As New York state governor Andrew Cuomo kicks off a statewide "marriage equality" tour (and opponents gear up to fight him), New York Rangers star Sean Avery's PSA (above) that was released late last week in support of gay marriage has reignited the debate about homophobia in sports, writes Bleacher Report, citing the recent Kobe Bryant homophobic slur incident. Former First Daughter Barbara Bush also taped a PSA for the Human Rights Campaign-backed "New Yorkers for Marriage Equality" effort earlier this year, among other celebs rallying to change New York state legislation.

“I am Barbara Bush, and I am a New Yorker for marriage equality. New York is about fairness and equality. And everyone should have the right to marry the person that they love.”

With these words, the daughter of George W. Bush today broke with her father's presidential platform. Her 22-second PSA is part of a new campaign by the Human Rights Coalition, a national gay rights organization.

According to the New York Times, HRC "plans to show it Saturday at its annual gala in New York City. Advocates said it would show elected officials and voters that, in many cases, young people are not following in their parents’ ideological footsteps." “No matter what party they belong to, young Americans believe in basic fairness and equality,” said HRC's Brian Ellner to the Times. 

Other New York-based celebrities calling on the state of New York to legalize gay marriage in the campaign include Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, Whoopi Goldberg, Kenneth Cole, Fran Drescher, Mayor Bloomberg, Moby, Julianne Moore, Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe (an activist and the widow of Arthur Ashe), and singer/actress Daphne Rubin-Vega.