NYS primary elections: Vote for Francisco Moya and Charlie Ramos

Today is primary election day in New York. I'm keeping my eye on a couple of races and would like to ask readers in those districts to vote for two specific candidates.

Francisco Moya vs. Hiram Monserrate: The first race is in the 39th State Assembly District in Queens which is an open seat. It also happens to be the district in which I live.

Long-time community advocate Francisco Moya has ran for political office before and has never been elected. I predict he will easily win the primary in large part because he's got the backing of several labor unions, a number of the leading politicians in the city and the Queens Democratic Party.

Moya also has the backing of the leading LGBT-rights organization in the state, the Empire State Pride Agenda, potential future state governor Andrew Cuomo, and - in what is a heavily Latino district - the endorsement of the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the city, El Diario La Prensa.

Funny thing about that El Diario endorsement: It doesn't mention a word about his lead rival.

That would be disgraced former Councilmember and State Senator Hiram Monserrate, who was ousted of the State Senate after being convicted of assaulting his girlfriend.  In his brief run as a state senator, he also threw the legislature into disarray when he wavered on siding with Republicans on grabbing control from Democrats.  Oh, and after years of saying he was in favor of marriage equality for same-sex couples, when it actually came to delivering, he voted against them.

Did I mention I considered Hiram to be a friend at one time? Heck, I took him to his first gay bar!

The one caveat about Moya? He is deep, deep, DEEP into Queens Democratic Party machine politics (heck, he once worked for Queens Dem Party leader and US Congressman Joseph Crowley) and I've always been about independent politics.  There's no doubt Francisco will just give his stamp of approval on every single thing Crowley sends down to him. And that's not necessarily a good thing.

On the other hand, it's Hiram he is running against. Today: Vote Francisco Moya.

If that sounded like a lukewarm endorsement, the next one won't...



Charlie Ramos vs. Ruben Diaz, Sr.: In what El Diario La Prensa has called a "David and Goliath" race, community leader Carlos "Charlie" Ramos is challenging homophobic state senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. in the Bronx's 32nd Senate District. Ramos, who has led a shoe-string campaign to unseat one of the worst homophobic politicians in the city.

The extent to which Diaz has amassed outside national funding from anti-gay and "Tea Party" sources while failing to raise funds from constituents speaks to his lack of support from local voters.

Unfortunately, people in his district vote at one of the lowest rates in the city and this has always worked in his favor. He has always been able to motivate his blind followers on social issues while those who might vote against him usually stay home and let him get away with it.

I'll probably have more to say about this in the future, particularly if Ramos fails at his bid.  But, if you read this and live in the Bronx, please make an effort to cast your vote for Charlie Ramos.  If you do, it will stun the political world and relegate Diaz, Sr. to the history books. It will also get you a humbler Senator who will respond to the community's needs and not his own. At least not the needs of a Senator who believes he might as well cave in because the end of days are near...



Please vote for Charlie Ramos!

Marriage equality advocates in New York State are "Marching On"

The Empire State Pride Agenda has just posted this video on YouTube in the wake of the recent disappointing vote on marriage equality in the New York State Senate. In it, the Pride Agenda thanks the legislators who voted in favor of the bill and also gives the following warning to those who voted 'no':

We will not go away. We will only grow stronger. We will keep fighting. In the streets. In your districts. Until we win.

NY's largest Spanish-language newspaper calls for marriage equality once again

On November 17th, 2008, in the wake of passage of Prop. 8 in California, the largest Spanish-language newspaper in New York finally stepped off the fence and unequivocally stood for marriage equality ("A stand for same-sex marriage").

At the time, I noted the surprisingly strong stance that they took against homophobic Democratic Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., and his prolonged efforts to deny rights to same-sex couples living in New York State.

Three weeks later, on December 5th, the paper once again took a dig at the Senator's stance on marriage rights while saluting the possibility of increased Latino representation in the state legislature ("Representation that counts").

Now, five months later - and two days before last Monday's Prop. 8 ruling in California - the paper took a third stand for marriage equality in New York State which also alludes to Diaz, Sr., without calling him by name ("A Shameful Denial of Rights"). I am taking the liberty of publishing it here in full.

When a husband or wife is hospitalized, a spouse deserves the right to be informed of their health status and be consulted for any life or death decisions. Spouses also have the legal right to have a say about shared property, the well being of their children and a host of other issues critical to their lives together.

