NYS Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., Joe.My.God., The Village Voice, El Diario La Prensa, oh my...

 

It's been a grey, cold, rainy Spring day here in New York but an interesting exchange has been taking place between New York State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. and the venerable newsweekly The Village Voice over a post on Joe.My.God.

It all began yesterday when a reader of Joe.My.God. sent translated information from a Dominican Republic newspaper in which the State Senator announced an anti-marriage equality march and rally to take place in the Bronx on May 15th, 2011.  The reader's statement as posted on Joe's blog:

Radio Vision Cristiana, a New Jersey-based Spanish-language AM radio station that broadcasts religious programming, is planning a huge anti-gay march in New York City on May 15, 2011. It will be held in the Bronx (starting at noon the participants will march from 149th Street and Third avenue to [161st] street in the Bronx). The radio station, as well as the main organizer of the event, State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. are urging all Hispanics and especially evangelicals to oppose the possible legalization of same-sex marriages in New York State. Ruben Diaz is urging the participants "to paralyze all traffic in the Bronx" on that day. Organizers of the event expect up to 30,000 people to show up. A similar rally was held in 2009, it attracted about 20,000 people and took many city officials by surprise. 

In the original Spanish-language article, the Senator also riles against the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the city, El Diario La Prensa, and their longstanding editorial support for marriage equality and says he will launch a boycott of the newspaper.  From the article:

"On that day El Diario La Prensa will see a 20,000 issue drop in sales and, in this way, it will see that the Hispanic community in this city opposes marriage between people of the same sex and abortion," said Ruben Diaz.

In speaking against a woman's right to choose, the paper also says that the Senator argued that of 100 women who give birth, 48 "dump them into the trash" implying that the abortion rate in this country is 48% (on January 10th, the New York Times reported that even at it's peak in 1981, annual abortion rates never have reached past 2.9% of pregnancies).

Village Voice reporter Steven Thrasher, who wrote an amazing cover story profile of out soldier Dan Choi back in October, quickly picked up on Joe's post at the Voice's blog Runnin' Scared noting that May 15th, the planned rally date, was also the planned date for the annual AIDS Walk organized by GMHC.

That post, as the one on Joe.My.God., elicited some angry reactions including someone who hoped Diaz would "shortly die of natural causes".  That led others to write similar comments including some anonymous fucktard named "Wayne" to go a step further and write "...as you wish, Mr. Diaz... I can arrange your final resting place in a local dump."

Today, Senator Diaz responded on his website in a press statement titled "An Open Letter to the Editors of The Village Voice".  An excerpt

When I read the comments posted online that followed your article, I considered that you or your editors have espoused an "at all costs" approach to achieving your goal of passing a gay marriage bill. One reader, Wayne writes: "....as you wish, Mr Diaz.....I can arrange your final resting place in a local dump."

Would the authors and editors at the Village Voice have been so quick to tolerate any comments hoping for the demise or imminent death of one of their favorite political leaders? Or perhaps their purpose really was to draw out and encourage criminal acts by your readers....

It's so sad to see people in journalism abuse their positions, but it's outrageous to see how the editors of the Village Voice use their editorial discretion to facilitate and encourage homicide.

Dramatic much? Anonymous online trolling is what defines current online "debates" nowadays and there is no doubt in my mind that the Senator knows this.  That doesn't mean that he isn't smart enough to use it to his advantage and pretend he is a victim - particularly for someone who welcomes any press he can get.  In any case, Tony Ortega, editor of the Village Voice, responded today as well:

As you noticed, in a recent update to this blog by Steven Thrasher on how irrelevant you are becoming in New York's inexorable move to making marriage equality a reality in this state, I put a rather salacious headline on the piece: "Ruben Diaz, Sr.: Gay Marriage Over My Dead Body."

I wrote that headline in an attempt not only to get attention to Thrasher's reasoned, well-reported post, but also to characterize just how out of step with reality your opposition to gay marriage has become in a city where the national movement for gay rights began.

I did not, however, actually wish you dead, and if some of our commenters were similarly hyperbolic in their denunciations of you, I consider that unfortunate.

No, there certainly is no desire on my part or on the part of the Voice to hope for your early demise. In fact, you provide for us a valuable service, reminding us of how backward and mean-spirited many people in this country, and even many people in this otherwise enlightened city, are about human rights and basic human dignity.

The Voice in general, and Steven Thrasher in particular, has provided example after example of how loving, committed couples are denied the most basic of human rights because of bizarre and hate-filled screeds by the shortsighted emotional midgets of this country, of which you make a most convenient and visible example.

For that reason, if for no other, we want you to be around after the more responsible members of our political leadership adopt gay marriage, and for a long, long time after that.

So that we may never forget.

Tony, I believe, gets things only half-right.

There are websites and blogs that choose to moderate comments, like this one.  There are websites and blogs that choose not to do so, and I respect that as well. But I don't think Diaz ever referred to the Voice's blog post title.  Instead, I believe he was specifically responding to the comments left on the post and deliberately picking up on the 'local dump' post.

Simply stating, as Ortega did, that "if some of our commenters were similarly hyperbolic in their denunciations of you, I consider that unfortunate" (italics mine) is sadly akin to every time a homophobic personality apologizes for some homophobic outburst by qualifying the statement with "if anyone was offended by...".

As one of the largest-read gay blogs in the country, and as a blog that does not moderate comments, I am well-aware of the flack that Joe Jervis has gotten as the author of Joe.My.Blog. and the way he has been unfairly blamed for the thoughts of his readers.  Kudos, then, to Joe for following up on the story today and including the following statement:

Please do not leave comments making even the most idle of threats of physical harm or property damage against any persons or places. Longtime readers may recall that in late 2009, anti-gay and Christianist websites launched a campaign against JMG, claiming that readers were making "terrorist threats" against supporters of Proposition 8. Please contact me via email if you see any threats or calls to violence and I will dispatch them at once. Our enemies are reading every word you write.

Here is where it gets mightily dispiriting.  Even though Diaz is attacking 'teh geyz', a woman's right to choose and one of the major Latino media supporters of marriage equality in the United States, a large part of the angry visceral queer reaction to Diaz' statements doesn't really call for his head to roll --- but it certainly brings to mind the xenophobic Tea Party.

A [stomach-churning] sampling from responses on Joe's post asking for a moderate reaction:

• I wish these people would go back to their 3rd world "democracies" where they can practice their vile discrimination.
• Hispanics arriving on out of state church buses?....Take pictures of the buses and their affiliations, take pictures of the bussed in participants, and someone please clue in INS, just in case there are some "undocumented" protesters.
• I agree with some of our other posters concerning full documentation of all the protesters being bussed in to participate in this event, regardless of any racial or nationalist agendas.  If your cause is so weak that any warm body will do, it is more than probable that some of these people might have documentation issues which need addressing.

The 'funny' thing is that Senator Diaz and a large number of his followers were born in Puerto Rico and, as such, have always been U.S. citizens.

There are a number of folk commenting on Joe's site who try to counter the xenophobia but, more often than not, they get attacked themselves as well.

The 'sad' thing is that it doesn't really surprise me because it's nothing new.  What amazes me is their mindless willingness to shoot themselves in the foot by alienating immigrant and non-immigrant Latinos who might support marriage equality.

I'll have some additional thoughts on this in my next post.

