If it's on Gawker, it must be good, no? (or Ruben Diaz, Sr. pisses off the gays... again)

Yeah, yeah, I know. I haven't been blogging much as of late. So sue me! But tonight I've been getting some massive hits from Gawker and I had to find out what that was about.

Turns out that they did a thingie today on the latest ramblings by homophobic New York State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. regarding the gays. To wit, from his official website:

February 22, 2010

For Immediate Release

Where Are Governor David Paterson’s Friends?

Albany - State Senator Rubén Díaz, Sr. remarked today at the apparent difficulties Governor David A. Paterson is having in obtaining support from two key “backers”.

“The Governor went out on a limb for the gay community in his efforts to support marriage equality and to bring that bill to the Senate floor, even though he knew it did not have sufficient votes to pass and that thousands of people in New York State did not want it and will not support him for election because of that issue,” remarked Senator Díaz. “Where is the gay community now that the Governor needs them?” Senator Díaz wondered.

Likewise, Governor Paterson suffered one of his biggest setbacks and received a ton of criticism when he bypassed Caroline Kennedy and chose Kirsten Gillibrand instead for the United States Senate. “For that Governor Paterson has paid dearly and gained a lot of negative ink. Governor David Paterson must be wondering ‘I was there when they needed me, where are my friends now that I need them?’,” continued Senator Díaz.

“I remember back on Sunday May 17, 2009, I organized a demonstration of tens of thousands people in front of Governor David Paterson’s Manhattan office to protest his staunch support for gay marriage and the Governor stood by the gay community and didn’t waver.

“I am not endorsing Governor Paterson but I admire his commitment to those whom he believes are his friends. My father used to say in Puerto Rico ‘My friends are my friends with their virtues and flaws’,” said Senator Díaz.

This is pure red-meat gay baiting by Diaz who must be feeling bereft that the cameras, for the most part, have stopped following him now that last year's marriage equality vote is done with. And queer bloggers bit hard! Among them, Queerty, Queeried, Towleroad and Joe.My.God.

I wasn't impermeable to the good Senator's charms. I Tweeted about his comments! Gawker simply looked back on past examples of Diaz douchebaggery and found these pearls from our past coverage:

• Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr on his father's homophobia (July 18, 2009)
• Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr.: Blame Michael Bloomberg for the lack of marriage equality in New York (June 28, 2009)

Who knows! Perhaps the next time he'll blame Teabaggers! It's par for the course for the gleefully anti-gay senator. True story, though: The more attention he gets, the more he loves it! The next time he spouts his mouth, perhaps it would be better to ignore him altogether. After all, if a tree falls in the forest...

Oh dear, the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, unhinged

So much for Republicans presenting US-based Puerto Rican Evangelical preacher - and right-wing religious darling - Samuel Rodriguez as a "centrist" (from a homily taped in November of 2006):

We have radical Muslims, radical homosexuals, radical abortionists, we need radical born-again spirit-filled Christians to arise. Do you follow me? We don't need anymore sissy Christians, Oprah Winfrey Christians. we need prophetic, devil-stomping, demon-reputing, blood washed Bible-believing, free-from-sin Christians, are you here in this place right now! Are you here in this place right now! We need Christians that don't know how to whine and complain, but have the anointy to bind and release in the NAAAAAAAYME of JEEESAHSSSSSSS

That, from a GREAT article posted on AlterNet a couple of days ago ('Hispanic Karl Rove' Helps Shape Democratic Party 'Centrist' Positions) in which Bruce Wilson takes Democrats to task for even entertaining the unhinged homophobic preacher as a 'centrist'.

From his essay:

Sammy Rodriguez is a point man working to formulate and advance what seems to be a two-pronged strategy: 1) colonize and ideologically infiltrate the left, alienate its activist base, and tie the Democratic Party in knots, 2) work to reshape and rebrand the right and the GOP, as an ethnically inclusive, pseudo-progressive "Rainbow" movement. The latter strategy was field tested in the pro-Proposition 8 push last year, in California.

