Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon has announced her engagement to her girlfriend, but - speaking at a gay equality rally in New York - she said that they could not get married until the law was changed.
The Love, Peace and Marriage Equality rally was held to support a bid by New York governor David A Paterson to legalise same-sex marriages in the state.
Both the Governor and the Mayor Michael Bloomberg attended the rally, organised at the same time as the issue is being debated in the New York senate.
Nixon, 43, who plays Miranda Hobbs in the highly successful series, flashed the engagement ring her partner of five years Christine Marinoni, 42, gave her and told the crowds, “It’s time already! My girlfriend and I got engaged last month. We're hoping to do it in New York.”
Gay marriage is a flashpoint in American politics. Five states - Iowa, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine – now allow gay couples to marry with another, New Hampshire, about to sign the right into law.
But many other states do not support same-sex unions and have passed legislation outlawing them.
Last November in California a judicial ruling allowing gay marriages was undone after voters endorsed the anti-gay measure known as Proposition 8, albeit by a slim majority. The gay marriage ban is being fought in the California courts.
Meanwhile, hopes are high in New York that with a supportive Governor and Mayor the state will soon allow Nixon and her partner and thousands of other gay couples to marry.
“We're not going to wait forever,” she added. “But we're hoping it's just around the corner. Hopefully, it won't take 20 years.”