UPDATES:

• The Senator has a follow-up response he has titled "Protecting Marriage".
• The Voice follows up. Ruben Diaz, Jr., the Senator's son and current Bronx Borough President, will not be participating in his father's rally.
• Some have said that the fact that the march and rally has been scheduled on May 15th might have to do with the fact that it would fall on the same date as the AIDS Walk in Manhattan. Bob Kappstatter at the New York Daily News says there might be another reason: It's also the same date as the Bronx Puerto Rican Day Parade, which ends just six blocks away from the anti-gay rally.

PREVIOUSLY:

• VIDEO: Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr.: There cannot be separation of Church and State because "I am the church and I am the State".
• Passion of the Christ, Pt. II: Cristiada (April 12, 2011)
• A shout-out from Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. (January 8, 2011)
• Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr.'s response to the anti-gay attacks in the Bronx (Oct. 13, 2010)
• Rosie Perez has a message for Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. (Sept. 30, 2010)
• Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. admits the U.S. Supreme Court will eventually allow marriage equality --- as a sign of The End of Days (Aug. 8, 2010)
• Ruben Diaz, Jr. on his father's homophobia (July 18, 2010)
• An anti-gay rally in New York City (May18, 2010)

Colombia: Taking communion on Palm Sunday to protest religious anti-gay bigotry

After being appointed as the Archbishop of Bogotá by Pope Benedict XVI in July of last year, Colombian Monsignor Jesús Rubén Salazar Gómez set three specific goals for himself: "Protecting marriage" as that between a man and a woman; fighting abortion rights for women at all costs and, last of all, promoting peace in the South American country.

So it wasn't necessarily a huge surprise to see him use his standing as Archbishop and his role as the president of the Colombian Episcopal Conference to release a public letter yesterday - on the eve of Holy Week - to ask Catholic believers throughout the country to speak up against efforts to grant same-sex couples the right to adopt children.

"Catholics like us are opposed to minors being entrusted to couples made up of same-sex partners and we reject any eventual Constitutional Court decision to that effect," the good pastor said in his letter.

The letter was understood as a call to arms for Catholic churches throughout the nation to take up the issue during today's Sunday mass and throughout the rest of the week.  It also comes in a week that saw great news in the advancement of LGBT rights in the country.

On Wednesday, the Colombian Constitutional Court ruled by an overwhelming 8-1 vote that common-law heterosexual partners and unmarried same-sex partners had the right to inherit their partner's belongings in the case of their partner's death, adding to a series of rulings by the same court in favor of LGBT rights.

The president of the Colombian Constitutional Court, Juan Carlos Henao, took pains on Thursday to say the ruling applied to anyone who could prove they had lived in a common-law partnership for two years, regardless whether it was a straight or gay couple, implying that they had yet to rule on whether same-sex couples had the right to marry.

That's because the Constitutional Court already has a couple of cases in it's docket that addresses both adoption rights for same-sex partners and marriage equality... hence the current Colombian Catholic church freak-out.

I have to say that I have no idea how the Constitutional Court will come down on either pending case.  Advocates who have brought previous cases before the Colombian Constitutional Court have been careful not to engage the marriage equality argument and target, instead, specific partnership rights such as inheritance and access to social security and health insurance benefits.  In other words, they have not asked the Constitutional Court to declare whether same-sex couples should be considered a "family" under the Colombian constitution.

Today, though, a dozen lesbian and gay advocates in Bogotá took the Archbishop's challenge head-on.  According to today's El Tiempo, they attended the Palm Sunday mass at the Metropolitan Church in Bogotá and stood in line to receive communion. They each wore a white T-Shirt that read "I am homosexual. I have children. I am Catholic" on one side and "Homophobia is not Christian!" on the other (see picture above).

Reportedly they all received communion.

"Obviously, as Catholics, we feel the pain of encountering a statement coming from the church saying we are not able nor apt to adopt children, or to raise them lovingly," said Elizabeth Castillo who led a group of lesbian mothers, "That is why we are here, it was important to us to establish our voice of protest - we deserve respect!"

"Supposedly, the Church is based on a message of love" she added, "it's incomprehensible why it is that they have sent a press release to the entire nation asking them to protest against adoption rights for gays."

I so love Elizabeth and all the other folk who showed up today at the Metropolitan Church in Bogotá asking not only for respect but also for equal rights.

The Passion of the Christ, Part II: Cristiada

When I think back on my years of activism in the Latino gay community I am always struck by those few unexpected moments and images that still rattle in my head and reverberate long after they have passed.

On March 14th, 2004, New York saw as huge an anti-gay rally as I have ever witnessed. Police reports put the crowd outside the Bronx Courthouse at 5,000 to 7,000 but I wouldn't be surprised if the count was much higher.

Although it's not entirely clear who masterminded the event or paid for it, hundreds of Latino churches throughout the NY/NJ/CT tri-state region ended their Sunday morning services by herding parishioners into buses and taking them to the Bronx. At the time, President George W. Bush was threatening a constitutional amendment to block same-sex marriages in the United States and rally organizers seemed all too happy to stand up and speak up in front of a huge banner that read "No to homosexual marriages, yes to President George Bush's constitutional amendment" (so much for a separation between church and state!).

I was there with 40 or 50 queer Latinos and allies hoping to counter the homophobic sentiments being sent in the name of God but there was little chance our message could reach such a huge crowd.  At the very least, we did provide an alternative message to some of the Latino media that showed up that day.

As the crowd swelled past the Courthouse grounds, across the street and into the park grounds where we stood, the police saw it fit to pen us in as a measure of protection. But I never really felt the need for the police pens nor did I feel in physical danger.  Most of the signs were of the "God made Adam for Eve, not for Steve" or the "love the sinner but hate the sin" variety and most people left us alone.

Most people.

As we stood in our safety area a woman wearing dressed in a denim jacket and wearing a baseball cap slowly made her way up the hill towards us calling us sinners and telling us we were going to hell. The detail that has stuck with me all these years later was not so much her shouting or vehemence but the fact that she was holding a copy of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" high in the air - until someone stepped in and convinced her to walk away.

The movie had just been released three weeks earlier, and I remember finding it hilarious that someone was using a pirated version of the DVD to tell me I was going to hell.

It had also opened to boffo box office success in the United States in part due to the word-of-mouth from preview screenings at right-wing evangelical venues.

Which brings me to a new film called "Cristiada".

Probably not quite as bloody as "The Passion of the Christ" nor as well-poised to receive as large a distribution deal, this is certainly the most expensive and overtly direct attempt to appeal to that segment of the Latino evangelical community who thought "The Passion of the Christ" was a documentary.

Here is the official movie preview which was released at the end of March...

This period piece film dramatizes the Mexican Cristero War of 1926 in which Christians picked up arms to defeat a secular government who was prosecuting religious expression.  The cinematography looks amazing which is not surprising as the movie is being promoted as the most expensive film to be completely filmed in Mexico.  It also has a strong cast which includes legendary actor Peter O'Toole as well as Eva Longoria, Andy Garcia, Rubén Blades, Bruce Greenwood, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Nestor Carbonell.

Scratch deeper and you'll ask why all these fine actors got themselves involved in this project.