Reminds me of that other right-wing 'centrist' darling, Reverend Miguel Rivera, as captured on tape by myself back in May as he riled against NYS Governor David Paterson:


Related:

• 'Hispanic Karl Rove' Helps Shape 'Third Way' Democratic Party Platform (Talk2Action)
• Is Karl Rove Really Shaping 'Centrist' Democrat Positions ? Well... (DailyKos)
• Do we need a “Hispanic Karl Rove”? (Latino Politics Blog)
• Samuel Rodriguez: Making Latinos Proud World Wide (Vivir Latino)
  

NYC: Foes and friends of marriage equality organize separate rallies

Just last night, the New York State Assembly approved a marriage equality bill by a tally of 89-52.

While the outcome wasn't surprising (the legislative body passed a similar bill in 2007), debate on the floor was impassioned - moving at times and infuriating at others - with the final vote improving on 2007's tally of 85 for and 61 against.

Of course, the true test will come if and when the State Senate introduces its own version of the bill since - despite a slight Democratic majority, Governor David Paterson's increased visibility on the bill, support from both US Senators from New York, AND backing from Senate Majority Leader Malcom Smith - it's uncertain if there are enough votes to pass it.

Surprisingly, in the face of the State Senate dragging its feet on the issue, there have been few public demonstrations or rallies to prod them in the right direction (compared to - say - the spate of press conferences and gatherings following the impact of the weddings that took place in San Francisco in 2004, or the couple of Join the Impact rallies in the wake of passage of Prop. 8 in California).

I had heard rumblings that a few organizations were doing something this weekend but couldn't find specific information... until yesterday. From a press release:

This Sunday, May 17, stars of Broadway and Television will come out to perform and rally in support of love, peace and marriage equality. Please join us from 5:00pm - 7:00pm ET on Sixth Avenue at 44th street in Manhattan as we let the sunshine in.
[NOTE: ENTRANCES TO RALLY AT: 45, 46, 47TH Street from THE WEST SIDE!!]

Yes, kiddies, bring your jazz-hands, because it will be a very Broadway event. As a matter of fact, the entire cast of HAIR will be on scene to sing "Let the Sunshine In" (will they get naked?) and Broadway luminaries such as Audra McDonald and Cheyenne Jackson will make appearances too. Oh, and Senator Tom Duane and Assemblymember Danny O'Donnell, sponsors of the marriage equality bills on each side of the legislature, will make impassioned speeches to those gathered. I hope there is a nice turn-out despite the last minute official announcement. It was put together by Broadway Impact and backed by the Empire State Pride Agenda, Marriage Equality New York, the Civil Rights Front and Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS.

Of course, this is not the only marriage-related rally on Sunday.

A number of homophobic Hispanic evangelical preachers, led by State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., are urging clergy and parishioners to stand against same-sex marriage by demonstrating outside Governor Paterson's New York City offices earlier in the day.

That one is scheduled to begin at 1pm and take place at 633 Third Avenue (btwn. 40th & 41st Streets).

Diaz organized a similar rally in September but it was a big flop.
Still, Diaz has been trumpeting this march to anyone who will listen and, unlike past events he has organized, this one seems to be getting mainstream media play, so I expect a big turn out.

In 2004, Diaz drew an estimated 5,000 people to rally against marriage equality and in support of President Bush outside the Bronx Courthouse. At the time, national anti-gay organizations joined the call and pured resources into the event, busing parishioners and clergy from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. If Diaz gets the backing from national organizations such as the National Organization for Marriage, it wouldn't surprise me if the rally drew just as many people.

Back then, Diaz expressed anger in Spanish language media that the rally did not receive any mainstream media coverage. As far as I know the only English-language press coverage it received was from Gay City News. In terms of media presence, I have no doubt that he'll finally get his wish on Sunday.

If it's a large turn-out (say 5,000+ people) watch him beam on television on the nightly news. If it's a small to medium turn out (say 500 to 2,500), watch him beam anyway and inflate the numbers. In either case, I will be there to see how it goes down.

But don't be fooled! Diaz might draw a specific segment of the Hispanic community but he is on the losing end of history. Four recent polls indicate that Latinos in New York actually back marriage equality for same sex couples (check this out as well as this).

