Cynthia Nixon

Cynthia Nixon announced her engagement to longtime partner Christine Mariononi during an Action=Marriage Equality rally in midtown New York to fight for same-sex marriages. Nixon was joined at the rally not by her fiancee, to whom she became engaged last month, but by her "Sex and the City" costar Kristin Davis, David Hyde Pierce and New York Governor David Paterson.

Below is a photo of Nixon as she shows of her new engagement ring during the rally, and below that Nixon's hand Friday night. The pair have been dating since 2003. Nixon has a son and a daughter from a previous relationship. Actors Kristen Davis, David Hyde Pierce and Audra McDonald were also scheduled to appear at the event, which was organized by the theater community to support New York Governor David Paterson's proposed bill granting legal equality to same-sex unions, Access has learned.

"The legalization of same sex marriage in New York is overdue and we do have 35, four days to pass it this session and we really, we really want to do it," said Nixon. "What we're talking about here is plain and simple, should the government be in the business of deciding who can marry whom and I don't think they should be," said Mayor Bloomberg. Only five states in the country have voted to legalize same sex marriage.