Director Dean Wright previously handled special effects for "Chronicles of Narnia: The Witch and the Wardrobe" which is based on a series of C.S. Lewis novels that some have taken to task for weaving Christian theology into what is essentially a children's book series.  That might not necessarily indicate religious intent but an April 8th interview with the homophobic religious site CNA certainly does ("Movie explores faith in Cristero War against forced secularism").

In the interview Wright says he became interested in the film thanks to producer Pablo José Barroso who is no stranger to religious propaganda as in the film "Guadalupe" which was also championed at CNA.

Most worrisome is the involvement of actors Eduardo Verastegüi and Karyme Lozano in the film.

Mexican born Verastegüi plays the role of a martyr Christian priest who was hung for advocating peace. He is also an actor who gained notoriety as a member of a beefcake boyband called Kairo who eventually moved to Hollywood seeking showbiz success.

He found it, initially being cast in movies like "Chasing Papi" and television episodes of "CSI: Miami" and "Charmed" but rumor is that he also fell in the hands of an English-language teacher who taught him that his "life-style" was wrong.

He soon became a rabidly anti-choice advocate and a marriage equality opponent who became the Latino face of those who backed Proposition 8 in California, which sought to ban recognition of any same-sex marriages in the state.

Speaking to Univisión as quoted by CNA (of course) Verastegüi says "It is a film with a great message of faith, love, hope, loyalty and courage, about the religious persecution in Mexico... I play a Catholic lawyer, Blessed Anacleto Gonzalez Flores, called the ‘Mexican Ghandi,’ because he was a heroic pacifist who only wanted to defend his Catholic faith without violence".

Verastegüi playing the martyr. Sigh. As for Karyme Lozano...

Oy! Another big conversion into homophobic blather. This from a woman who gladly received the 2008 crown as the queen of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade!

And there you go. A star-studded Latino movie that spends millions of dollars painting Christians as innocent victims in ways that the director, the producers and some of the actors surely hope it will reverberate today, particularly in Latino communities.

They are already targeting right-wing religious sites for promotion, just as Mel Gibson did a decade ago. This time. though, they are going straight for the heart of the Latino community and I'm not so sure once it finds a distributor it will receive the critical response it deserves to get, particularly in the leading Latino publications.

Peru: LGBT rights and this weekend's presidential elections

Peruvians go to the polls this weekend to elect a new president but they probably won't know who won until June:  None of the leading candidates is expected to get the majority of the votes and, if that's the case, the two top vote getters will be heading for a run-off election ("Leftist favored in Peru vote but run-off expected" - Reuters, April 6, 2011).

In terms of LGBT rights, it's been both breathtaking and frustrating to see issues such as same-sex civil unions be embraced by most of the leading candidates even as they also try to outdo each other in expressing their opposition to same-sex marriage ("Same-sex unions in Perú: Along-shot, except at roiling the presidential race" - Time, March 1, 2011).

That LGBT issues have gained so much traction in the Peruvian presidential elections is probably due to vice-presidential candidate Carlos Bruce (pictured) who is running next to former Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo as Toledo makes a 2nd bid for the top office.

Throughout the campaign, Bruce, who is divorced and says he'll never marry again, has been a steadfast advocate for LGBT rights promising to push for a hate crime bill that would penalize homophobic persecution against gays and for a civil unions bill granting partnership rights to gay and lesbian couples.

Back in January, as the Toledo-Bruce team led most of the presidential polls, Bruce sat down with the team of a Peruvian version of Dan Savage's "It Gets Better Project" called "Proyecto Todo Mejora" and addressed Peruvian queer youth...

The message itself is a little muddled. I'm not sure everyone who has bullied gays when they are younger grows up to be a failure nor does the experience of coming to terms with one's sexuality mean you'll be an economically successful person. But it's nevertheless impressive that Bruce didn't seem to think twice about participating in the project in the middle of a presidential campaign [NOTE: At the 5:28 mark, I've also spliced-in a shorter video posted days later by congressional candidate Ronald Gamarra who has also been a longtime LGBT-rights advocate but was probably inspired by Bruce to post his own video on YouTube].

That was January when the election was Toledo's to lose.  Now, three days before the election, polls indicate the Toledo-Bruce ticket might not even make the run-off.  Toledo, who previously led the country on the center-left, is a known entity, but he has been hurt by being equivocal on a number of issues, perhaps having promised too much earlier in the race, and now having to reign back some of his views on social issues like abortion and the legalization of drugs.

The declining fortunes for the Toledo-Bruce team has benefited two other candidates who are leading the polls:

Ollanta Humala, a left wing candidate who almost won the presidential race when he faced Alan Garcia in a run-off in 2006; and Keiko Fujimori, who wants to take the right-wing mantle of her father, former Peruvian president and human rights violator Alberto Fujimori.

Humala is running a much-different campaign than he ran in 2006.  Back then he always wore a red shirt or military uniform and spoke in no uncertain terms about his leftist credentials. Four years later, he's dropped the red shirts in favor of suits and toned down his left-wing rhetoric in ways that observers say make him more palatable to Peruvian middle-class voters.

In the 2006 race, Humala sought to present himself as gay friendly, specifically after his mother was quoted as saying that gays should be shot.  He didn't necessarily spell out any specific LGBT-related policies as part of his presidential platform but did say that gays could serve in his cabinet if they were qualified. Some in his party also said he would make use his presidency to push for a hate-crimes bill.

Most of the leading LGBT organizations and leaders staged protests against Humala and characterized his few overtures as deceitful but he did win the endorsement of a fringe LGBT rights organization called Raiz Diversidad Sexual.

Still, the controversy over his mother's shocking words lingered and he must have felt a need to cover his bases as he looked ahead at the 2011 elections.

In December of 2009, during a nation-wide tour, he stopped in Tarapoto and marched with a number of transgender community leaders.  In January of that year, the region had been the site where a news organization had captured shocking images of a vigilante crew going after a transgender sex worker ("News cameras capture inhuman beating, undressing and humiliation of transgender street worker") so it was quite a sight to see Humala march down the Tarapoto streets next to the transgender activists...

"I believe there should be opportunities for [LGBT] people, give them labor rights," he said to the reporter who covered his Tarapoto visit.

The following clip shows the less than thrilled reactions from some of the LGBT leaders in Lima as well as interviews with his mother and his father.

That was a little more than a year ago. But we now have a new Humala.

On March 2st, he met with Peruvian Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani and came out of the meeting telling reporters that his campaign and the church were in agreement on "the importance of defending family values" and saying that his party had "conservative Catholic beliefs" and saw the "family" as being a man, a woman and their children.

Humala had previously seemed open to granting civil union rights to same-sex couples even as he opposed marriage equality, much like Toledo, but following his new Catholic awakening he even cast doubts on whether he would be in favor of civil unions.

"In some countries, you simply have a division of belongings," he said to El Comercio, "It's unnecessary to grant laws to a minority or a specific group of Peruvians because that could also be an exclusion, as if they were different, and I don't see them as being different."

"We cannot demonize them nor push them to the margins," he continued, "I don't see them as being different".

In other words, if he is elected president he seems more than ready to deny equal rights to gay and lesbians even as he has the gall to say he'll do it for the sake of equality.

By the way, gay blogger Peruanista, who was born in Peru but lives in DC, has a whole different take than I do on Humala and has endorsed him.  He also posted a Spanish-language video on YouTube defending Humala's meeting with Cardinal Cipriani and the statements he made after the meeting.

