A photo of Paladino walking by the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center in Kingston yesterday. From the Hudson Valley Chronic's Facebook page.
After kicking up a huge gay rights controversy with a few choice quotes issued on Sunday, Carl Paladino, the Tea Party-backed Republican candidate for New York Governor, sailed into rainbow-striped New Paltz yesterday for a campaign stop. New Paltz did not disappoint.
The New Paltz Gadfly and Jeremy Blaber's News and Commentary both posted photos by Dan Torres of Paladino surrounded by pro-gay protesters. One of those protesters was, according to Blaber, "Billiam Van Rostenberg, who was the first person ever to participate in a same sex marriage in NYS."
Standing next to Rostenberg in some photos was, according to the Gadfly, "recently married Noa Simons," holding a sign that said "Go Home Carl!"
The Poughkeepsie Journal reported today that an equal number of New Paltz residents came out to support Paladino and excoriate him:
The campaign stop at Viking Industries, a packaging and printing company on Ohioville Road in the town, drew about 25 protesters and a similar number of supporters as he arrived.
The Daily Freeman reports that Kingston, where Paladino also campaigned yesterday, also offered up some pro-gay (and pro-Cuomo) protests:
