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).

NYS primary elections: Vote for Francisco Moya and Charlie Ramos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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



Please vote for Charlie Ramos!

Tony Martinez, my hero

OK, one last post-Monserrate-loss post. Steven Trasher was the man on the street for The Village Voice here in Jackson Heights as this week's special NYS Senate election drew near. On election day he posted video of some of the street interaction between campaign volunteers pushing Hiram Monserrate on one side and José Peralta on the other.

On my way to my voting site, I noticed one particular guy - a Peralta supporter - having a back and forth with some Monserrate backers. It wasn't exactly cordial but he was coming up with some great and funny retorts. On campaign day, I sometimes assume that those giving campaign literature are usually not from the neighborhood and recruited by labor unions or some other outside interest. This guy made me smile but I pretty much side-stepped him, and went on to place my vote.

Now, I'm not sure if this guy was labor, or lives in the NYS Senate 13th District, or is gay, but thanks to Steven Trasher at The Village Voice I now know that his name is Tony Martinez and that he specifically told Trasher that his reason for being out there was José Peralta's support for marriage equality.

So, here is to Tony Martinez, who stood on a corner all day long on Tuesday, taking shit from Monserrate supporters all day long, and specifically for the right of gays to get married.

Trasher has more of Tony on this Village Voice blog post.

Previously:

• Parting shot: Hiram Monserrate loses big in trying to regain NYS Senate seat
  
• The Reverend Ruben Diaz, Sr. stumps for Hiram Monserrate in Queens
• So, Hiram Monserrate walks into a gay bar

Parting Shot: Hiram Monserrate loses big in trying to regain NYS Senate seat

The New York Times is reporting tonight that those of us who live in the New York State 13th Senate District will have a new representative. Democratic Assemblymember José Peralta handily beat former Senator Hiram Monserrate, who ran on an independent line, and Robert Beltrani who ran on the Republican line.

With 94% of the vote, the tally was Peralta with 66%, Monserrate with 27% and Beltrani with 7%.

Coming home tonight, I already had received the news that Peralta had won big tonight. So when I saw this particular piece of literature, it didn't upset me as much as it would have if I had seen it before the election. As a parting shot, though, here is how low Monserrate was willing to go in using marriage equality as a wedge issue.

Google "The Muslim-American Coalition for Morality" and what do you get? Nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. No helpful contact phone number or e-mail on the flyer, no names mention as to who exactly is "The Muslim-American Coalition for Morality".

There IS a large Muslim population in the borough and there are some fringe Muslim groups that peacefully protest the annual Queens LGBT Pride Parade but, as large an LGBT presence in this district, I would say that the norm is mutual respect between cultures.

Hm, i wonder what that means. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the Monserrate campaign trying to play into Muslim stereotypes as a last ditch effort to gain votes. Surely not. I mean, there MUST be a Queens-based "Muslim-American Coalition for Morality" somewhere even if they are not Google-search-friendly. Right?

UPDATE: 100% of the vote in, according to NY1. Only 14,988 people voted. Peralta received 9,803 (65.41%), Monserrate got 4,098 (27.34%) and Beltrani got 1,087 (7.25%).

PREVIOUSLY:

• The Reverend Ruben Diaz, Sr. stumps for Hiram Monserrate in Queens
• So, Hiram Monserrate walks into a gay bar

The Revend Ruben Diaz, Sr. stumping for Hiram Monserrate in Queens

Hiram Monserrate said this on a New York 1 video I translated and embedded on my previous post:

I think it's sad that a person can come from outside the community - from Colorado - sending money at the same time as gay leaders from here in New York trying to influence an election in our neighborhood so that they can put a marionette who will vote in favor of gay marriage.

How about others coming in and trying to influence the election in Monserrate's favor? Oh, that seems to be quite alright with Hiram. Here is the ultra-homophobic State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. all the way from The Bronx stumping for Hiram in Jackson Heights this afternoon (I couldn't capture his face but you can identify him by the his trademark black hat).

Do you live in Queens' 13th Assembly District? It's not too late to vote against Hiram. Get out there and make sure that Hiram is out of here. Voting ends at 8pm EST.

So, Hiram Monserrate walks into a gay bar... (or why I will vote against him today)

UPDATE 1: "Outsider" tries to influence the vote in Hiram's favor. Homophobic NYS Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. (D-Bronx) seen stumping for Hiram in Jackson Heights.
UPDATE 2: Before losing big to Jose Peralta, Hiram Monserrate uses homophobic appeals to the Muslim community.