Peruanista interviewed Humala on his stand on LGBT issues in September of 2010 during one of Humala's visits to the United States.  Here is the video, shared without translation.

Related: 

• "When did 2011 go wrong?" (SPANISH) - Blog del Ocio, March 27, 2011

Cyndi Lauper meets married couple Alex Freyre and José Di Bello in Argentina

Two of my favorite blogs out there - Towleroad and Joe.My.God. - picked up on a video that shows the great Cyndi Lauper entertaining a bunch of stranded passengers facing delayed flights out of Buenos Aires by singing "Girls Just Want To Have Fun".

Lauper was flying back to the United States from Argentina after performing in Buenos Aires Friday night.

That night, Lauper and her tour production team had invited two very special guests: José Maria Di Bello and Alex Freyre, the first gay couple to marry in all of Latin America (they are all pictured right, with the husbands wearing red ribbon sashes).

I asked Alex to share his thoughts on meeting Lauper and here is what he wrote:

Cyndi wanted to meet us and we were invited to attend the show and meet her backstage.

We told her how we spent the night before we got married listening to her entire "True Colors" CD since it was the only one we had brought along!  And how we danced to it during our secret stay at the hotel.

She seemed surprised. I don't think she was aware that Argentina had passed a marriage law - at least that's what I understood - and [she was even more surprised] about our story. 

She said: "You are heroes!" and we told her that her inspiration had been very valuable to us; that she was an activist who had left her mark; and that we had always admired her for that and loved her for how she was.

José and Alex were among a number of same-sex couples who jumpstarted the push for marriage equality in Argentina by going to the courts and demanding the right to marry.  In November of 2009, in the first ruling of its kind, a court in Buenos Aires ruled that it was unconstitutional to deny them marriage rights and granted them the permission to marry.

As long-time HIV treatment and prevention advocates, they planned a marriage ceremony for December 1st, 2009, but mere hours before the ceremony a second court ordered a stay.

Realizing that the stay only applied to Buenos Aires - and with the assistance of a few legal advocates and a number of LGBT-rights organizations - the couple found out that the Governor of Tierra del Fuego, Fabiana Rios, was willing to officiate a civil marriage ceremony.

So, in utter secrecy, the couple made their way to the southernmost region in the Americas.  When Alex mentions the couple spent the night before the wedding dancing to "True Colors" during their secret stay at the hotel, it was because they told almost no one about their plan to marry in Tierra Del Fuego and people only found out about it after the ceremony had taken place.

That ceremony took place on December 28th, 2009.

Argentina, of course, would later become the first country in Latin America to pass a law granting all Argentinean gay couples the right to marry.

On Twitter, if you understand Spanish, you can follow the couple as follows: José Maria Di Bello tweets here and Alex Freyre tweets here.

Cyndi Lauper, by the way, tweets here.

Univision wants to know: Is it OK for a priest to call gays "faggots"?

• UPDATE 1: I posted this entry at 3:30pm. It's 4:47pm and the page is gone (reader comments remain, though). Univision must know they erred but there's been no apology yet.
• UPDATE 2: An explanation for the disappearance of the page and the poll. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) got wind of the poll through this blog and asked Univision to remove it ("Problematic poll removed from Univision.com after GLAAD Intervenes" via GLAAD Blog)

Remember last September when those kooky kids at Univision.com wanted to online readers to chime in and say if soccer was compatible with homosexuality?

Well, kiddies, on Tuesday they went one better and posted a new poll asking "Is it correct for a bishop to call gays 'faggots'?".

On the soccer question one of the options they gave readers as a possible answer was "No, soccer is a sport for macho men".

This time they give the following options:

a) Yes, there is freedom of expression
b) No, it's an insult
c) Clergy should not give an opinion on social issues
d) Yes, it is a defense of a religious perspective
e) No, and it should be penalized

The answers here, of course, don't really make sense nor do they matter that much.  Online sites use these "polls" to engage readers and keep them on their page.

The true issue here is why Univision.com deems it fit to keep posting these homophobic polls even after they've been caught red-handed in the past (the soccer poll was quickly pulled within a couple of days after Queerty and After Elton picked up on my post).

Or does Univision feel there is any question whatsoever on whether it's OK to call gays "faggots'? That's one explanation I'd really like to get my hands on.

Background: There IS some background to the poll. I've even got some video:

As the presidential race is heating up in Peru, the issue of civil unions for same-sex couples has jumped to the forefront up with the leading political party in the polls promising that they'll back such unions - as long as it's not marriage.

The Peruvian Catholic Church has been trying to mount an effort to paint same-sex civil unions as marriages in riling against those political candidates who back the measure and are using the same tropes used elsewhere to argue against them.

In this interview, which aired a week ago today, Bishop Luis Bambarén doesn't stray from the script until the end. He says that marriages are between "a man and a woman" and are part of "God's plan" and that any attempt against changing the rules of marriage is an attack on God's plan.  Yada, yada.

If that's all he'd said to reporters, it probably would have been a blip on the media radar.  But, just as he seems to have finish answering the question, the Bishop turns back to the reporters and asks "why is there so much talk of 'gay', 'gay', 'gay'! Let's talk Spanish, in common language [we say] 'faggots'! That's how it's said, right? So let's say it clearly" [jump to the 2:43 mark on the video].

As you might expect, the comments drew immediate international attention and reproach. Australia's Herald Sun picked up on it as well as the Bishop's semi-apology which he released a day later ("Bishop apologizes after gay slur", January 26, 2011).

So, even Bishop Bambarén had apologized by the time Univision posted their most recent poll on their site yesterday.

Shouldn't Univision stop their homophobic polls and apologize as well? We'll see what happens.

Related:

• Bishop Bambarén's apology, as transmitted on Peruvian radio, here.

Reactions:

• Univision Will No Longer Ask If Catholic Bishops Have The Right To Call You 'Faggots' (Queerty)
• Morning Meme: Armie Hammer's "Ton of Kissing Scenes," Nick Jonas Is "Les Misérables," and Super Bowl Ad Preview (After Elton)

OMG! I made it to Jente's "Personalities of the Year" cover!

OMG! There I am smack in the middle of the "The Personalities of the Year" cover of Jente magazine!  I would have liked to say that I was honored to have been the only non-Argentinean to have received the honor but I seem to have just spotted Janet Reno, Two Girls and a Cup and El Chavo del 8?  [Click on image to make it larger]

I'm pretty sure I'm the only Colombian, though.

This very special wrap-around version of the end-of-the-year Jente cover is actually a clever parody of the end-of-the-year special published by Gente magazine, which could be described as a cousin to the gossipy UK magazine OK!, except with delusions of grandeur ("Gente", in Spanish, means "People").

I have no idea who most of these people are. I recognize journalists Bruno Bimbi and Osvaldo Bazan, singer-in-a-coma Cerati, homophobic Argentinean Senator Cynthia Hotton, Homer Simpson, enfant terrible Lisandro Puzzolo, the late Argentinean president Nestor Kirchner and his widow and current president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. The first grooms to tie the knot in Latin America, Alex Freyre and José Maria di Bello are also somewhere in the mix.

It's all in the mind of La Tostada, who spent most of the year sending up Argentinean culture politics on Twitter and, sometimes, spreading terror into conservative homophobic politicians through his mordantly acidic tweets.