Related:

• Sunday: NYC Marriage Equality (Joe.My.God)

Pride Agenda's LGBT Equality and Justice Day in Albany

Perhaps it was a good thing that neither I, nor the technicians at the sprawling Convention Center in Albany, could figure out how to hook up my laptop to a local internet service provider. The Empire State Pride Agenda had asked me to come up to the state capital and 'live-blog' Tuesday's LGBT Equality and Justice Day, but the technical snafu meant that I wasn't necessarily tethered to the blogger area which freed me to explore the action around me.

In any case, I'm not sure that 'live-blogging' the event would have been such a hot thing (even if the Human Rights Campaign certainly gave it a good try).

I mean, I could certainly have written stuff like "the energy is tremendous and contagious" - and it sorta was in a non-Swine flu kinda way - but I'm not sure how much of the sentiment might have carried through to blog readers. It's also though to 'live blog' events at which speaker after speaker is talking to a crowd trying to energize them but not necessarily saying something news-worthy.

The truly awe-inspiring thing was the number of people who participated this year. The Pride Agenda estimated it at 2,000 and said that they actually had to turn people back since all buses were packed (or, as the Pride Agenda's Alan Van Capelle put it, the event was a bigger draw than a Madonna concert) and it certainly showed. The Convention Center was packed and more than one speaker mentioned that it wasn't every day that legislators saw that many people gathered for a lobby day on a specific issue.

For those who made it to Albany, the Pride Agenda was urging attendees to lobby for three specific bills - The Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), The Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), and the marriage equality bill - but it was clear that the large numbers and the excitement in the crowd mostly stemmed from the prospect that a marriage equality might be within reach in New York State.

This follows Governor David Paterson's recent high-profile statements indicating that he would push for passage of a marriage equality bill possibly during the current legislative session. It was certainly a thrill to see him receive an Obama-like rock-star welcome by the crowd gathered at the Center but, as much as I like the Governor, I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed.

First, after shocking the body politic earlier this month by saying that he would push for a vote on the bill - whether the votes for passage were there or not - the Governor back-tracked a bit last week by telling reporters that he would follow the State Senate Majority Leader's lead on whether to push for a Senate vote (the Assembly passed a marriage equality bill in 2007 and is expected to do so again if a similar bill reaches the floor; the Senate majority has never allowed a similar bill to reach the floor for a vote).

The current Senate Majority Leader is, of course, Senator Malcom Smith, who - like Paterson - is the first African-American person to hold the post - and someone who has shown great leadership on marriage equality in the past. But with most marriage equality advocates lining up behind Paterson's marriage equality push, Smith has resisted the pressure to move on such a bill, and has said that he won't allow a vote unless he is certain that the votes are there to ensure passage.

Some have said that his reluctance doesn't necessarily come from pragmatism but, instead, stems from the political interests that allowed him to become majority leader (if you remember, his nomination was hijacked by three Democrats, including homophobic Senator Ruben Diaz, who said they would not support him unless he acceded to their demands, Diaz' demand being that the Senate would not vote on a marriage equality bill in the current session).

Anyway, after Paterson's big speech, I was invited to a press conference with the Governor where I was also surprised to hear him say that he had yet to personally lobby any legislator on the issue. I can't say whether this is how it's done with Albany on other bills, but I would have thought that the Governor might have been working on certain legislators for support of what he certainly has called one of his top legislative priorities. Let's hope he begins to do so soon.

With the morning speeches done, Equality & Justice Day participants headed to the legislative offices and quickly jammed-up the lines to the elevators. Then again, what would you expect with 2,000 folk hurrying to make it to the scheduled visits? The mood, though, was... eh... well, tremendous and contagious (take it from me and the HRC).

I tagged along as a number of people walked into the office of NYS Assemblyperson Barbara S. Lifton. She represents the 125th Assembly District upstate New York (Cortland and Tompkins counties) and expressed support for all three bills.

But, proving that not all legislative visits are all boring and dry, instead of sharing our personal stories to convince a legislator to vote on our behalf, Lifton turned the table and shared some of her personal reasons for backing LGBT rights.

