New York Governor David Paterson made a last-minute appearance at the rally supporting marriage equality. “We’re in a race right now in New York,” Paterson said. “When are we going to admit that LGBT people do not have the same rights as straight people right now?”

Meanwhile, Sex and the City star and actress Cynthia Nixon made an announcement at Broadway Impact’s Equality Rally that she’s been engaged to longtime girlfriend Christine Marinoni. “I have a secret to tell you,” Nixon told the cheering crowd. “Last month, my girlfriend Christine and I got engaged. And I have a beautiful ring to prove it.”

After the announcement, Nixon went on to talk about the financial benefits of same-sex marriage for the state of New York. She then had a few words to say to those who oppose gay marriage for religious reasons.

“Now the main argument I hear against legalizing same-sex marriage is that in some way this will forever alter and mar traditional marriage, and what I want to know is: How? How will my girlfriend and I getting married have any affect on you and your wife, or you and your husband sitting at home? I also hear that the right to legal same-sex marriage is seen as an attack on traditional marriage, and I want to say that you are not the ones being attacked, we are.” Nixon said. “And please believe I’m not being flippant when I say this: The right to marry is about us, it is not about you, any more than the fight for integration was about white people, or a women’s right to vote was about men. It is only about you to the extent that you have to live with yourself knowing that you are depriving a significant portion of the population their basic civil rights.”