Somehow, I find the whole fake "Jente" cover hilarious and feel more honored than if I had been featured on the cover of the real "Gente."

A good way to start the year!

Related:

• #TapaJente

Year in Review, pt. 4: Argentina's gays get to marry, Rev. Ruben Diaz thanks Blabbeando, Piñeiro goes to prison

Previously:

• Pt. 1: Esteban Arce keeps his job, the man formerly known as Luke Sissyfag riles NOM's nerves
• Pt. 2: Wedded bliss in Mexico City, transgender blood on Peruvian Flag, Lisa M. comes out
• Pt. 3: World Cup fever, Jorge Steven Lopez's killer brought to justice, Lady Gaga's Little Monsters in Monterrey

Moment of the year, captured on video: By a margin of 33-27, the Argentinean Senate voted to approve a marriage equality law in the early morning of July 15th and, by doing so, Argentina became the first Latin American country to allow gays to marry.  President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner signed the bill into law on July 21st and couples started getting married on July 31st.

They weren't the first couples to marry in Argentina, though.  That honor went to longtime HIV prevention activists and Argentinean LGBT Federation members Jose Maria Di Bello and Alex Freyre, who got married on December 29th, 2009, after a court gave them the go-ahead.

They also became the first gay couple to marry in all of Latin America. Mexico City might have approved their landmark marriage equality law on December 21st, 2009, but the law only went into effect in March of 2010.

Best television ad of the year: In the days before the Argentinean Senate vote, we saw the following incredible television ad. It was produced and written by Mati Caseaux and directed by Juan Schnitman.  I'm not sure if it has gotten any end of the year "Best Commercial of 2010" accolades, but if it hasn't, it should.

On a side-note, media watchdog webportal Mediaite covered my Twitter senate vote coverage (!).

Fidel Castro says he is to blame for past persecution against the LGBT community in Cuba: In August, former Cuban president Fidel Castro took responsibility for all past abuses against the LGBT community in the island.  It was a stunning admission, tempered by his assertion that he personally has never had a homophobic bone in his body and that, if gays were sent to "internment" camps, well, that should be blamed on the incidental homophobia among the Cuban population at the time.

NYS Senator Ruben Diaz says marriage equality will happen in New York State soon --- as a sign of the end of days: I know! Isn't that special. Read all about it here.  Thanks for the marriage equality endorsement, Reverend!

NYS Senator Ruben Diaz thanks Blabbeando: I know! Isn't that special. Read all about it here. WTF!

Jacobo Piñeiro goes to prison: In a case I have followed since March of 2009, a man who confessed to brutally stabbing a gay couple in Vigo, Spain, was finally convicted and sent to prison after an earlier verdict had cleared him of all murder charges.

That earlier verdict was vacated by a higher court earlier this year and, after a new trial was ordered, Piñeiro was released after three years of being held in prison.

In October, a court reached a different verdict and the judge sentenced Piñero to the maximum allowable time in prison: 25 to 58 years, minus time already served.

Venezuelan mural defaced by homophobes, repaired: A street mural in the Chacao District of Venezuela portraying two men kissing which was defaced with dark graffiti paint and homophobic epithets. The mural, which urged tolerance towards others and was part of a campaign sponsored by the Chacao Mayor's Office to improve the city's living environment. Darient, the graffiti artist who painted the mural, returned and painted another male couple kissing. Instead of urging "tolerance," the new mural promotes "respect."

Which brings us, finally, to December.

HIV/AIDS: There were problematic HIV prevention campaigns launched in New York City and Chile, plus a Puerto Rican first lady who thought there already was a cure.

Miami homobigots protest Ricky Martin and Univision: The protest didn't really go anywhere but it was certainly shameful.

And I'll close with one of my favorite stories of the year: The Argentinean version of Big Brother drafted this cutie-patootie as one of the contestants!

...aaaaaaaaaand that's a wrap! That was the Blabbeando year that was.

Year in Review, pt. 3: World Cup fever, Jorge Steven Lopez's killer brought to justice, Lady Gaga's Little Monsters in Monterrey

Soccer superstar supports marriage equality: On the eve of the South Africa FIFA World Soccer Cup, May brought expressions of support for marriage equality from one of soccer's biggest starts: Cristiano Ronaldo. His country of birth, Portugal, became the 6th European country to allow gays to marry in May and a reporter wanted his reaction. "We must respect the choices made by anyone," he said. "after all, every citizen should have the exact same rights and responsibilities."

The Putos Peronistas fly their blue flag: In May, Argentina got one step closer to becoming the first country in Latin America to grant same-sex couples the right to marry when the House of Deputies voted in favor of a marriage equality bill with 125 in favor, 109 against and 6 abstentions (you can see the blue Peronist Fags flag proudly flying above the legislative chambers after the vote was taken).

Justice in the murder of Jorge Steven López Mercado: In Puerto Rico, Juan José Martinez Matos pleaded guilty the brutal murder of 19 year old gay college student Jorge Steven López Mercado last November and received a sentence of 99 years in prison.

The murder had drawn international attention for its brutality as well as for the silence it elicited from the leading political and religious figures in the island, with rallies for justice held in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.  Public figures such as Miss Universe 2001 Denise Quiñonez, Calle 13 singer René Perez and Ricky Martin also raised their voice denouncing the crime.

Uniting all those threads was the amazingly moving work done by my friend Pedro Julio Serrano,who works at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, who helped the López Mercado family to get through some of the most difficult times as their murdered son was brought to justice. Pedro Julio was next to Jorge Steven's parents after Martinez was sentenced...

Maradona is not gay. I repeat, Maradona is NOT gay: In June, as the FIFA World Cup got underway and the Argentinean soccer team emerged as a favorite to win the tournament, team manager and soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona raised some eyebrows when he adamantly denied he was gay in response to a reporter's seemingly badly translated question (here is a direct link to the video).

Argentina, alas, did not go on to win the Cup which also meant that Maradona did not have to keep a promise he made to the team's technical manager to run naked around the Obelisk in downtown Buenos Aires.

Church mural is too gay: In the Dominican Republic, an artist who had been contracted years ago to paint a church mural, denounced that a new priest wanted the mural torn down because it was too gay.  A community vote on whether the mural would be left standing or torn down was planned but I never found out the outcome.

Lady Gaga to the rescue in Monterrey, Mexico: In the meantime, LGBT activists in Mexico who had long lobbied the Mexican government to observe May 17th as the official "International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia" were enraged that the federal government finally acceded to their demands only to strip the words "homophobia" and "transphobia" from the official designation. Instead, Felipe Calderón's government, who had previously appealed the groundbreaking marriage equality ruling in Mexico City before the Supreme Court and lost, called it "The National
Day of Tolerance and Respect towards Preferences".  How did the activists respond? Of course! Staging a Lady Gaga "Bad Romance" flashmob at the Plaza of Heroes in Monterrey!

Menudo outing, pt. 2: Oh, and in the meantime, another former Menudo singer came out. Or, in other words, Angelo Garcia was already out but nobody asked him until a couple of months before even Ricky Martin came out.  But word of a 2nd Menudo being an openly gay man didn't catch fire until media followed up on Ricky's Twitter confession.

Year in Review, pt. 2: Wedded bliss in Mexico City, TG blood on Peruvian Flag, Lisa M. comes out

Continuing a look at the Blabbeando year in review:

Wedded bliss in Mexico City: In March, a marriage equality law approved by the Mexico City legislature in December finally went into effect, making it the first region in all of Latin America to allow same-sex couples to marry.