Fighting back tears, she spoke movingly of her brother, who passed away from AIDS, and of his partner, who she called "My brother in law". She also said that she had initially supported civil marriage rights for same-sex couples but had ultimately come around to support full marriage equality. Ultimately, she said, words do matter and 'marriage' is a word that conveys not only the rights and responsibilities granted by the state to a couple who loves each other, but also the recognition and celebration of a couple's commitment before the law, society and family. She said that she wished her brother could be alive when marriage equality eventually reaches New York State because he and his partner should not have deserved anything less but equal rights.

In other words, she was great.

MY favorite encounter of the whole day was an unscheduled run-in with Rev. Ruben Diaz, Sr.

I was in the State Senate wing waiting for an elevator to take me back down when the doors opened and - lo-and-behold - there he was. Actually, it took me by surprise, since I assumed he might stay away from his office on E&J Day.

He stared at me intently, with the same mistrustful stare he gave me at an anti-gay rally that took place last September (right), and I just looked back at him and smiled sweetly.

No words were exchanged and we each went our separate ways, but I was just greatly enjoying the thought of thousands of us in the building and the Senator having to just grin and bear it.

At noon, it was rally time. Here is the great Alan Van Capelle, ED of the Pride Agenda, being interviewed with ralliers in the back-ground on what turned to be a scorcher of an April day (I believe temperatures reached the 90's). At one point the crowd spontaneously burst into a Spanish-language chant of Si se puede! Si se puede! Si se puede! Echoes, probably, of the sounds of the Obama presidential campaign rather than those of Latino farmworker rights and immigration rights rallies.

A number of religious leaders from different denominations spoke in support of equal rights. I saw only two anti-gay protesters (click here and here) who were soundly booed and, in one case, driven out of the park by a group of young gay people of color queer folk (there was an amazing number of queer youth of color at Equality and Justice this year).

There were also a couple of personal encounters that I truly appreciated: At the rally, I was approached by a young Latino guy who pointed at me and asked "Hey, aren't you a blogger?" I was totally surprised and embarrassed! He was, I believe, from Rochester, and said he was a frequent reader and loved the blog. I felt honored.

And, after an early afternoon People of Color caucus, a young woman of Colombian descent approached me and asked for advice on how to handle the coming out process with her parents. I was so touched and I hope the advice I gave her truly helps her deal with what she described as a difficult situation. From what she shared, despite the difficult situation, I have a feeling that things will turn out OK. I wish her the best.

After another set of legislative visits in the afternoon, everyone made their way back to the buses, trains and automobiles. I had been on the early morning bus from Queens but, during the day, had ran into my friend Pauline Park, and she later told me that one of her friends had offered both of us a ride home.

It turned out that Pauline's friend was a man who identifies himself as a cross-dresser. I have a few transgender friends, including Pauline, but I can't say that I am too familiar with cross-dressing men who might identify as straight. One of the first things he told me was that I was glad I was coming along because if the conversation got boring we could certainly talk football with no small attempt at macho bluster. He was great, actually, and a hoot and a half. He also had distinctive male facial characteristics which made 'passing' as a woman almost impossible. Which explained the surprised looks and outright derisive laughter I saw and heard when we made a couple of rest stops. It was all very Transamerican-ish, if I may say.

The funny thing was that, as we were driving, Pauline noticed a truck next to us with a certain word written on its side. Lucky for us, we actually caught up to the truck at a truck stop / rest area spot. And, well, how could we not take this picture? That's Pauline next to the truck. A perfect end to this years LGBT Equality and Justice Day.

One final word: I just love the Pride Agenda and thank them for inviting me to cover the event. Most importantly I was in awe of the way they pulled this year's event off considering the huge number of participants and making sure that things ran well. Just an amazing bunch of folks.

More photos of LGBT E&J Day here.

Related:

• LGBT Activists Pour into Albany (Gay City News)
• The Governor Speaks Out (Gay City News)
  
• Equality & Justice Day 2009 (The Agenda)
• Lone Protestor at Equality and Justice Day Is Chased Away by Children in Rainbow Tights (NY Mag's Daily Intel)
• LGBT Equality & Justice Day - State Capital (Ministry from Two Poles)
• Lobbying for Equality & Justice in New York - Reports and Video (Towleroad)
  

NYS Latinos support marriage equality by overwhelming margins, say two polls

There are indications that support for marriage equality in New York State might be at a tipping point with one poll saying that a clear majority of registered voters support Governor David Paterson's marriage equality bill.