These are only a few of the legal rights that heterosexual, married couples benefit from and take for granted, But gay and lesbian couples –who also share their lives and raise families together – are denied these fundamental legal protections.

A legal marriage is not merely symbolic. There are 1,138 rights and responsibilities that are given to married couples by the federal government, according to the Empire State Pride Agenda. Another 1,324 rights and responsibilities come from New York State government—but these rights come only with a legally-sanctioned marriage license.

To deny same sex couples the right to get married, is to deny them basic legal rights.

A legal marriage is not the same thing as a religious union. The right to a legal marriage by same sex couples does not infringe on any religious freedoms. No religion or congregation need recognize or consecrate a union that runs against their beliefs. No customs or religious practices need change. None.

Yet, conservative religious and political groups continue to stoke irrational fears. Legislation that would allow same-sex marriage is caught up in politics in Albany, where some legislators are worried about political blowback for supporting this measure.

We call on these legislators to muster the courage to do the right thing. New York needs a fair law to protect same sex couples and families that have been shamefully marginalized for far too long.

I want to publicly thank El Diario La Prensa for their invigorated leadership on standing for what is right and on challenging the wrongful view that Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. speaks for the Latino community.

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)
  

One Day Equals...

On Tuesday, April 28, hundreds of New Yorkers will be making their way to the state capital, Albany, to demand LGBT Equality & Justice. In this, what promises to be a pivotal year in the fight for marriage equality in the state, the Empire State Pride Agenda hopes to show strength in numbers by topping last year's attendance of 1,100 participants. The registration deadline is near so please register now! They even provide busing for folk who register but don't have transportation so please consider attending.

Although the lobby-day focuses on much more than marriage equality, advocacy on marriage rights have gained a certain immediacy with reports yesterday that Governor David Paterson intends to re-introduce legislation to legalize marriage rights for same-sex couples.

As with Prop. 8 in California and Jointheimpact.com, it's great to see independent initiatives rise-up in support. The "One Day Equals" campaign, which is not affiliated with Pride Agenda, simply came from a desire by three individuals to pool their resources, time and effort to raise awareness about this year's LGBT Equality & Justice Day.

As Joe Liebman writes to me:

The campaign is called One Day Equals. Drawing parallels between the march on Albany and historical events like the Storming of the Bastille, the Boston Tea Party and the Fall of the Berlin Wall, ads all end with the same message: ONE DAY CAN CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY. One day equals us all one day becoming equals. OneDayEquals.com

The Pride Agenda, in the meantime, also has it's own video out:



So, if you have the time, please consider donating one day of your life for LGBT equal rights by registering now.

NYS Senate Leader-elect Espada: 'Not happy' that same-sex marriage bill might be shelved

The latest -

From Elizabeth Benjamin's blog at the NY Daily News:

NYS Senator-elect Hiram Monserrate, who abandoned the then-'Gang of Four' before the 'Gang of Three' emerged with a deal might be one of the biggest losers in the way that things have played out so far.

Rumors that a New York State same-sex marriage bill might be put on hold as a result of the deal-making seem to be true.

Openly gay State Senator Thomas K. Duane says that he will support Malcom Smith as the State Senate Democratic leader (his official title would be president pro tempore) even if the marriage bill is held off as a result of the Gang of Three deal.

Also, after a behind-the-doors meeting that took place this morning in Albany in which Smith allegedly spelled out details of the deal, senate leaders emerged saying that they were "united" behind Smith. There are still wildly conflicting reports as to what was promised and what was not set in stone.

In the meantime Gay City News has this: "Advocates Thread Carefully Responding to NYS Senate Ledareship Deal."

From that article, an exclusive quote from Alan Van Capelle, Executive Director of the Empire State Pride Agenda:

Not one single senator has told me that as part of the deal that was reached there was an agreement to delay the timing for marriage.... Malcolm Smith has earned the opportunity for our community to give him a chance to explain what the deal is. I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt for now. But I am not going to waste one minute - I will continue to be talking to senators in their districts and in Albany about this issue.

Espada says he is not happy about chances that a same-sex marriage bill might be shelved: Finally, as I've been saying, the man who would be Senate Leader has, in the past, not shown homophobic proclivities.

In a New York 1 report posted today, Pedro Espada talks about being poised to become the first Hispanic State Senate Democratic leader and says this about the same-sex marriage bill:

I am not happy about it. And I don't expect the advocates who are in favor of same sex marriage to be happy, nor should they be.

So all of a sudden the Gang of Three doesn't seem as monolithic on the same-sex marriage issue. Perhaps there is light in the midst of all the wheeling and dealing.