The law would survive a constitutional challenge filed at the behest of Mexican president Felipe Calderón when the country's Supreme Court ruled in August that it was constitutionally solid. The court would also rule that granting adoption rights to same-sex couples was constitutional and that all Mexican states were required to legally recognize any and all same-sex marriages recognized by the Mexico City (not all states are happy about it).

In October, La Jornada reported 417 same-sex couples had married in Mexico since the law went into effect.

Washing trans blood from the Peruvian flag: In March, I also wrote about an unusual transgender rights protest in the northern Peruvian city of Tumbes in which, in front of cameras, participants called for the church and state to stop discriminating against them and urged those in power to create  a better employment environment for them. What made the protest unusual and striking was that the women pulled out a Peruvian flag they said had been stained with their blood and, using a bucket of water and soap, they proceeded to wash the flag to call attention to all the hate crimes committed against the transgender community throughout Peru.

Hiram, a friend no more: Locally, disgraced former New York City Councilmember and New York State Senator Hiram Monserrate lost a last-ditch attempt at remaining in politics by embracing homophobia. Once a marriage equality ally, Monserrate was one of the few Democratic State Senators who a marriage equality bill and helped to sink it.  To think I once called Hiram a personal friend.

Ricky: Oh, and Ricky Martin came out.

A Cardinal talks, the authorities follow: In April, I wrote about Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodriguez of the Dominican Republic and his latest pet peeve: The public behavior he'd observed at Duarte Park, a popular public gathering spot for members of the LGBT community of Santo Domingo.  Aparently, he used a Sunday sermon to blast the "abhorrent" behavior he'd seen.  His work carries power and, for the next week, local media parroted his calls for authorities to clean up the park.  Within days the police department was telling media that they had linked illicit drug sales in the park to a group of homosexuals and giving a vow to shut down any park vendor activity that attempted against "morals and good behavior." It's a sign of how much sway the Cardinal holds over the local authorities. Scary for a man of the cloth who has been known to describe gays as "faggots".



KFC turns men gay: Bolivian president Evo Morales momentarily became the world's laughing stock - and torpedoed any serious coverage of an important international environmental conference being held in his country - when he used his key note address to argue, among other things, that feminine hormones injected into chicken from non-organic farms could cause "deviations in a man's being".

How that could be interpreted as anything but saying eating non-organic chicken could make some men gay escapes me, but the Bolivian government's defense later argued that Morales had said no such thing - and that the charge of homophobia had been a ploy by imperialists nations to overshadow coverage of the environmental summit.

Local Bolivian LGBT organizations begged to differ and sent a letter asking for clarification.  The government responded by saying the wished to affirm their support for the LGBT community in Bolivia --- and stating, once again, that Morales "under no circumstance" had been referring to homosexuality in his speech. Watch the video and see if you agree.

Bad, bad, Vatican: Also in April, responding to a call for action by the International LGBTI Association (ILGA), advocates in Venezuela,  Argentina and Peru held rallies against the Vatican to reject links the Vatican hierarchy were making between pedophilia and homosexuality.

Soccer players in love: I also found what must be one of the hottest gay scenes to play in a Latin America telenovela.  It's from "Botineras" and, in it, two men who play soccer players and have fallen in love have sex for the first time. Doing some follow-up, I also found scenes from a shoot one of the actors - who says he's straight - did for a gay webportal. Meet Cristian Sancho.



Hey ladies! Oh, and Puerto Rican salsa/reggaeton singer Lisa M. came out (it's a video from VEVO, which means it might not be available to watch in your region).

Equality California stands up for marriage equality in Mexico

Photo: Geoff Kors, Executive Director of Equality California, at a global LGBT justice conference hosted by the UCLA School of Law's Williams Institute on March of 2009 (courtesy of yours truly).

Back in March, Equality California, the largest LGBT rights organization in California, released a statement congratulating the first same-sex couples who took advantage of Latin America's first marriage equality law and decided to get hitched.

That - in some ways - was easy for Equality California to do. It came after the fact, it sounded really pretty, and it probably endeared Equality California to many a Latino guy or gal who read about it.

Then came a local 18-1 vote to ban recognition of same-sex marriages in Baja California in late September.  I wrote about it earlier this month and shared some video of the proceedings...



On the surface, the vote was a slap against the Mexican Supreme Court which ruled in August that all same-sex marriages conducted in Mexico City were constitutionally valid and had to be recognized across the nation as such. In fact, if the Baja California vote becomes law, it will probably head to the top jury of the land  - and probably declared unconstitutional.

In the meantime, though, the Baja California vote has to be ratified by 3 of the 5 municipalities represented by the regional deputies who voted to slam marriage equality and that has yet to take place.

Rex Wockner, who has been doing an amazing job following the story, writes:

Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors has joined calls for municipal councils in Mexico's Baja California state to reject a state constitutional amendment that seemingly bans recognition of same-sex marriages.

Meanwhile, local LGBT activists are organizing marches on Oct. 16 in the U.S. border city of Mexicali, the Baja state capital, and on Oct. 24 in the border city of Tecate

As for Equality California, here is the statement provided by their Executive Director, Geoff Kors, to Rex:

It is extremely disappointing that there is an effort to amend the state constitution to not allow or recognize same-sex marriages in Baja California. Mexico's Supreme Court has upheld marriage for same-sex couples and further required that legal same-sex marriages from Mexico City be recognized throughout the nation. We call on the municipal councils in Ensenada, Mexicali, Rosarito Beach, Tecate and Tijuana to reject this discriminatory effort by voting against ratification of the constitutional amendment -- and to go on the record in support of marriage equality for same-sex couples.

It might have been easy to send out a congratulatory message to same-sex couples in Mexico City back in March, but to step in and proactively state an opinion in light of imminent passage of a homophobic piece of legislation in one of the states in Mexico is unparalleled for a major LGBT rights organization in the United States.

For that, I applaud Geoff Kors and Equality California and say 'thank you'.

Related:

• Baja California gays, advocates to rally against marriage ban (¡TURISTA LIBRE BLOG!)

Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr.'s response to the anti-gay attacks in the Bronx

I admit it. I was wrong. Yesterday I said the Reverend (and New York State Senator) Ruben Diaz, Sr. had yet to respond to the horrendous anti-gay attack that took place in the Bronx earlier this month and it turns out the Reverend had indeed put out a statement repudiating the crime.

You wouldn't know it, though, if you visited the Senator's official website which currently lists two top stories:

The first one challenges New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his support of marriage equality.

The second highlights the Senator's support for Bangladeshi Americans in denouncing "hate crimes" in the Bronx against their community.

Having checked there first, and not having found any statements decrying the attacks, I asked some Bronx LGBT advocates and they hadn't heard a thing from the Diaz camp either.

I should have asked his office directly or read the Spanish-language press.

On Sunday's edition of El Diario La Prensa published an article titled "Indignation at attacks against gays in the Bronx."

According to the paper, they received a press statement from the Reverend which said the following:

I am surprised by reports in the press about the depraved criminal acts committed by nine young men who tortured and robbed two adolescents and a man in an Osborne Place building in the Bronx. My prayers go with the victims and their relatives. Nobody deserves to be brutalized or victimized.

