Barbara Bush Endorses Gay Marriage in New York

WASHINGTON -- A campaign for legalization of same-sex marriage in New York has won the backing of Barbara Bush, one of former President George W. Bush's daughters, who appears in a new video offering her support.

"I'm Barbara Bush and I’m 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. Join us,"  Bush, 29, says in the video.

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender group that produced the video, says Bush's advocacy shows "equality knows no party label."

"Americans from all walks of life are increasingly supportive of the basic right to equal marriage," Solmonese said in a statement.

Bush's foray into politics is unusual, but not unheard of. While her father was president, she became committed to health care while traveling with her parents in Africa. After graduating from Yale, she launched the Global Health Corps to get students to go to cities in the United States and overseas for one year to help with health issues.

Last June, she weighed into the health care debate, telling "Fox News Sunday" she was glad that a bill was passed.

Bush's support for gay rights is not unlike that of other Republicans, notably her mother Laura Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney. Former Republican presidential candidate John McCain opposes same-sex marriage, but his wife, Cindy, and daughter, Meghan, also have done public service announcements for the "No H8" campaign and supported repeal of the don't ask, don't tell rule against gays openly serving in the military.

According to a Siena Research Institute Poll in January, 57 percent of New Yorkers support marriage for same-sex couples, while a Quinnipiac University poll last week had support at 56 percent among New York voters.