Nine years ago, in the late summer of 2001, my partner and I hosted a small fundraiser for a city council candidate seeking to become the first openly gay politician elected from the borough of Queens. The fundraiser was memorable because my partner and I were living in a large studio apartment - no bedrooms, just a studio - and because, by happenstance, the day turned out to be probably the hottest day of the summer. Dozens of people went in and out through that door the whole afternoon and, before you knew it, the apartment felt more like a sauna.

The candidate, Jimmy Van Bramer, would lose that year, coming in second to Helen Sears. It would be eight more years until Jimmy was finally elected to the city council, joining Danny Dromm as one of two openly gay people to be elected to the city council from the borough of Queens for the first time.

That very sweaty fundraiser in 2001 was notable in another way: I believe it was the first time I met Hiram Monserrate. Hiram, at the time, was also running for the city council, and he'd come to my apartment to urge people to donate and vote for Jimmy, an openly gay candidate.

Mind you, Hiram was also there as someone seeking to be the first Latino to ever be elected to the city council from the borough of Queens.

WHAT? Yes! The land of Archie Bunker had never elected an openly gay person to political office at the time, nor had it elected an openly Latino person either. This, despite the fact that certain areas of Queens, and certainly Jackson Heights, Corona, Woodside an Elmhurst, had a huge Latino population who had never been represented by someone from their own background.

There was something else in common back then: Both candidates lacked backing from the Queens Democratic party establishment which, at the time, was not necessarily known as pro-gay or immigrant-friendly.

I wasn't sure what to think of Hiram. He was a former US marine as well as a New York City cop. He was running for the Latino vote in the district and not afraid to endorse an openly gay candidate. But being Latino and pro-gay does not necessarily make a great politician by default and so, I waited.

It didn't take much time. Despite the lack of backing from the Queens Democratic party establishment, Hiram emerged victorious and went to work.

Now, I've never considered myself to be a political 'idolater'. I am often weary of politicians and political parties and do not believe that any one politician in particular will be the Lord savior. But I do have a thing for those who challenge the establishment and shake it up and, in that sense, Hiram fit the bill to a T.

As a councilmember, Hiram almost always did the right thing: He spoke up on immigration rights and introduced bills to protect the privacy of undocumented immigrants; he sought funding for HIV prevention agencies in the borough and throughout the city; he addressed overcrowding in housing and issues related to the explosion in street food vendor stands, he [believe it or not] got funding for anti-domestic violence programs, etc. And, on LGBT rights, while he was not necessarily out there championing them all the time, he certainly seemed to get it, backing the right of same-sex couples to marry as far back as that 2001 race.

In 2002, as a newly elected councilmember, I took Hiram to his first gay bar (if you must know, it was The Music Box, on 74th Street and Broadway in Jackson Heights). I had offered to meet at a straight bar but he insisted on meeting me there to talk politics. I remember the bar being empty except for us, the bartenders and a couple of patrons (it was early in the evening). And I remember one of the patrons sending a drink over to Hiram and him getting all jittery and nervous. "Why did he send me a drink?" he asked. "Maybe he likes you," I said. "Nah, you gotta be kidding," he said. "I'm telling you," I said.

To date, he still believes that I planted the guy at the bar as a joke and told him to send the drink. Truth is, Hiram once got hit on at a gay bar in Queens.

Through the years, I wouldn't say we became personal friends but I certainly can say that we developed a mutual respect. On a couple of occasions Hiram inquired about my political interests and whether I, as an openly gay man, wanted to run for the city council (this was before Jimmy and Danny ran last year). He even nominated me, as an openly gay man, to a local district board (I never ended up joining and I'm glad I didn't).

In 2008, on his last year as a councilmember, Hiram's office called me to ask if I would accept an invite for a public recognition of my work as an LGBT advocate at the city council chamber. In a July day probably as hot and humid as that day in 2001, I proudly accepted the recognition. Among the reasons for giving me the honor, as written on the signed plaque I received? My "passionate fight for the recognition of same-sex partnerships."

That was July 17th, 2008. Twenty months ago.

Then came what you already know: Hiram winning a New York State Senate seat, the girlfriend-bashing incident, the senate coup attempt, and his extremely homophobic strategy to claw back into his Senate seat.