I am grateful to the Senator for speaking up. I truly am. Still, there is a couple of glaring omissions from the statement and at least one journalist noticed one of them.

From a column published yesterday in the New York Daily News authored by political reporter Bob Kappstater ("Bronx hangs its head in wake of heinous gay-bashing attack"):

State Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. is against gay marriage. That's his religious belief as a Pentecostal minister - and his right. But he could have been a bigger man when he issued a statement Saturday, condemning the attacks - but not once using the word gay [italics mine].

Some may say that people are stretching facts a bit too far to find any fault in the statement. But consider the fact that said statement is nowhere to be found on his official site under blog entries, news items or press releases.

In addition, it's striking that the Senator would deem fit to criticize Bloomberg on gay issues and never admit in his statement that the attacks in the Bronx were in any way related to homophobia.  More striking is the fact that ten days ago he was highlighting his work to combat hate crimes against Bangladeshi-Americans in the Bronx and that in his statement about the horrific homophobic crime in the Bronx he also holds off from mentioning the term "hate crime".

It's definitely not the kind of leadership in the Bronx that Gerson Borrero is calling for.

Mexico: Constitution? What constitution? We won't let gays marry in Baja California

Last Wednesday, Sept. 29, by an overwhelming vote of 18-1, the Chamber of Deputies of the Mexican state of Baja California decided to send a message to the country's Supreme Court by voting for a statewide constitutional amendment banning the recognition of marriages between same-sex couples.

From my friend Rex Wockner's reporting (read his entire report here):

Same-sex marriage is legal in Mexico City, and the nation's Supreme Court ruled this year that all 31 Mexican states must recognize gay marriages from the capital city.

As a result, the state legislature's move could set it on a collision course with the federal Supreme Court, although some amendment backers claimed they only want to prevent gay marriages from taking place in Baja.

It's not a done deal.  Again, from Rex:

To be valid, the amendment has to be ratified by the city councils of three of Baja California's five municipalities -- Ensenada, Mexicali, Rosarito Beach, Tecate and Tijuana. Any municipality that fails to report the result of its vote within a month of receiving the amendment will be counted as having approved it. (All towns and areas of Baja California are within one of the five municipalities, which are somewhat similar to U.S. counties.)

In the meantime, my friend and Mexican human rights advocate Gabriel Gutierrez sent me a link to an 11 minute video of the day when the actual vote took place.  In it, you can see that it was a standing room only event packed with LGBT rights advocates and marriage equality rights opponents vying for space.



I won't be translating this one but you have to have heart to the LGBT advocates standing in the room as only one of seventeen of their representatives stood up for them.

At the 8:03 mark in the video, after the vote has been taken, an unidentified man in white reacts in anger to the overwhelming opposition to his rights:

Rapists! We are also citizens and we pay taxes... ridiculous moralists!... None of you want to adopt anyone, children are dying of hunger and we want to help them. And you come here with your pedophile priests leading you. Trash is what you are! Double morality! Your husbands are with the prostitutes and you are just being ridicule here! Where are your marriages? Where? You have children dying of hunger and you just vouch for your priests! But you come here and say that marriages are between a man and a woman. We are also worthy!... We are human beings just like you!

Click here for a 2nd video taken at the meeting.

Keep your eye out for updates...

Rosie from Bushwick wants to talk to you about 'the gays'

The latest video from Fight Back New York features the amazing Rosie Perez...



...and she is taking on the Reverend Ruben Diaz, and I quote:

Senator Ruben Diaz? I am extremely disappointed with your position on this matter. With all due respect, Sir, your stand represents a lack of justice and equality on this issue. Please take note: You are not speaking for the majority of New York State Latinos.

For more information on the video click here.

Miss Universe 2010 backs marriage equality for same-sex couples

What a day! First Fidel Castro owns up to the persecution of gays in Cuba while the island was under his command, and then this monumental story...

OK, I am kidding but this is sorta newsworthy.

While watching Miss Universe a few days ago (yup, I watched the actual pageant when it was broadcast back on August 22nd), it quickly became obvious that Miss Mexico - Jimena Navarrete - would take the crown this year.

And yet, when she answered her Top 5 finalist question on the effect of unsupervised internet use by minors and she said that it was important to teach kids "values" as taught "in the family" I cringed a little bit.  Not that it's bad to teach kids family values, but I wondered if she was simply parroting the "family value" rhetoric of the religious right in Mexico and elsewhere.

That, apparently, is not the case.

Interviewed yesterday on Mexican radio, here is what she said:

Salvador Camarena (W Radio): I want to ask you about a topic that has been very controversial and it's the topic of marriage between people of the same gender. Do you agree with this type of relationships...

Jimena Navarrete: Look, I believe that every person in this world has the right to profess the beliefs they have and I am in agreement. We have to respect what each human being decides to do with their lives, you know? Clearly, there are limitations, of course, also, as there are with heterosexual couples, right? Better said, there are limitations for any of the two - if they are heterosexual or homosexual - but I believe we have to learn to be respectful because they are people who are the same as us. There is no difference. And I don't believe it's just to discriminate somebody based on the gender they prefer, right? Based on the partner they choose to select, if it's a man or a woman. The truth is that I am absolutely against discrimination and, well, what can I say. I have many friends who are homosexual and I adore them. And they are equal folk: There is no reason we should want to set them aside, there is no reason why we shouldn't let them enjoy what they want to enjoy with their partner.

I've posted a link to the audio clip, in Spanish, below. The remarks on marriage start at the 4:50 minute mark...

Viva Miss Mexico! Viva Miss Universe 2010

Three Latino candidates oppose marriage equality as they seek statewide office in New York

[UPDATED BELOW] New York State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. is certainly not the only homophobe in the state legislature and it took more than his one vote to sink the state's marriage equality bill back in December of 2009. Nevertheless, the Reverend has certainly emerged as the most visible symbol when it comes to the issue - and one of the top targets for LGBT-rights advocacy groups such as Fight Back New York.

The sometimes outsized attention given to the man - including on this very blog - speaks to his ability to flaunt his fundamentalist homophobia as a legislator and get away with it.  But it also overshadows the views of other state legislators who are just as homophobic... as well as those who hold similar views and are seeking state-wide office.

The later is the case with Miguel Estrella,  Luis Sepulveda, and Héctor Rámirez, all of whom are running for separate seats in the NYS Assembly.

A long-shot by any stretch of the imagination, Miguel Estrella (pictured) is one of six candidates vying for an open seat in the 72nd Assembly District in Upper Manhattan.  Mr. Estrella caught my eye through coverage of his race in newspapers from the Dominican Republic, his native country.

Take this excerpt from an August 12th article in Primicias in which they fawn over the "charismatic emerging leader":

Miguel Estrella, candidate for state assembly district 72, which covers parts of Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble Hill, opposes marriage between homosexuals.

"As a politician who is concerned about the well-being of the family, I understand we must pay careful attention to the integral cell of society.  Marriages between couples of the same-gender cannot produce children and, thus, break up the chain of procreation mandated by the Bible which makes it a requirement to 'be fruitful and multiply'", said  the political leader.

"To defend marriages between people of the same gender would send the wrong message to new generations; which would lead to the norm of accepting these unions as something which is normal, which it isn't, because people of the same gender cannot procreate," continued the charismatic emerging leader.