A Siena poll of 624 registered voters found that 53% of those polled supported Governor David Paterson's push for a marriage equality bill, while 39% opposed it.

A SurveyUSA poll of 500 registered voters sponsored by WABC-TV had a 49% to 44% margin of support.

Both polls have a relatively small pool of surveyed voters so take it with a grain of salt (remember those polls in California that indicated that Prop. 8 would not pass?) but a comment left at the FiveThirtyEight blog made me take a second look at the numbers.

Note to Reverend Ruben Diaz, Sr. and Luis Tellez: Among registered voters in both polls, Latinos in New York State support marriage equality by an overwhelming margin.

The Siena poll puts Latino support at 57% to 31% (a difference of 26 percentage points) while the SurveyUSA poll puts it at 53% to 38% (a difference of 15 percentage points).

I am struck not only by the fact that in both polls Latino support for the bill is not only higher than that of whites but that the negative numbers are so low.

There might be a couple of explanations for these striking numbers. The number of Latinos polled might be low enough to skew these margins one way or the other or my unscientific perception that Latinos are more open to supporting LGBT rights is actually being backed by the polling.

The low negative numbers also seem to back my perception that, at least in New York State, views about marriage equality among Latinos has not been shaped by the rantings of people like Rev. Diaz. But, unlike in California, New York State has yet to see a concerted anti-LGBT media effort to pull up opposition to LGBT rights among Latinos. It also, if the numbers reflect reality, that there is an opportunity here to be proactive as LGBT advocates and organizers and to work with Latino leaders to make sure that anti-LGBT interests don't shape the message before we do [Image credit: FiveThirtyEight].

Related:

• Latinos support gay rights in NY (Kelly Sans Culotte)

Governor Spitzer's impending resignation and the chances for same-sex marriage in NYS

Over at The Advocate, Kerry Eleveld just posted an online only column on what an Eliot Spitzer resignation might mean for the prospect that the New York State legislature might pass a bill approving same-sex marriage in the next few years.

From the article:

If Spitzer were to resign, Lt. Gov. David Paterson would assume the responsibilities of governor, which most LGBT activists guessed would be the best-case scenario for gays and lesbians in the state. Paterson, a legally blind African American who represented Harlem in the state senate for nearly 20 years, has typically been ahead of his time on gay issues over the years.

During his gubernatorial campaign, Spitzer promised to support efforts to pass a bill granting marriage rights to same-sex couples in the state and to sign the bill into law if it reached his desk. The State Assembly already passed such a bill last year and - if Democrats were able to regain control of the State Senate which seemed within reach before yesterday's stunning revelations - expectations were that a Senate version would be introduced as early as 2009.

Ethan Geto, a well-known and out political analyst, tells Eleveld that Paterson "is somebody who would absolutely follow through on the commitment of the senate Democratic conference to pass gay marriage.”

I bring the article up because I'd long worried that Spitzer's plummeting popularity and increasing list of enemies in Albany would make the marriage bill a bigger battle-ground than it would already have been. A Spitzer resignation would leave the prospect of statewide same-sex marriage law alive in Patterson's hands and perhaps create a better environment for passage of the bill.

Of course, the assumption is that Democrats will gain control of the State Senate and, on that front, it's unclear at this moment whether a Spitzer resignation improves those chances or makes them worse.

Interestingly, should Paterson become Governor and Democrats regain the State Senate, the current senate minority leader, Senator Malcom A. Smith, would, of course, become majority leader. Which means that an African American governor and an African American Senate Majority Leader would take the lead in granting same-sex marriage rights to New Yorkers. Fascinating.

Of course, same-sex marriage is not all the Governor's office is supposed to advocate for and the true tragedy of yesterday's news is that a man who promised to fix what is seen as one of the most disfunctional legislative bodies in the country was brought down to size mostly by self-inflicted wounds right down to the end. One feels for his family as well as for the failed chance at meaningful reform in Albany (pictured above: NYS Lt. Gov. David Paterson and NYS Governor Eliot Spitzer).

• Related:Dems within one of taking NYS Senate (Gay City News, Feb. 28, 2008)