Several gay groups, most prominently Fight Back New York, have been mounting a forceful opposition to Monserrate being elected to the Senate once again. I know a few people involved in that particular effort and have backed them in the weeks since they launched the site.

Members of Queer Rising, on the other hand, coming from Manhattan to Queens to attend a local debate and theatrically 'slashing' their face with red lipstick as Hiram spoke might have played well for the angry gays outside Queens but probably ended up feeding into Hiram's current argument that it's gays from outside the district calling the shots.

Here's the good news: Hiram won't win. His floundering campaign has come down to exploiting homophobia for the few votes he will get, a strategy that might work in the district of one of his closest allies, the homophobic Reverend and State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., but won't work in Queens. Thankfully, Queens doesn't have as strong a network of homophobic churches and, as the annual Queens LGBT Pride Parade shows, it's more open to LGBT communities than other parts of the city.

Here is the bad news, at least on a personal level. As I said, I might not consider myself to idolize political leaders but Hiram, at one point, was my hero. As a Latino political representative he not only broke the mold of other Latino political leaders in the city who are beholden to nepotism, allegiance to stagnant Democratic powers, and run based only on their ethnic identity, he also showed that he could represent the interests of the borough outside his Latino identity. Few will understand the extreme disappointment some of us feel about his latest turns and I told him as much last week when I wrote to him and said I would not be voting for him.

Hiram was adroit at turning adverse political situations in his favor and to outrun any organized effort to run him out of office. The proverbial cat-of-nine-lives. And I loved him for that. But even a cat has only nine lives and Hiram's seem to have expired. As a former sponsor of marriage equality and supporter of domestic anti-violence programs, I know for a fact that many are not only at a loss for his latest reincarnation but also feeling betrayed.

What truly got to my heart was an opinion piece that ran in the Spanish-language newspaper El Diario La Prensa by Hiram's former chief of staff (and current councilmember) Julissa Ferreras. She has certainly been much closer to Hiram and probably owes her political career to him. And yet, she has been front and center in the publicity campaign by Hiram's opponent, José Peralta.

In that March 8 OpEd piece, Julissa writes (my translation):

There are those who will ask how people who were so close to Hiram Monserrate - people such as I - do not back him in these electoral campaign. The reality is that Monserrate is the one who has abandoned us. With his actions as a man and as a legislator, it is Monserrate who has given us his back.

Truer words haven't been said. Then there is this:



If you read this today and live in the 13th Senate District, please vote for anyone else but Hiram. I will be so ever thankful.

Download:

FLVMP43GP

NYS Senator Tom Duane at 3am this morning...

One truly hopes that the travesty that was this summer's session in the New York State Senate has a silver lining. Namely that the shame that the circus-like proceedings brought upon the legislative body will result in prompt and drastic changes to the way New York State is governed (not that I am holding my breath, but one does hope).

In the meantime, there is this 22-minute video taken shortly after 3am this morning, in which my long-time hero (and State Senator) Thomas K. Duane lets it rip on the state of HIV/AIDS today as he pitched a bill that would help people with the illness to meet their rent.

It was first picked up by Elizabeth Benjamin over at the New York Daily News, who posted the following video transcript excerpt:

Let me take you back to the early eighties. Visiting friends in hospitals. We'd go in. We'd go in one night, in the morning they'd be dead. I'd bring them food. My family, bring them food. My friends bring someone food. But whoever was in bed would be dead before they could eat it.

We'd leave it - maybe the nurses would take it home. No! They wouldn't eat it! 'Cause it's contaminated. Contaminated! Wouldn't touch it. Wouldn't go into the room. Wearing masks. Gloves! Gowns! Someone gets sick in the afternoon. They'd be dead the next day. Dead! And that went on for months, and then years. Dead! Dead!

You think if you got sick and your friends were dying that I would sit there and do nothing? No. But that's what happened. That's what happened. Every cold. Every virus. Every temperature. I thought I'd be dead, and so did so many people that I knew. Dead! You think you scare me? You think you can make be back off? Nothing scares me.

The bill, one of the last ones to be brought to a vote in the State Senate floor during this spectacularly awful session, was approved by an amazing margin of 52-1, and had former senate Democrat defectors Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada up on their feet and applauding. It still needs Assembly approval before being sent to the governor to sign into law.