However, he said that as an assemblyman, he will equally represent all sectors [of society], guaranteeing and respecting - as is customary in our society - the constitutional rights of all sectors [of society].

Although he immediate said: "I will fight with all my might so that New York won't pass a law of this nature, and will fight with all institutions that are against this aberration."

Oh, joy! Another Bible-thumping politician calling our relationships an "aberration" is exactly what we need, right?

Luckily, the lead candidate in the race, Guillermo Linares, has a storied history in New York City politics as the first person from the Dominican Republic to be elected to political office in the United States when he became a New York City Councilmember in 1991.  In 2004 he was appointed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as the NYC Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs.  Now, as he seeks office once again, Linares has picked up the backing of openly lesbian New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and the endorsement of the Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats (GLID).

I have found no mention anywhere of whether Estrella has any allegiances to Reverend Diaz, although it wouldn't surprise me. That's certainly not the case when it comes to Luis Sepúlveda, who is trying to unseat Democratic Assemblymember Peter M. Rivera in the 76th Assembly District in the Bronx.



This two and a half minute clip is an excerpt from an Aug. 13th segment that ran on "Pura Politica" on Time Warner Cable's NY1 Noticias.  In addition to Sepúlveda, Miosotis Muñoz who is running in the 32nd Senate District in Upper Manhattan; and Julissa Gómez, who is running in the 72nd Assembly District (the same district as Estrella and Linares, as discussed above).

Here I have to stop and highlight the fact that both Muñoz and Gómez back marriage equality even though, just like Sepúlveda, they are first time candidates for their specific seats and running in heavily Latino - and presumably overwhelmingly Catholic districts - in New York City.

Sepúlveda, on the other hand, fidgets and seems uncomfortable with the issue, even as he ultimately admits he'd vote 'no' on marriage equality when he is pushed on the issue by anchor Juan Manuel Benitez.

What's interesting is how he tries to argue that the support he has received from Reverend Diaz is incidental and came only after he launched his campaign. He also initially tries to get away with having a 'wait-and-see' attitude on the issue of marriage equality. He tried the same tack on an English-language debate show without being challenged (courtesy of NGblog)...



"The height of hypocrisy" the host says. And Peter Rivera couldn't have put it better! It's a cop-out. What is there to 'get' about a marriage EQUALITY bill?

Amazingly, NG also pointed to this audio clip from March of 2010 in which Sepúlveda actually said he was FOR marriage equality less than five months ago!

At the 28:25 mark:

I am for marriage equality. I'm ah, eh, I teach constitutional law courses, ah, and I know that it's eventually gonna happen.  The problem is that, emotionally, we are not ready for that. But ultimately... it will come down to an equal protection violation and, you know, I don't see, you know, the decision in 2006 by the Court of Appeals, you know, that they... the holding that marriage... same-sex marriage somehow was going to be to the detriment of children, that ah, that that was the reason why the court upheld the ban on marriage equality.

You know, it doesn't hold water. I think Judge Kaye's dissent will ultimately rule the day and you'll have marriage equality. But we still have to get over that... that emotional barrier that we have because, in my readings of constitutional law, court cases, you know, that case was lost on the way the court - the standard review of the court used - ah - you know, rather than using a compelling reason for the state to have this kind of policy, they use a rational basis, which made it easier for the State to say "Look, this is..." "There is no constitutional provision here allowing you to do this and so we, you know, are gonna accept the reason proffered that marriage equality won't protect our children."

That's the basis, the sole basis the court took when I look at that decision.

As in the interviews I posted above, Sepúlveda goes on to voucher for Reverend Diaz and argue that his views don't have anything to do with the fact he worked for the Senator. That might have held more water if he hadn't flipped-flopped on marriage equality since that March interview.  Particularly painful now is to hear him talk about having two gay brothers, one of whom died of AIDS in 1994, and vouch for his surviving gay brother's right to marry his partner (at the 31:45 mark)...

I loved my brother who passed away, and I love my brother now. And he is in a relationship and, you know, there are certain things that come with a relationship, ahm, you know, and I, I... from my experiences, ah, there's nothing to tell me that my brother should not be allowed to marry his partner, ahm, should not be allowed to inherit from his partner, should not be allowed to get certain rights that come from marriage. That, you know, that and coupled with my knowledge of constitutional history tells me that, you know, ultimately, you are gonna have marriage equality in the state of New York.

Come to think of it, didn't the Reverend also say he had two gay brothers? It boggles the mind how Diaz and Sepúlveda can turn their backs on their own brothers based on fundamentalist homophobic convictions or mere political calculation.

Finally tonight, there is this clip from Friday's edition of "Pura Politica" featuring another two additional Dominican candidates to the New York State Assembly running this year: Héctor Rámirez and Ariel Ferreira.



Running to unseat Nelson Castro, the NYS 86th District Assemblyman, Héctor Rámirez thinks he can also get away with muddling his stance on marriage equality by saying he supports "civil unions" which, of course, are not and would not be in play if he reaches the state assembly. As with Sepúlveda, Juan Manuel Benitez doesn't let Rámirez get away at just that and presses on.  Lo and behold, Rámirez invokes his upbringing in a Catholic family to say that nope, he would not vote in favor of marriage equality.

Although not an incumbent, Rámirez - if you should know - has received endorsements by the Bronx Democratic Party, the influential 32BJ union, the Working Families Party and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. - the Reverend's son - despite his vows to oppose marriage equality.  That might have to do with the ever swirling accusations of corruption surrounding Castro but it's a shame they'd all be willing to endorse someone who is against equality.

As with Muñoz and Gómez above, it is great to see a young Latino candidate like Ariel Ferreira stand up for marriage equality as someone who was also raised in a Catholic family.  Ferreira, who is also of Dominican descent, might have a tough road ahead in defeating legendary Assemblymember Danny Ferrell in Harlem's 71st Assembly District this year. But he might have a bright political career ahead of him.

UPDATE: Again, this is not to be an exhaustive list, but ad a fourth Latino candidate who is opposed to marriage equality to the list.

Richard LaSalle was born in East New York but says he comes from a Latino background.  He is running as a Republican candidate for the 13th Senate District and faces the humongous task of unseating pro-marriage equality Democratic Senator José Peralta.

Talking to Javier Castaño, a former editor of the defunct Spanish-language newspaper HOY who now publishes a local free Spanish-language newsweekly called Queens Latino, LaSalle assails Peralta as follows:

"Peralta has voted in favor of homosexual marriage three times, but in his district, the majority of voters do not agree with gay marriages."

*sigh*

He doesn't stop there. He boasts he is prepared to spend half a million dollars from his own pocket to unseat Peralta (trust me, I live in the district and it doesn't really show) and stabs those who have endorsed him in the back.

His campaign site says he's gotten the backing of the Queens County Republican Party, the Queens County Conservative Party, the Fellowship Republican Club and the Frank Kenna Republican Club.  What does he have to say about running as a Republican, though?

"I registered as a Republican to scare the Democrats, even though I don't believe in [political] parties because they all do it for power and for money."

Ah! Good luck with that, bud!  The article is not available online as far as I know but it ran in the September 2010 edition of the paper.

Related (up and coming pro-gay NYS Assembly candidates mentioned in this blog post):

• Ariel Ferreira's Facebook page here
• Miosotis Muñoz' Facebook page here
• Julissa Gómez Facebook page here