Marriage Equality New York’s political action committee, MENY PAC, released a statement this morning praising all five of the Democratic AG contenders for making statements in support of same-sex marriage, but singled out two – Sen. Eric Schneiderman and Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice – for being “above the rest.”

MENY PAC lauded Rice, saying she has “come out swinging in her support for LGBT rights” by becoming the first AG hopeful to promise to sue the federal government over the Defense of Marriage Act. (Schneiderman has since done so as well).

She also has “actively recruited and retained” LGBT prosecutors and staff and appointed the first-ever hate crimes prosecutor in the DA’s office.

Schneiderman won kudos from the group for voting to pass the Hate Crimes bill and SONDA, sponsoring the Dignity for All Students Act, which recently passed the Senate, and delivering a “passionate and emotional speech” on the floor before voting “yes” on same-sex marriage last December.

“Having two such progressive candidates in support of marriage equality shows the clear progress that has been made on this issue,” the PAC’s Board President Cathy Marino-Thomas Jeff Friedman wrote.

“MENY PAC wishes both candidates well and we look forward to working with the primary winner’s campaign to see one of them elected New York State’s next attorney general.”

The Democratic AG contenders have been working hard to woo LGBT support in advance of the September primary. Pollsters have estimated that lesbians and gay men make up between 5 and 13 percent of the Democratic vote in New York, which makes them a potentially key voting bloc.

A Gay City News article recently reported that Schneiderman appears to have the leading edge in LGBT support. He has been endorsed by four of NYC’s five major LGBT political clubs, the entire gay and lesbian caucus on the NYC Council, Assemblymen Daniel O’Donnell and Micah Kellner, 2006 AG candidate Sean Patrick Maloney, and DNC member/lobbyist Emily Giske.

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