New York State Sen. Diane Savino first made a name for herself as a labor activist for the SSEU. She's been a staunch defender of workers' rights, helping raise the state's minimum wage for the first time in a decade and passing the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. But since the failed gay marriage vote in New York, she is getting considerable attention nationwide for her impassioned speech before the vote:

In a story that's provoked justified outrage, the Army has threatened single military mom Spc. Alexis Hutchinson with a military court marshal for refusing leave her 10-month-old and ship off to Afghanistan when none of her family members could care for the child. In a compassionate display of flexibility, her superiors offered her the alternative of putting the child in foster care. The whole episode seems to be a the result of military keeping an inadequate and inconsistent family policy.