Now, I don't usually write about what all the other gay or LGBT blogs are writing about (in part because few cover LGBT Latino issues in English and because others might have a better take than I would on issues such as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" or "Hate Crimes"). But I have to say that I was struck by the number of times that I was sent a link to the video today and asked if I could write about it. I was first made aware of it by POZ magazine founder and publisher Sean Strub but, since then, a number of folk have reached out as well. Most of them moved by the speech and alerting me to it.

In less than 24 hours, it's become a rallying cry. Which - without taking away from the powerful message - says a lot about what it takes for folk to listen to anything related to HIV/AIDS nowadays.

But the right people have taken notice and have rightfully picked up on Duane's 3am comments. Among them Andy Towle, The Village Voice's Runnin' Scared, The Albany Times-Union Capitol Confidential, Peter Staley's POZ magazine online blog, Gotham Gazette and Outcome Buffalo.

Let them - and others - carry the voice: AIDS is not over!

Update: Rex Wockner says it better than I did on his post on the video above.

• We have an obligation (Rex Wockner)

Update 2: Mike Tidmus does as well, in an amazingly moving post.

• The passion of Tom Duane (Mike Tidmus)

In Albany, one very good thing about one very bad mess

If you haven't heard: New York State Democratic Senators Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate, who face potentially career-ending legal battles in the near future, seem to have pulled a leadership coup d'état by voting with Senate Republicans to remove current Democratic Majority Leader Malcom Smith, and replace him with Republican State Senator Dean Skelos.

Caught way off-guard, Smith has argued that the vote is worthless since he says it came after Monday's session had ended - an argument that has been challenged - and has said that he will not step back on the Senate floor unless he is assured that it won't be governed by "unlawful rules." The politerati pretty much agree that -legal argument viable or not - Smith is toast.

Doors to the Senate Chamber have been under lock and paddle since Monday evening (photo credit: Daily News).

What a mess, you may say! And so do I! But lost in the whole melee was that yesterday was the date chosen by anti-gay groups for their "Stand 4 Marriage Rally" and lobby day trip to Albany!

Yes! Yesterday was supposed to be the big launch of the united forces against equality campaign in New York. Yesterday was the day that the homophobic National Organization for Marriage's Maggie Gallagher was supposed to stand in a loving embrace with homophobic State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. and blow anti-gay kisses towards the legislative chambers. Yesterday was the day that Michael Long, Chairman of the State Conservative Party; Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council; Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr. of the High Impact Leadership Coalition; Rev. Duane Motely of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms; Democratic Assemblymember Michael Benjamin; and Republican State Senator Marty Golden were all supposed to urge the Senate not to allow a marriage bill on the floor and to oppose it if it it ever came up for a vote.

Oh noes! So sad! NOMfail! Again.

To be sure, there were probably other community groups who planned to lobby for worthwhile bills and causes this week and you have to feel bad for them for the energy spent herding participants and expenses spent on transportation and such. But how great is it that NOM gets there only to find the doors shut down?

Mediawise, the groups also laid a big fat egg. I found only a few articles with The Legislative Gazette naming some of the speakers who attended, and Capital News 9 saying that hundreds showed up.


Today Jeremy at Good As You posted the YouTube video above from Capital 9 News as well as some image captures. They show a good crowd but it's difficult to estimate whether there are the 1,000 that some conservative groups have estimated. ChinoBlanco, who originally posted the video online, called it "a flop."

So, let's say that you go to Albany to lobby your State Senators but there are no State Senators to lobby. What do you do? Well, paint a smiley face on the whole thing and call it a success, of course.

See the Rev. Duane Motley of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms in the video telling the crowd "What God has done is dropped a huge boulder in the path of the same sex-marriage bill yesterday, when the Senate coup took place."

Apparently he felt that a Republican-led power play meant that the Senate marriage bill was dead on arrival during the current session.


Oops! Good luckwith that! The man on the video above is non other than former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, a Republican who was perhaps one of three of the most powerful politicians in the state until he resigned last year. He is facing indictments in several corruption charges which he has vowed to prove unfounded, but is still held in high-esteem by a large number of State Republican Senators.

More than a few jaws hit the ground when word came that Bruno was backing marriage equality. Rod at Manhattan Offender simply said "Words Fail", Joe at Joe.My.God said "THUD" and Andy Towleroad wrote "The times are changing, and quickly."

Longtime LGBT rights advocate Michelangelo Singorile, who hosts a daily radio show on Sirius, wrote that "Hell Has Frozen Over" and described Bruno as "a man who held up a gay rights bill for years, without allowing a vote and has been a fierce foe of gay rights". He added:

Now we have Bruno coming out for marriage for gays and lesbians -- a man who still has a lot of influence among Republicans in the State Senate -- and actually agreeing to speak out and try to sway Republicans (we only need four Republicans or so to win this) at Governor Paterson's request on the issue. I think it's clear that they see the handwriting on the wall: The entire Northeast has gone for marriage equality, while, on a variety of issues, the Republican Party is having a moment of truth nationally and surely in the region. There will soon only be two Republicans in New York State's Congressional delegation, as the national party went further to the right and people in New York just weren't going to go there.

Indeed! And that Bruno video certainly added to the NOMfail Tuesday atmosphere. Amazing that a marriage equality bill might come to the State Senate floor as soon as next week, as a result of a Republican power-play, and that it has better chances to pass today than even last week, thanks to Republican pressure on State Republican Senators. Only in New York, folks! Although it ust be said that everything is still up in the air and that everything might change again.

Update: The Gang of Four... no, Three... hm, Two... er, None?

Despite doing some huffing and puffing and threatening to introduce a statewide referendum to ban same-sex marriage in New York State last week, there has been no indication that the Reverend Ruben Diaz, Sr. - a New York State Senator - actually did such a thing.

The Reverend, a Democrat, is among the biggest homophobes in New York State politics and has used his stand on same-sex marriage and his opposition to abortion rights to endear himself to Senate Republicans over the years.

This year, as Senate Democrats gained the upper hand from Republicans by a slight margin, the Reverend saw an opportunity for a power-grab and joined three dissident senators who threatened to vote with Republicans on key issues unless their needs were met (according to Gay City News Diaz wanted "an assurance that either the same-sex marriage bill will not be brought to the Senate floor for a vote or that a statewide referendum be held on the question").

The so-called "Gang of Four" threatened to withhold support for Malcom Smith for majority leader come January demanding that Latino elected officials also be given prominent posts (three of the four dissidents were Latinos).

Within hours, though, the "Gang of Four" was just "Three" as Senator-elect Hiram Monserrate announced that he would back Smith after all (Monserrate, who has a great track record on LGBT, apparently received certain assurances from Smith in return so the whiplash switch wasn't purely altruistic).

Then on Friday came a potential shocker: Politics on the Hudson speculated that the next to abandon "The Gang" and back Smith would be Diaz himself ("'Gang of Three' meeting today").

That Diaz might abandon "The Gang" has been rumored since last week but news that he might actually back Smith? The same Diaz that issued a press release on Nov. 10 with a direct dig at Smith that read "my position as an ordained minister and a pastor will not allow me to support any would be leader that will bring gay marriage to the Senate floor"?

At least one [anonymous and GOP-leaning] blogger hypothesizes that this might mean that Smith has come to the conclusion that he will not have enough votes for a same-sex marriage bill as majority leader and might sacrifice a marriage vote for Diaz' backing - which would mean Diaz would have actually kept true to his stand even if he backs Smith.

Not sure I buy that scenario.

Still, as Elisabeth Benjamin reports today in The Daily Politics, Smith has accepted an invite to an annual Thanksgiving Day celebration staged by Diaz which will take place tomorrow.

Bizarrely, Senator-elect Pedro Espada - the third Latino in the original crew of four and the one least likely to make overtures to Smith at this moment - seems have agreed to support Diaz' same-sex marriage referendum as part of Diaz' conditions for remaining in the "Gang of Three."

I seem to remember that when Espada wasn't trying to be Diaz's BFF he was seeking LGBT support for his campaigns (the two were literally each other's nemesis for decades). Does this mean that if Diaz ends up splitting from "The Gang," Espada will drop his support for a referendum banning same-sex marriage?

Ah! New York State politics, don't ya love the stench of how things get done in the Empire State?

Previously:

• Reverend Ruben Diaz, Sr. will introduce anti-gay marriage referendum today (Nov. 18, 2008)

Honored... Pt. 2

Oh lordy, the heat! Still, yesterday evening I managed to get to the New York City Council chambers pretty sweat-free. And I was pretty shocked by how many people were in the room which made it hard for me to find a seat even as an honoree (as I recently mentioned the City Council was observing the 198th anniversary of the independence of Colombia).

Colombian singer Cabas was in the audience but left soon after he made some initial remarks. There were ten honorees and we were told to keep our speeches short.

Councilmember Hiram Monserrate (left) read each of the proclamations presented to the honorees and mine did not seem to leave much more to say about my life's work. I wondered how the crowd would react by the mention of my work in LGBT communities but people seemed to take it in stride. Good stuff!

In my speech I said the main reason for coming to the United States was the fear of not being able to live an open life in Colombia back then but that I was thrilled to see how much things had changed since then. I mentioned the recent Colombian Supreme Court ruling granting certain rights to same-sex couples and told the audience that perhaps the United States should follow Colombia's lead.

I finished by dedicating the honor to my mother for the sacrifices she made for her three sons when we moved to the United States - She will be retiring as a college professor upstate New York this year and heading back to Colombia next year. Applause. And that was that (well, there were other honorees and some even thanked their moms as well).

I felt bad for my friend William who sat down for the whole ceremony and probably understood little of what was said since it was conducted in Spanish. I was grateful for his offer to act as my photographer last night.

To celebrate we headed to that other big Colombian heritage tradition: Xanadu on Broadway! (at the very least I believe the original incarnation did boffo-business at the Colombian movie box-office even as it tanked in the United States).

Confession: I never saw the movie but if it's half as funny as the Broadway show, I'm there! (check the very gay-licious website).

After the show, William tried to get me to do some scandalous poses in front of the theater but I had to behave myself. After all I had my City Council proclamation in hand! I have to say that I loved Kerry Butler's voice and her tongue-in-cheek take on Olivia Newton-John's Australian accent. I did the usual pose with the show star photo after I noticed her leaving the theater (below).

The temperature had fallen down by night-fall (not by much though) but the humidity was way up. By the time I got home I was drenched in sweat so my sancocho soup warning was not too off the mark. Took a nice shower and went to bed.

All in all, a very nice evening. Thanks to readers who were kind enough to send congratulations through the blog reply section or in private.

Honored...

Tomorrow is supposed to be 92 degrees and sunny. If it's like today, it will be a gorgeous day since - thankfully - the humidity has been relatively low.

BUT, and this is big a big but: I'll be wearing a suit and tie.

As friends know, this is definitely not my usual attire. I just hope I don't turn into sancocho soup with all that hot weather!

The occasion is an event at City Hall to recognize the 198th anniversary of the independence of my country of birth, Colombia (a country that's been much in the news as of late what with all that stuff on the hostage rescue operation that was on CNN 24/7 and this week's episode of the Travel Channel's "No Reservations" which saw chef Anthony Bourdain eating - what else! - sancocho soup in Medellin).

In addition to observing the Colombian independence, ten community leaders will receive honors (I don't have a list of all the honorees but today's New York Daily News mentions Vilma Vallejo, President of the Hispanic Chambers of Commerce of Queens; guitarist Milkos Andrea; and Liliana Melo, President of Colombian Professionals in the Exterior - also known as Pecx).

Hm, somehow my name is there as well. Weird, no? I never know how to react when I learn I am receiving an honor like this. Usually the urge is to ask "Are you sure you got that right?" or to look behind me to see if they're talking to someone else.

In the past, I have received honors twice from the City Comptroller's Office (in 1999 from Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi and in 2006 by current Comptroller Bill Thompson). In 1999 I also was honored by then Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields.

What makes tomorrow's ceremony different is that all those previous events were tied to the annual gay pride month celebrations in New York. Tomorrow's event is not. I doubt if I am the first non-hetero person to be honored at this event but I'm pretty certain I'm the first person to be honored for work done in the city's LGBT communities.

Fifteen years ago when I moved to New York I would have told anyone who predicted that I'd be honored for my queer-related work at a Colombian Independence commemorative event they were crazy. That the ceremony will be hosted by the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus of the New York City Council speaks wonders about how things have changed in those years as well.

I thank City Council Speaker Christine Quinn who certainly has been a trailblazer herself when it comes to city politics.

Most specially, I thank Queens Councilmember Hiram Monserrate and his Chief of Staff Luis Castro who suggested my name for consideration.

[Pictured above: Sancocho! Yum!]

My New York: Gay life in Jackson Heights

It might not be a jail sentence, but gay life in Jackson Heights / Woodside - my neighborhood - is suddenly "hot" in media (as it seems to be every few months when editors look for what's happening outside the Manhattan and Brooklyn gay scene).

In this week's New York Bade, Kerry Eleved writes about "Diversity in Jackson Heights."

She delves into the hipness of it all by profiling some upwardly mobile gay couples who have made the borough their home (among them acquaintances Glenn Magpantay and Alfonso Quiroz - and their respective partners).

Some point out that the gayness in the borough is nothing new but Eleved sticks to the "Who knew?" angle and confines the "diversity" tag mostly to gayness without exploring the extensive history of truly diverse gay life in the neighborhood.

The Village Voice does a bit better by featuring a couple of local Latina lesbian bars, Chueca and Bum Bum, both in Woodside, which truly represent the spirit of the neighborhood.

Bum Bum is the grandaddy of Latina lesbian bars in Queens - It might be grungy as hell but it certainly has a place in the neighborhood's history. And Chueca? Not just because Fernanda, the owner, is also an acquaintance (and Colombian to boot) does not mean that, on the right night, it's just the best bar ever! Then again, I might be the only boy that can get in on some nights.

Finally, not necessarily on the gay tip, but perhaps what truly matters, the New York Daily News' Albor Ruiz has an interesting take on local politics.

Local Latino legislators praise Barack Obama for sponsoring immigration bill

Interesting: While everyone seems to be talking about African-American support for Barack Obama, some local Latino legislators stood outside City Hall yesterday to urge Hillary Clinton to back The Citizen Promotion Act, a bill sponsored by Obama, which would freeze immigration application fees at the current levels and provide funding to promote citizenship among immigrants.

Speaking for Assemblyman Jose Peralta and City Councilmember Miguel Martinez, Councilmember Hiram Monserrate told assembled reporters

This is not a press conference to announce endorsements for any presidential candidate. I think what's clear here is that, in particular Senator Obama has taken a bold step and has stood up for millions of residents here in the United States who want to become citizens.

Hat tip to Azi Paybarah over at The Politicker who also caught the press conference on video and posted it here.

Politics: Monserrate vs. Sabini, gay voters vs. evangelical voters

[UPDATE: The Queens Tribune in its September 8th issue, has "wholeheartedly" endorsed Hiram Monserrate saying that his qualities "are desperately needed in a failing New York State legislature" - AD]

The electoral season is here and only a week is left before the New York State Senate primary elections. So far it's been a snoozefest with few truly contested offices which could mean that incumbents are doing an amazing job -- or not really (as spelled out in a recent Gotham Gazette report on the lack of truly contested races in the state and a report released yesterday by the city's Campaign Finance Board on how New York City's system of publicly financed campaigns "has not done enough to foster competitive races when incumbents seek re-election" - full report here).

As you might have noticed, I also live in one of the few Senate Districts that is considered to be in play. Hiram Monserrate, the first Latino to ever become a City Councilmember from Queens, is trying to unseat incumbent State Senator John D. Sabini in the 13th District, which would make him the first Latino to reach the State Senate from Queens if he emerges victorious.

Today, in a somewhat bizarre Spanish-language article in El Diario La Prensa New York State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. says that he offered his endorsement to Monserrate but Monserrate rejected it because, as Diaz put it, he had "a lot of homosexuals here."

Diaz goes on to say that this shows that Monserrate is more fearful losing gay voters than losing the evangelical vote (bullshit!). Still, Diaz maintains that he would prefer Monserrate to win over Sabini and is comfortable with staying off-line if his endorsement is going to do any damage to the Monserrate campaign (huh? He is talking to El Diario La Prensa's leading political reporter Gerson Borrero! Is that "staying off-line?" It's all very suspiciously reminicent of a Diaz "non-endorsement" endorsement of Fernando Ferrer when he was running in the last NYC mayoral race).

What does Monserrate have to say about it? Well, he says that there have been conversations and that, yes, there was an agreement for a 'no endorsement,' but that the doors are open and that he'd welcome Diaz's endorsement when and if it comes (FULL TRANSLATION OF THE ARTICLE BELOW).

Actually, last year, when Monserrate was mulling a challenge to Queens Congressmember Joseph Crowley (slated to become the leader of the Queens Democratic Party later this year) he did in fact welcome Diaz's support when everyone else turned his back on him and I, as an ardent Diaz critic, understood why: Disenfranchised LGBT immigrant voters in Queens don't go to the voting booths but 'newborn evangelical Latino Christians,' for the most part, do! (which is why Diaz' comment about fearing the gay vote in Queens is hogwash).

It still doesn't take away from the fact that as an NYC Councilmember, as a former NYPD cop and United States marine, Monserrate has consistently voted time after time on behalf of the LGBT community. He has spoken about (and supported) civil marriage for same-sex couples as well as transgender rights in the past. He has provided funding for HIV prevention services in the borough (unlike other previous representatives) - which is why I am backing him

He has also supported progressive LGBT organizations in the borough and was one of the first elected officials in Queens to provide funding to the Queens Pride House (when other political leaders such as Sabini and Councilmember Helen Sears were reluctant to do so).

On the issue of marriage for same-sex couples, everyone keeps talking about the importance of having state-wide legislative leaders in New York State (particularly minority leaders) that support legislative efforts to legally recognize relationships between same-sex couples. Monserrate could be a key player in gathering Latino and African-American political support for the issue.

There are rumors that Sabini's camp is urgently seeking district minority LGBT leaders or organizations to join them tomorrow at a press conference on LGBT issues. I'd be interested in who shows up and what the conference will be about.

As a Latino LGBT community leader living in the district, I understand where Monserrate is coming from, I support his candidacy, and believe that if Diaz is willing to offer and endorsement despite Hiram's active support for LGBT issues, why should he turn it away?

I just regret the homophobic State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr.'s knack for inserting himself into political races at the last minute even if most other legislators consider him to be a joke as well as the fact that this all seems somewhat orchestrated by the Monserrate camp. But, if a press conference materializes, I'd still say it's a cheap ploy to call Monserrate on a potential Diaz endorsement when NONE of the people on Sabini's camp have participated in ANY previous demonstrations against Diaz. So, if any press conference materializes tomorrow challenging Monserrate on his LGBT record, I hope that reporters also ask about Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion's support for Diaz' anti-gay marriage demonstration outside the Bronx courts (and, yes, Carrion is endorsing Sabini).

El Diario La Prensa, September 6, 2006
BAJO FUEGO by Gersón Borrero

Rev. Ruben Diaz, Sr.: They fear gays more than evangelicals

The Reverend Ruben Diaz says: "They (the politicians) are more fearful of the gay vote than that of evangelicals. The declaration by the controversial State Senator is part of his explanation for the support he offered to Hiram Monserrate, in Senatorial District 13 of Queens, which was rejected. According to Diaz the current elected official said to him, "I have a great number of homosexuals here."

Monserrate, for his part, confirms to EL DIARIO/LA PRENSA that "yes we did speak about it and we both decided if we that it would be better if he did not support me." Diaz affirms that he prefers a Monserrate victory over his colleague John D. Sabini, the incumbent leader. "Sure, if I am going to do him any harm with the homosexuals with my endorsement, I won’t do it,” says Diaz whose opposition to marriage between gays is as well-known as his opposition to abortion and his support to the teaching of the Bible in public schools.

Diaz does not offer any evidence that there might be a larger number of gays in the disputed District than in others and attributes the skittishness to Monserrate’s fears. The Senator from the 32nd District in the Bronx remembers that "[Fernando] Ferrer also did not want my endorsement for the same reason” [when he was a New York City mayoral candidate].

Monserrate, who prefers to minimize any distractions that might divert any focus on his efforts to become first Latino to represent Queens in the New York Senate says that "if Ruben Diaz wants to unite himself with us today we will welcome him."

Diaz rejected an invite to join rivals Fernando Ferrer and Mark Green in reaffirming their endorsement of [Monserrate’s] candidacy. The politician says that he never will forget what Green did to Freddie [Ferrer] and to his community in 2001 and therefore he does not want to create the perception that there are any ties with the candidate for the General Attorney’s seat in which he is battling Andrew Cuomo.

>nt>Ferrer, for his part, says that if "if Andrew joined me in supporting to Hiram, it would love to stand in his same corner," making clear that what matters is a Monserrate win and not the in-fighting. The vote by the electorate of the 13th District - among them evangelicals and gays - will decide who will represent them in Albany. Amen.

Gerson Borrero
Bajofuego@eldiariony.com