Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is an “American for Marriage Equality.”

Villaraigosa, mayor of the nation’s second most populous city, said in a video released by the Human Rights Campaign on Thursday, that “gays and lesbians should be afforded the same fundamental rights as all Americans, to love whomever they choose, and to proclaim that love with marriage.”

Watch:

“Mayor Villaraigosa has been a trailblazer in the fight for LGBT equality since the beginning,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Not only has the Mayor stood up against Prop. 8 in California, he’s continued to be at the forefront in using his powerful voice to send a message of fairness and equality all across the country.”

Since his service in the California State Assembly to his tenure as the Mayor, Villaraigosa has been an active supporter of the LGBT community for decades — he has publicly supported marriage equality and has called for the repeal of Proposition 8, which stripped away marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples in California in 2008.

Villaraigosa’s is the twenty-fifth video release by HRC for the “Americans for Marriage Equality,” a public engagement campaign featuring prominent Americans who support marriage equality for gays and lesbians.

Tags: Antonio Villaraigosa, California, Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Los Angeles, Marriage Equality

Filed under: Newsmakers