Update: Same-sex marriage bill not in the pipeline as NYS 'Gang of Three' end stalemate

A flurry of activity emerged today regarding the so-called Gang of Three.

For those of you not up to date: After Democrats gained a slight majority in the State Senate in the November elections, three Democratic Senators threatened to vote with the Republican minority and not to support Democrat Malcom Smith as majority leader come January unless they got some needs met and their egos stroked.

For State Senator (and Pentecostal minister) Ruben Diaz, Sr. the needs included blocking Smith from bringing a same-sex marriage bill to the Senate floor for a vote.

The Albany Times-Union Capitol Confidential Blog and The Politicker have some details but Elizabeth Benjamin at the NY Daily News has the break-down ("Details of a Leadership Deal").

On the possibility of a bill granting marriage rights to same-sex couples in New York State:

A bill to legalize same-sex marriage will not be brought to the floor of the Senate for a vote this year [Ed. note: I assume Benjamin means 2009]. Smith will announce that he does not believe the measure has sufficient votes to pass - a statement that is at this point undoubtedly true, although it's unclear how long that will last if, as Democrats are hoping, the prospect of being in the minority leads to mass GOP retirements.

Which sorta explains the comments that Azi got from Diaz over at The Politicker:

Ruben Diaz Sr., who previously said he wouldn’t vote for any leader that would allow a same-sex marriage bill to be brought to the floor for a vote, told me, “I, Senator Diaz, am relieved everything is going to be OK.”

When asked if that meant he got the assurance he was looking for regarding same-sex marriage, he answered, “I am telling you I am happy, that I am satisfied that everything will be OK.”

According to Benjamin, egos were stroked as well. Here is what the three will get:

• Senator-elect Pedro Espada Jr. will be the majority leader while Smith is president pro tempore.
• Sen. Carl Kruger... will chair a pumped-up Senate Finance Committee.
• Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. will chair the Aging Committee.

Politics! Oh, so fresh, and oh, so clean!

I know that dirty deals and power plays are part of the process and I'm not necessarily surprised that there were concessions.

What worries me is the reports that Espada will grab the majority leader post (not Smith, who would get a 'president pro tempore' designation). What does that mean if true? Smith was on track to introduce the bill if he became a majority leader and still might down the line. Espada has been gay-friendly until he joined the Gang of Three but - if he does become majority leader - will his pro-gay past matter? It's the unspoken and undisclosed deals and manoeuvres that give me pause. We'll keep an eye on things.

BTW, here's The New York Times City Room blog on how things might work out regarding the sharing of power:

Two people involved in the talks said that Mr. Espada will get the title of majority leader under the deal, though Mr. Smith would be the real leader of the Democratic caucus, with the title of president pro tempore. Still, the deal would make Mr. Espada arguably the most powerful Latino elected official in New York State.

Update 1: "Skelos concedes, Pride Agenda objects" (New York Daily News' The Daily Politics Blog)

Update 2: The Empire State Pride Agenda just sent this to me under the title of "Pride Agenda Responds to Senate Leadership Deal Rumors"...

This afternoon, additional rumors began circulating in the press regarding discussions about a timeline for marriage equality legislation during the State Senate leadership negotiations. We have been told several times by the Democratic Senate Leadership that marriage equality legislation will come to the Senate floor for a vote once we have enough votes to pass the bill. We have no reason to believe that this has changed.

In response to these recent rumors, we have released the statement below. We will continue to update you on this issue.

Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle in Response to Rumors About Marriage Equality and the Senate Leadership Deal

December 4, 2008 - “We are still awaiting the final details of the announced State Senate leadership deal. We would expect that any rumors that marriage equality was somehow a part of this deal are just that—rumors. Civil rights should never be a bargaining chip in any political leadership battle, and we would be outraged if the issue of marriage equality was even part of the discussions.”

Related: Espada majorty leader? (The Village Voice's Running Scared Blog)

This Tuesday: Gays Gone Wired @ Therapy

Originally I had planned to attend Tuesday's OffSprung! event - organized by the Empire State Pride Agenda - to hear some of my favorite bloggers talk about blogging (yes, I admit it sounds rather navel-gazing of me). It would have also been a chance to meet Rod McCullum of Rod2.0 as well. Unfortunately, Rod will not be able to make it and I have been recruited as a - gulp! - panelist.

I'm not so sure about being a mega-blogger (compared to David Mixner, Good as You and Queerty I'm more of a mini-blogger). But let's see how it goes.

