the importance of personal stories is paramount. There is great power in telling our stories, stories that reveal how much we have in common with our straight counterparts, and how reasonable it is to desire that our partnerships be recognized by the state. I am very impressed and excited by the work that Brian Sheehan and organizations like Lawyers for Yes are doing to advocate for Marriage Equality, and I look forward to a successful vote on May 22nd. As I let President Obama know when I met him in 2012, no straight people were harmed when I married my husband that year. I know that the ability to marry will be just as positive and successful in Ireland as it has been in New York.

While in Ireland, Assembly Member O’Donnell not only lobbied members of the Irish legislature, but everyone he encountered, and is proud to report that even every cab driver with which he spoke has committed to vote in favor of Marriage Equality on May 22nd. He looks forward to returning to Ireland when Marriage Equality has been legalized, and spending more time in County Donegal, the land of his grandparents and much of the O’Donnell clan.