NYS Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr. defends comparing homosexuality to bestiality

Mention "New York 1" to anyone in New York City and, if they have access to Time Warner Cable, they'll admit it's their first place to go for NYC news, politics, weather, sports and traffic.  Lesser known to New York City residents is its Spanish-language companion "New York 1 Noticias" which happens to be the host of one of the best weekly political television shows in the nation, "Pura Política". If you speak or understand Spanish and are interested in city politics from a Latino perspective, please do me a favor and watch it every Friday at 6pm EST or set your DVR to record it every week (Ch. 95 on basic cable / Ch. 801 on digital cable).

I have often featured clips from "Pura Politica" on this blog, particularly when host Juan Manuel Benitez has invited politicians and political candidates to address LGBT issues (i.e.: "Three Latino candidates oppose marriage equality as they seek statewide office" from August of 2010).

More often than not, the most riveting appearances on "Pura Politica" when it comes to LGBT issues have been the times that Benitez has hosted State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. and patiently and meticulously has challenged Diaz on his homophobia and dismantled each and everyone of the Senator's bigoted arguments against marriage equality and LGBT-rights.

There was that time when Diaz acknowledged marriage equality would become law of the land in the United States ("Supreme Court will allow same-sex marriages as a sign of the End of Days"), or the time Diaz blamed New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for the lack of marriage equality in New York State ("Sen. Diaz: Blame Bloomberg for the lack of marriage equality in NYS"), and, of course, who could forget the time Diaz argued there was no such thing as separation of church and state in the U.S., particularly because Diaz himself argued he was THE church and THE state?

Those nuggets all came from previous appearances by Diaz on "Pura Politica".  On last Friday's show, Diaz appeared on the show once again and, when it comes to further exposing his religious-based homophobia, the show did not disappoint.  Here is Part 1 of the interview (you can click on the video to open up a larger view which might make it easier to read my translation).

I'll be writing more about this in days ahead but I hope you will watch every single minute of the first part of Benitez' masterful take-down of Diaz' homophobic arguments.

I do have to say that I had been waiting to translate Part 2 of this interview before posting it.  Today, though, I got scooped!

My friend Pam Spaulding hosted a post this morning by Tony Varona - a law professor and academic dean at the American University Washington College of Law who is on the board of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and is a former general counsel/legal director for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) - in which he translated segments of the interview ("Antigay NY State Sen. Rev. Ruben Diaz Grilled On NY1"). The post has since been picked up by others, including the following:

• Sen. Díaz Lies About Marriage Bill, Attacks Gays, Scapegoats Lesbian Granddaughter (Think Progress)
• NY Spanish-Language Political Talk Show Interviews Anti-Gay Activist and NY State Senator Ruben Diaz (GLAAD)
• Juan Benitez’s Excellent TV Take Down Of Ruben Diaz (Queerty)
• More Lies From NY Sen. Ruben Diaz (Joe.My.God.)

If you click on the YouTube video above you will see my annotated translation.  I have also posted a transcript below.  I'll post the 2nd part of thee interview later this week.

"Pura Politica": Interview with New York State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. by Juan Manuel Benitez. Original air date: May 27th, 2011.

JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: Here with us is State Senator & Pentecostal Reverend Ruben Diaz, Sr. Thanks a lot for being here in "Pura Politica" one more time. Let's begin here: This legislation does not affect your church. It's a civil issue. Why do you continue to oppose...
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: That's not true... That's not true... that's not true...
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: Is someone going to force you to.. to...
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: Yes, according to the bill - look for the bill - how the bill has been drafted; in the future, churches will be forced to do it, yes. Now...
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: That's not true. In other words, let's address the facts. This is about.. we are talking about civil marriages. No one will go to your churh to get married.
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: No, no. Marriage is marriage...
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: Civil marriage...
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: Marriage is marriage. The bill has been drafted and, in its current form, this specific bill does not exempt churches nor ministers. The bill does not say that.
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: The bill addresses civil marriage, not religious marriage...
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: The bill addresses marriage between a man and a man, and between a woman and a woman.
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: ...and you are referring to civil marriage, not religious marriage. Do you really think that the gay community - gay couples - will go to your church to get married?
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: I'd have to marry some of them according to...
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: They'll go to your church so you can marry them!?
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: Well, who knows? They might go to my church so that I won't marry them... so that I won't marry them and they can then file a civil claim, file a discrimination suit, file a case to strip tax benefits from my church; because 'If I can't get married, then you are discriminating' and so the state cannot assist an institution that...
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: I don't know if you've read the bill, but the bill specifically exempts churches. This is all about a civil marriage, marriages that take place at city halls, a non-religious civil marriage.
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: No. One of the new senators who is on the fence just said that he'd like [the exemption] so that it will be left explicitly clear - that the law will not force the hand of ministers from the churches and the synagogues.
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: And if there is an exemption, if - as you say - such language were included to exempt churches so there won't be any issues of discrimination, would you vote 'yes' for that type of gay civil marriage?
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: Me? Not me. Truthfully, no, because marriage for me is marriage in whichever form you like. That's the truth. I don't base my opinion against homosexual marriage on this and that. My basis is that it's against nature and that it's something that should not... not... not... ... ... should not be.
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: 'Shouldn't be'. OK, last week we had Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito with us and she expressed her frustration that you've built yourself up as a spokesperson for the Latino community on this issue. This is what she said regarding the the publicity campaign for the rally you organized a few days ago in the Bronx. Let's listen.