The shin-dig is at Therapy, this coming Tuesday at 6:30pm.

Breaking News: NYS Assembly says YES to same-sex marriage!!!

After debate and a vote, in a historical vote, the New York State Assembly has approved a bill to grant marriage rights to same sex couples by 85 in favor and 61 against!!!

More info at The Agenda, including the tally of nays and yays. Yay!

Gay City News also has a report here and Azi has a video statement from Empire State Pride Agenda ED (and friend) Allan Van Capelle.

Breaking News: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver supports marriage for gays?

To watch the New York State Assembly debate and vote live go here.

I will be updating this post as warranted throughout the evening (newer updates first):

• 7:42 PM - Born of immigrant Dominican parents, 39th District Assemblymember Jose Peralta (Queens) speaks movingly about his upbringing in a conservative Catholic family, of being taught to treat others with dignity and respect, of representing the 2nd largest Latino LGBT community in the United States (2nd only to Manhattan's). He invokes his "LGBT brothers and sisters" in supporting a yes vote on the bill.
  
• 7:02 PM - Thunder and lighting!! For real.
  
• 6:29 PM - Debate is ON!!!!
  
• 6:00 PM - Recess is taking a bit longer than expected. According to Capitol Confidential it was taken to "accomodate the Republican minority who wanted to meet" just before the debate. The Confidential also says that support might be in the 80's with some Republicans rumored to be joining the Democratic majority in voting in favor of the bill (76 yay votes are needed for the measure to pass the Assembly).
  
• 4:59 PM - House in recess 'til 5:30pm; off the floor The Agenda is reporting that the Assembly Rules Committee has voted 21-8 to advance the bill. Among those votes? ASSEMBLY SPEAKER SHELDON SILVER WHO HAS VOTED IN FAVOR OF MOVING THE BILL FOWARD.
• 4:21 PM - The oh-so-boring roll call process is being enlivened by - ehem - hunky Democratic Assemblyman Luis M. Diaz from the Bronx who for some reason is sitting in Speaker Sheldon Silver's chair and overseeing the process. Debate on the marriage bill has yet to come up.
• The Albany Times-Union Capitol Confidential blog puts the time of debate at 4:00pm and has a memo released by the Catholic Conference stating that, while they dignify us and love us, marriage for the gays would be "disastrous" for society. Big surprise.
• The New York Daily News Daily Politics blog says that the debate will open after 3:30pm and says that some conservative State Assembly Republicans see this as a win since they predict that the move to debate such a bill will ultimately reflect bad on Democrats in the Assembly.

Who is Luis Barrios? Why isn't he in jail?

Let me tell you a couple of things about the Reverend Luis Barrios:

• In 2006 he was honored by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation when they named him the Outstanding Spanish-language Newspaper Columnist of 2006. For years Reverend Barrios has written an influential weekly opinion column in the New York daily El Diario La Prensa which he has often used as a platform to advocate for LGBT rights.

• In July of 2006 he spoke up against the New York State Court of Appeals' decision that the state is not required to provide equal access to marriage for same-sex couples. In an Empire State Pride Agenda statement, the Reverend was quoted as saying:

"It is a shame that the Court made a decision to not protect the rights of all people. This unfavorable decision affects people that love and take care of each other. Family values lost out today. However, just because the court did not require the legislature to act does not mean that it should neglect its duty when it comes to lesbian and gay couples and their children. We now call upon the legislators to pass a law that allows loving same-sex couples to marry so that they have access to the same life-and-death legal rights and responsibilities that are given to all other families."

• In a 2006 profile from the Columbia school of journalism news service he tells Alison Ogden the reason why he allows condoms to be distributed at his church services: Three of his brothers died of AIDS in the mid-1980's.

• In May of 2006 he spoke movingly of long-time gay activist and journalist Juan Mendez upon his untimely passing when I asked him to reach out to Gay City News for an obituary they were drafting in Juan's honor.

• In 2004 he accepted my invitation to participate as a panelist at a Hostos Community College forum on the issue of marriage rights for same-sex couples and riled against homophobic Reverend (and state senator) Ruben Diaz, Sr. for the pro-Bush and anti-gay rally he'd organized weeks earlier at the Bronx Courthouse.

• In 2001, he accepted my invitation to say a prayer in memory of Eddie Garzon at a memorial vigil that I organized in Queens a couple of days after Eddie died from injuries he sustained when he was beaten up on the streets of Jackson Heights as he walked home from a nigh out at the gay bars.

• Hm, he also was kind enough to bring me some Dominican cigars from a trip to the Caribbean island last year.

Still, I swear that I am not being biased in my suggestion that he shouldn't go to jail.

You see, ever since he attended an anti-Bush demonstration at the United Nations in September of last year, Reverend Barrios had faced charges of assaulting an officer, of disorderly conduct and of resisting arrest; charges that could have sent him to prison for five years (or more).

Fortunately on Wednesday the court decided that some of the charges had been less than credible and dropped all charges except "violation of disorderly conduct" for which he was charged with time served and a fine of $95 dollars.

Reverend Barrios maintains that he was innocent of all charges and says that the disorderly conduct charge is the price to pay nowadays for civil disobedience.

All in all, we are happy to still have the Reverend amongst us, free to predicate his inclusive sermons.

A new political blog is born: The Agenda

A new blog has joined the blogosphere today and they have been kind enough to include Blabbeando on their blog roll (we have returned the favor).

The Agenda is run by the top-notch communications team of New York's Empire State Pride Agenda, the leading civil rights advocate in New York State for the LGBT community (full disclosure: I was a member of their board of directors for almost 6 years).

Josh Meltzer and Joe Tarver hope to shine "a few additional rays of light and add perspective on the issues and people that operate in the heavily congested intersection between LGBT communities and New York State politics."

Should be an interesting read. Welcome to the fray!

A political experience

On Thursday, I called the Mayor's Office of Special Events and inquired about a message that had been left on my office voice mail. I was then told that I was among a group of gay leaders being invited to have breakfast with Mayor Michael Bloomberg at Gracie Mansion yesterday morning and they needed to know if I was attending. A bit shocked, I said yes before asking for details. I hung up and then quickly proceeded to find out just why and who had put me on the list. After all, I had endorsed Fernando Ferrer in the last Mayoral race.

It wasn't necessarily my affiliation with OutPOCPAC, because I contacted their leadership and they didn't know a thing about the meeting. So the other alternatives were that the Mayor's office noticed my essay earlier this month in Gay City News on funding for LGBT communities of color or, perhaps, that Council Speaker Christine Quinn might have suggested my name. A call back to the Mayor's Office confirmed that the meeting had been called by both the Mayor and the Speaker and that my name was among the Speaker's suggested invitees (though, aparently the Mayor's Office had final say on the list).

I wanted to know if I'd be there with friends so the next logical step was to reach out to Alan Van Capelle, Executive Director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, an agency on whose Board of Directors I served for five years until mid-2005. That's when things got complicated.

Yesterday, Gay City News published this late breaking report on the meeting. Today, the New York Post has this take on it. Aparently, while the Mayor's Office was insisting that an invitation had been extended to the Pride Agenda, the caveat was that it's Executive Director was not welcome to the event. I don't see how the Mayor's Office can claim that banning the director of the largest and most powerful lesbian and gay advocacy organization in New York State is anything but disrespectful, but they stayed on point claiming that the Pride Agenda was the one playing politics.

To Alan's credit, he never asked me not to attend the Mayor's breakfast, but did ask for support in letting the Mayor's Office know that banning him from the event was wrong. Friends, on the other hand, were pushing me to attend so that there would be at least a Latino voice at the table. By late Thursday, I called the Mayor's Office once more, in light of the developments, and said that I had to withdraw my RSVP unless things changed. They said they would keep my name on the list just in case I changed my mind. I spent the evening thinking about it some more and had yet another brief conversation with Alan late Thursday night. Based on that call, I changed my mind again and woke up early Friday morning to make my way to Gracie Mansion.

Now, the meeting itself was billed as a "legislative" breakfast to discuss strategies to achieve civil marriage rights for gays. As it turns out, a number of the invited guests were legislative experts from LGBT law associations who truly moved the dialogue into a very productive session, at least potentially. I say potentially, because the true measure of its success will depend on what the Mayor and his office do in the next months and years regarding the proposed political and legislative strategies.

Gay City News reports that Richard Burns of the LGBT Center, Matt Foreman of the City's Human Rights Commission and fellow Commissioner Jonathan Capehart, Log Cabin Republican Christopher Taylor, Gary English of People in Color in Crisis and yours truly were among the attendees. I also saw Phyllis Steinberg of NYC Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and Ron Zacchi of Marriage Equality - New York. A woman representing Stonewall Staten Islan was there as well but I didn't catch her name. Queens Democratic District Leader Danny Dromm was also invited but he works as a high school teacher and aparently could not attend due to his professional responsibilities.

The Mayor and Ms. Quinn, who sat side by side, were at turns gracious and funny, stern, pragmatic and to the point. But, as the meeting was off-the-record, I will abstain from describing details of what was said by others. I will say that I was glad to be there if only because issues related to the right to marry for same-sex couples and how it plays in minority communities was part of the discussion. I also took the opportunity, once the main strategy session was over, to raise awareness among the top level mayoral staff members of the April 15th rally in memory of Rashawn Brazell in Brooklyn and asked for the Mayor - through his aides - to make an appearance (the Mayor had already left by then).

I will also say that even if Gay City News is reporting that the issue of the Pride Agenda not bring at the table "did not rise to the level of a major issue during the meeting," the point was indeed brought to the table and several of those present, including myself, took time to talk about the Pride Agenda's indispensable work on the marriage issue and on how their abscence left a huge hole at the table.

As GCN reports, it might might have been a positive first step, but unless the Pride Agenda is engaged in future strategy sessions, it might be bound to fail. I am hoping that the Mayor's Office buries the hatchet, stops playing politics on this issue and truly engages the Pride Agenda, which means not blocking its Executive Director from the table.

The last thing I will say is that I am truly grateful to Council Speaker Christine Quinn for suggesting my name to the Mayor's Office. The invite truly surprised me and I will thank her personally the next time I see her.

Gay City News: 2006 Progress Reports

The online edition of this week's Gay City News has just popped out of the oven. It includes their first annual "Progress Report" in which they have asked 16 community leaders to write essays on "where we are, what our challenges are, the opportunities we must avail ourselves of, and where we are headed."

Highlights include:

• "What We Should Expect from Our Friends," an essay by Empire State Pride Agenda Executive Directo Alan Van Capelle on public accountability by our elected representatives.
• "Serving the City and Continuing the Community's Battles" by New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
• "Our Family, Past and Present" by Doug Robinson on raising two sons with his partner Michael Elsasser.

Other essays on court battles, religious movements, arts, homeless LGBT youth, workplace issues, business enterprises and HIV prevention and transmission can be read here.

I was also honored to ne asked to submit an essay by the paper's editors. You can read my essay here:

• "Putting Resources into People of Color Grassroots Efforts"

Thoughts and reactions welcome.

Gay City News launches First Annual Progress Report

On Thursday Gay City News will publish their "First Annual Progress Report" on LGBT issues facing New York City.

This year they have chosen to focus on "community movers and shakers" and have requested opinion pieces from several community leaders including OutPOCPAC Co-chair Doug Robinson, Stonewall Democrats of New York Board of Governors Co-chair Bob Zuckerman, Michael Adams from the ACLU, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Empire State Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle, amongst others.

I was also honored to be asked to contribute to the issue and have written a piece on the need to engage local Latino LGBT grassroots organizations in efforts to get community support for the right for same-sex couples to get married.

I'm sure there'll be a few interesting pieces in the bunch so tune in on Thursday. I'll post a link to my piece once the issue is out.

New York Marriage Ambassadors

Look! It's my friend Carolina Cordero Dyer, her partner Claudia Glaser, and their twins Diego Alexander and Carmen Lucia on the front page of this week's New York Blade! They are featured in a project led by the Empire State Pride Agenda, Lambda Legal, GLAAD and the ACLU to train "Marriage Embassadors" who can advocate for the right of same-sex couples to marry in New York State. The story also features the great straight-ally and Latino-PFLAG leader Nila Marrone. As part of the project myself I will be helping them to organize a people of color specific training here in New York on March 17th and 18th. For more information you can go to the Empire State Pride Agenda's website.

The Blade also features another project in which I am involved through the National Latino Coalition for Justice on which I posted earlier. That article can be found here.

The primary is not over: Jass Stewart for Mayor!

Primaries might be over in New York City but, as long as we’re talking politics, might as well urge you to contribute to the Victory Fund-endorsed Brockton Mayoral Candidate Jass Stewart (Brockton is in Massachussetts and will be holding its primaries on September 20^th, 2005). I met Jass at “Naming Our Destiny: Training for Political Power,” a four day workshop for LGBT people of color interested in running for political office or in doing campaign work, which was sponsored by OutPOCPAC and the Empire State Pride Agenda back in 2004. As others, and yet others will attest, the man is smart, full of great ideas, and will definitely make a great mayor if elected.