COUNCILMEMBER MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO: ...and I believe that the mobilization and the ads that were also purchased - he bought on-air time in radio stations, and I listened to them - what he was promoting, I think, was hate - even if he says the opposite - a lack of acceptance, intolerance towards a few individuals who are deciding to live their lives however they wish to do so. And in trying not to promote it or support the legislation, and in trying to prevent passage of the legislation, of course! You are already entering that area in which you are not supporting the separation between church and state.

JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: Your reaction.
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: I have no idea what she is saying.
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: Well, she says that in the publicity campaign for the rally you organized a few days ago in the Bronx you were inciting, more or less, in your message - according to her - you had shades of hate; a message of hate.
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: Oh, man, I'm so tired of this. I'm so tired of this. You now, it's incredible. I don't even want to respond to it.
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: You're talking to me in English, say it to me in Spanish...
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: No, I'm no longer going to respond to that. You know: The lies, how they twist the truth, the way they twist things to promote something, you know, shame is what these people should feel. These people should feel ashamed. How they change things; how they want to take things and change them; to portray what was said and what wasn't said. For what? That's so they earn people's sympathy. Shame is what they should feel.
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: But what...
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: We have never spoken about hate. There is no such thing as hate. On the contrary, my granddaughter arrived and I embraced her and I told everyone 'this is not about hate'. Why do they continue to try and insist that we want to hate. We... everyone in America has the right to chose what they want. Some are in favor of something, some are against something. In other words, we cannot pray - the churches - when prayer is not allowed, when reading scripture is not allowed, we don't say that they hate us. That's...
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: Everyone does enjoy freedoms, as you say, but you are blocking gay people's freedom to get married with the person they love...
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: No, we don't have the freedom. I cannot pray at church, I cannot pray at school, I cannot read scripture. Students cannot. Any teacher who does it is fired. In other words, there is no freedom. You can't do it. Whoever does it is fired. We are the ones who are being pursued. Christians are pursued for that reason. Christian religion is pursued when we are not allowed to do the things we want to do. We accept it. That's fine. But it's not that they hate us: They don't like us... they won't allow us to do it. So why is it that when one is opposed to something, 'AH! IT'S HATE!'...
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: You have always said it's not homophobia, that you are not homophobic...
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: It's that homophobia... No, hate is what they do against me: The 'blasts' they send, the threats they send, the letters that come...
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: But before we get to that, do you consider yourself... do you accept, as such, being called a 'homophobe'?
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: How could that be!
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: You are not a homophobe?
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: How could that be! I have family! How many times do I have to come here to tell you the same thing. To tell people.. why... no, no...
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: Well, lets see: I'll read you the definition of the word "Homophobe" because I am a bit confused. The Royal Academy of Language says that "Homophobia" is an obsessive aversion towards homosexual individuals, your reply?
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: Obsessive aversion? And who has 'obsessive aversion' towards homosexuals?
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: You not only show aversion but also say things like this, let's listen, from two years ago, let's listen...

JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: If being homosexual is a sin against nature, do you then think that homosexuality is a choice or simply...
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: No, it's a... it's akin to having sexual relations with animals, many people also want it.
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: In other words, you think that having sexual relations - a man with a man and a woman with a woman - it's akin to having sexual relations with animals.
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: They are both actions that go against nature. They are actions that go against nature. It has not been established by the nature of God that it should be that way.

SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: And what was it that I said there...
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: In other words, you are saying... you are comparing relations between homosexual people with the behavior of...
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: No, no, no. We are establishing what goes against nature. Relations between homosexuals go against... nature itself tells us, eh..
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: In other words, what you are telling us is that homosexual people go against nature.
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: Yes. In other words, their relations go against...
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: And that's not an interpretation?
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: Let's see... OK, if you want to say it's an interpretation that's your prerogative. The... something that goes against nature is something... nature itself says that marriage between a woman and a man are able to procreate [and have] children.
JUAN MANUEL BENITEZ: Where does it say so.. where does nature say that...
SEN. RUBEN DIAZ, SR.: Nature says it! Nature teaches you that a relation between a man and a woman can procreate children and that a relation between a man and another man or a woman with another... cannot procreate children. So nature itself... nature itself is telling you and the whole world 'This, I did not create'.

• This is part 1 of a 2 part interview. For a transcript of the rest of the interview please click here.

Wishing the best for Pam Spaulding today

As readers of Pam's House Blend know, blogmistress Pam Spaulding (right) was scheduled to undergo major surgery this morning in South Carolina.

Today, a bunch of us bloggers are writing to express our love for Pam and to wish her a prompt recovery.  As her illness has forced Pam to take unpaid leave from her day-to-day job we are also urging readers to help her with surgery-related expenses through donations to her PayPal account.

I have long been a fan of Pam's. I am often amazed at her proficiency and output, which might sound like bland words to describe someone, but when you realize that Pam works full-time and manages to consistently keep the quality of her blog top notch day in and day out, I hope it comes across as the high praise I mean to convey.  It's not for nothing that Pam - and Pam's House Blend - is considered to be one of the most influential blogs out there.

Our love also goes to Pam's wife, Kate, who is keeping by Pam's side.

The surprise get-better blog swarm was the idea of the other writers at Pam's House Blend as well as journalist Karen Ocamb.  I am more than happy to join them and others in embracing Pam and wishing her the best.

Other participating blogs include Rod2.0, The Mad Professah Lectures, Joe.My.God., Michealangelo Signorile, Karen Ocamb's LGBT POV, Towleroad, Joe Sudbay at AmericaBlog Gay, Zack Ford, David Mixner, Jeremy Hooper at Gay As You, among others. In other words, the LGBT bloggers' glitterati.

Get well soon, Pam, we all love you.

UPDATE, from Pam herself:

• Back home after my slice-and-dice adventure (Pam's House Blend)

We WIN! No time for losers 'cause we are the champions of the WORLD!

So voting is over at the 2008 Weblog Awards for the best blogs of the year and the winner has been crowned. CONGRATULATIONS TOWLEROAD!!

I am glad to report that Blabbeando came in dead-last in the Best LGBT Blog category with 0.5% of the vote! As I said, though, we were stunned to be chosen as a finalist and we hardly had any chance to compete against the big guys and gals. Plus the general subject of this blog is rather narrow anyway. Or perhaps it's all excuses for being a looooosaah !

Being serious: I was actually honored to have been chosen amongst thousands of LGBT blogs out there and it certainly brought new readership to the blog (we went from a Technorati rating of 86 to 104 even if only nerds know what that means).

The breakdown?

• 10. Blabbeando (165 votes, 0.5% of the vote)
  
• 9. TransGriot (318 votes, 1.0% of the vote)
  
• 8. Susie Bright's Journal (341 votes, 1.1% of the vote)
• 7. Tammy Bruce (438 votes, 1.4% of the vote)
  
• 6. Gay Patriot (1,262 votes, 3.9% of the vote)
  
• 5. This Girl Called Automatic Win (1,459 votes, 4.6% of the vote)
  
• 4. Pam's House Blend (2,848 votes, 8.9% of the vote)
  
• 3. Joe.My.God (5, 173 votes, 16.2% of the vote)
  
• 2. The Bilerico Project (7,917 votes, 24.7 of the vote)
  
• 1. Towleroad (12,074 votes, 37.7% of the vote)
  

Pam and Joe have been past winners and Andy T. has now joined them in the pantheon. I am thrilled that This Girl Called Automatic Win pulled in 5th and also remain ever thankful to Monica Roberts at TransGriot for her encouragement and support. We are all winners in this game called life! Or, as ABBA said, "The winner takes it all / The loser standing small / Beside the victory / That's her destiny."

Indeed! Congratulations to all the top vote getters as well as all the nominees!

What LGBT bloggers do when they write about blogging conventions

In a piece published today at Bay Windows and the Bay Area Reporter by Lisa Keen, she reports on the LGBT Blogger and Citizen Journalist Convention that I attended last weekend in DC ("LGBT bloggers learn the ropes at summit"). The event was organized by blogger Mike Rogers (pictured right).

I know I already posted an unofficial listing of the blogs that were represented at the gathering. But now that everyone seems to have returned home, here are some thoughts on the convention by some of the participants.

Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend has several posts up mostly filed as the gathering took place which include a number of photos and video grabbed at several of the presentations / workshops. Here is her take on the on the opening day of workshops including video of a panel on the lessons of the passage of Prop. 8 in California; additional photos and videos; and her take on the second and last day of workshops including a presentation on the history of LGBT organizing by former Human Rights Campaign ED Tim McFeely and another on techniques to promote your work as a blogger in the larger media / blogosphere presented by the great Cathy Renna.

The Bilerico Project had an array of their contributors present bloging for the site as well as their individual blogs. Father Tony posted part of a speech by Barney Frank that I mentioned in one of my posts which actually took place at the Victory Fund luncheon (you can watch it here) and Alex Blaze commented on the few days that the Bilerico crew spent in DC.

Father Tony, whose personal blog can be found at over Farmboyz, posted some photos - including one of myself standing next to Buffawhat, Jimbo and Joe.My.God.

Which brings us naturally to my roommate for the weekend, Joe.My.God, who did this recap with a link to a slide show of lotsa-pics. Buffawhat has this and rugger Jimbo has this as well (he also was telling anyone who listened to go out and buy Robyn's latest CD).

Knucklecrack a/k/a Eric Leven attempted something similar to this post on Tuesday and might have done a better job at linking up to others than I am doing. He shares this... "There's Buffawhat, who by the end of the weekend I solely referred to as Buffawhaaaaaaat or would say, 'Buffawho? Buffawhat!' and sometimes I'd snap" which - amazingly - were exactly my thoughts when I met Buffawhat, except I didn't outwardly express those thoughts. Oh, and I didn't snap.

Greta Cristina has a great post in which she admits that she has "never done one of these conference reports before. I'm not quite sure how you do it" but nevertheless shares some interesting thoughts on the event (instead of describing the workshops she analyzes what they meant for her as a blogger).

Working Films, who I did not list in the original list of blogs I posted, reflected on the Prop. 8 panel, among other things.

Rod2.0 had did a brief rundown of the events Saturday and Sunday (with photos) while Mad Professah Lectures posted a photo of him and I (courtesy of Joe.My.Blog, I believe). I was looking forward to meeting both Rod and Ron as supportive as they have been of this blog over the years.

Other bloggers mostly reflected on how great it was to be there including Michael at Coming Out in Mid Life or had brief reactions like enGender, Existential Punk, & Gay Person of Color (who has more pics!). Matt at InterstateQ reflected on how cold DC was compared to his home city of Charlotte, NC.

Amazingly, one of the people I didn't meet was Ask the Gay Latino (!) who wrote this about the event. I kept wondering who he was and making a point of trying to ask about which blog he wrote but the chance never came.

So, not a complete rundown by any means. But a sampling of what bloggers took away from the weekend's convention.

Previously:

• LGBT Blogger and Ctizen Journalist Convention - Day 2 (Dec. 6, 2008)
• LGBT Blogger and Citizen Journalist Convention - Day 1 (Dec. 5, 2008)

LGBT Blogger and Citizen Journalist Convention - Day 1

So let's say you're walking down the streets of Washington, DC, on a cold December day. Say that the 'Don't Walk' light is on and you don't dare jaywalk 'cause it's DC and not New York and jaywalkers really get caught. You look ahead and all you see are... a gaggle of LGBT bloggers and citizen journalists! Would you suddenly scream and run away? No?

Good! 'cause that's exactly what the denizens of DC got today.

The occasion was the 1st National LGBT Bloggers and Citizen Journalist Convention. I, the New Yorker, dared to jaywalk across before the light changes just to take the photo above! You are welcome!

The initiative was created by the DC-based blogger Michael Rogers (of PageOneQ and BlogActive) who got initial support from philanthropist Jonathan Lewis and sponsorships from the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. Additional sponsors include Microsoft, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Gay Alliance Against Defamation, the National Lesbian and Gay Journalist Association, Bolthouse Farms and the New Organizing Institute and Center for American Progress Action Fund which are hosting the two-day event.

A couple of highlights for me actually did not come from today's workshops /panel presentations but from a luncheon organized as part of the Victory Fund's annual conference to which Convention participants were also invited.

First was a moving tribute given by New York State Senator and former Councilmember Tom Duane to former Councilmember Phil Reed who passed away a few weeks back.

Tom, of course, was elected to the City Council in 1991 as the first openly gay and HIV+ councilmember while Phil followed his steps becoming the first African-American councilmember who was also gay and HIV+.

Phil had always been gracious to me on the times that I had the opportunity to see him at political events and elsewhere and though he had a certain prickly reputation I always found him to be funny, engaging and sweet - a true hero - and was tremendously sad when I heard about his passing although I knew that he had not been doing well.

Also during the Victory Fund lunch was a note key speech by Congressman Barney Frank who spoke eloquently about serving in politics as openly gay people.

In part, he was addressing a number of trainees of a Victory Fund program for individuals who might want to run for office in the future (to my surprise my friend Miguel Ayala was among them which meant I got to say hi to him for the first time in ages).

I took copious notes as Frank made comments regarding marriage, DOMA, ENDA, DADT, the hate crimes bill and President-elect Obama. But in true Frank spirit, the Congressman had a couple of bon-mots that had the audience laughing with his dry humor.

In challenging notions that blacks and Latinos were to blame for the passing of Prop. 8 in California, Frank said he was grateful to the leaders of the Congressional Black and Hispanic Caucus who, according to him had "a better record than gay members in Congress." He let that sink in for a moment and then said "...not the open members such as Tammy [Baldwin] and myself." Purrum-pum!

And, addressing his prominence as the hair of the House Financial Services Committee during the current economic crisis: “If [an LGBT-inclusive hate crimes law] passes, you will still be able to call me a faggot. I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re in the banking industry, however” [h/t Mombian for catching the complete quote].

As for the Convention, I already had met some of the participating bloggers in the past and it has been great to see them again but I was particularly happy to meet Rod McCullum of Rod2.0 and Ron Buckmire of The Mad Professah Lectures (at right with myself) I am also having a blast rooming with Joe Jervis of Joe.My.God who is out checking out the DC nightlife with Father Tony of the Farmboyz as I write but regaled me with some nasteee i-Tunes music tonight along with Broadway showtunes done to a disco-beat. Somehow Gloria Estefan made the cut as well. Then again he did live in Miami a while back.

Panels, we've got panels! Actually I was on one on "Diversity" which felt a little diffuse to me but seemed to go OK. I was on along with my friend Russell Roybal from the Task Force and the Reverend Irene Monroe from Bilerico and Autum Sandeen from Pam's House Blend.

There was also a main panel on Prop. 8 and a workshop on journalism.

I'll try to share a full list of participant bloggers and blogs tomorrow.

[Photo credits: All photos by myself except the last one courtesy of Joe.My.God]

Related article:

• New initiative to train gay bloggers (Washington Blade, Oct. 3, 2008)

Noticed: Missing at Bill Clinton blogger reception in Harlem

A secret: Say whatever you say but I rarely if ever check The Huffington Post, Daily Koss, InstaPundit or any of those top political blogs (ok, I confess, I do check on Andrew Sullivan's blog from time to time). But when The Republic of T. writes about this and I get a call from California from a certain Miss Wild Thing to urge me to read this Pam Spaulding blog post, then there's some sort of weird synergy at play. Go to New York's own Daily Gotham and you also get this in which Liza Sabater writes:

These are the 20 liberal bloggers that met with Bill Clinton in Harlem [on Tuesday]. As you can see, not one of them is black or latino.

There is an argument to be made that bloggers might have been chosen based on popularity and alliegance to the Clintons and, as gay blogger John Aravosis says in his AmericaBlog site, (the source of the photo above), "these kind of get togethers are far more interesting on a personal than a substantive level" but for a meeting held in Harlem, the over-sight is a pretty glaring one.

Further thoughts by Pam Spaulding here, Terrance here (which provides additional information on people of color bloggers that were invited but were either not available of did not accept the invitation).