Sen. Ruben Diaz offers free rides to DC, doesn't mention anti-gay NOM rally

My friend Scott Rose brought this to my attention yesterday and I find it both desperate and hilarious.

As the battle for marriage equality in the United States winds down and the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage slips into irrelevance, the organization has been desperately trying to rally participants for one last hurrah: The so-called "2014 March for Marriage" scheduled for June 19th.

As in years past, NOM's president Brian Brown has turned to New York State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. as his savior having shown proven ability to rally thousands of people to previous anti-gay rallies.

From one of Brian Brown's increasingly desperate newsblasts:

I just recently got off the phone with my good friend, New York State Senator, Rev. Ruben Diaz, who will be speaking at the March again this year. He told me that he plans to bring down over 100 buses to the March from the Bronx this year!

He is calling it the "Second Annual Bus Vigil to Washington." He plans to depart New York at 4:00 am in a spiritual convoy of activists coming to the nation's capital to defend marriage! That's over 5,000 people — overwhelmingly Latino and African-American constituents — that a single political and spiritual leader wants to bring to Washington DC this summer!

Diaz is calling it the "Second Annual Bus Vigil to Washington" because in his pitches for the rally he actually never mentions the NOM or the word "marriage" for that matter.

Excerpts:

I'd like to invite you to participate in the "Second Vigil on Wheels to Washington." We will be traveling to Washington, DC - the nations capital - to testify and say that we are still a powerful church... We are offering any pastor or organization that wishes to accompany us to Washington a bus completely free of charge. Each bus holds 55 passengers and we will send the bus to any place you tell us to do so... The bus will pick you up there, will bring you to Washington and will bring you back to the same spot. And you won't have to pay for a single thing... Join us! Take advantage of the opportunity. Ask for your bus! Fill the bus! And let's go to Washington!  Let's go on a trip! Visit the monuments in Washington and testify that Jesus heals and saves and is the King we await.

That's right. Reverend Diaz is selling the free bus rides to DC as an opportunity for people to visit the various monuments throughout the city.  A wonderful opportunity for members of Latino churches throughout the area who might not get a lot of chances to visit DC.

This is not the first time Diaz has rallied people to anti-marriage equality demonstrations using deception. At previous rallies I have heard church leaders say that they had no idea they were being taken to such a rally and I have heard other religious leaders that they felt pressured to participate or risk losing the Senator's support.

But this is the first time Diaz has been caught at it so openly. Hilarious.

By the way, as long as you can fill a bus with 55 occupants, Senator Diaz says he will send the bus wherever you want it to go and transport everyone to DC. All you need to do is call (718) 991-3161 and ask for Reverend Samaris.

Reaction: 

• NY state senator filling #March4Marriage buses without mentioning march itself (Good As You)
• Ruben Diaz is busing people to NOM's anti-gay rally but not telling them the purpose (Towleroad) 
• NOM surrogate tricks people into attending anti-gay rally (Bilerico)

NYC mayoral candidates break bread with Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage

NYS Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. reveals long-shot Democratic mayoral candidate Erick Salgado donated $4,000 for buses carrying New Yorkers to anti-gay rally in Washington, DC.

In a crowded political race it's not surprising to see candidates look for every opportunity to sell their message and in New York City that means finding ways to reach an incredibly diverse population not only in terms of ethnicity but also religion.

Of course, that sometimes means alliances with religious leaders and attending church services and events with large congregations.

In past years New York State Senator and Pastor Ruben Diaz, Sr. has shown the ability to bring large numbers of people to rallies against marriage equality here in New York as well as Washington, DC. So does that mean that his demonstrated power to influence a segment of the community is too rich an opportunity to pass up for a politician if Diaz invites you to an event?

You might expect candidates to think twice about saying yes to a man who has been the leading voice against LGBT rights in New York State, who has compared homosexuality to bestiality, who proudly claims there is no separation church and state and sees eventual passage of marriage equality throughout the United States and a sign of the end of days. Oh, and a man who laughs uproariously at "birther" jokes made about Barack Obama when made in his presence. 

OK, I'll give you this. Perhaps if Diaz himself pushed you to run as a mayoral candidate - as Diaz did with long-shot Democratic mayoral candidate Erick Salgado - you might feel obliged to attend.

But what if most mayoral candidates had no issue whatsoever in accepting the invite?

Well, that's what happened on April 13th when Diaz invited all mayoral candidates to a banquet celebrating the 25th year anniversary of Hispanic Ministers of New York Organization - the same organization that pulled together all those anti-marriage equality rallies - and actually got all but two of the leading mayoral candidates to attend.

Even better, for most of the ceremony Diaz had Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage sit to his right as a guest of honor.

Just a couple of weeks earlier Diaz had worked with the ministers' organization and NOM to send more than thirty buses full of people to protest against marriage equality outside the Supreme Court during the DOMA and Prop 8 debate.

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer leading a chant of "Si Se Puede!"

Present at the April 13th banquet were NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, Bronx Assemblymembers Marcos Crespo and Luis Sepulveda, NYS Republican Committee Chairman Ed Cox and, of course, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. - the Senator's son - who came out for marriage equality during the same week his father was riling against it in Washington.

Also among attendees were U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer promoting immigration reform, Republican mayoral candidates Joe Lhota and John Catsimatidis, independent mayoral candidate Adolfo Carrión and Democratic mayoral candidates John Liu, Bill Thompson and Erick Salgado.

That's a whopping six of the leading eight mayoral candidates with Christine Quinn and Bill De Blasio being the only ones not to show up (Full diclosure: I have publicly backed Quinn for mayor but have supported Bill Thompson in past elections and might have considered backing John Liu if it wasn't for some unanswered questions about his former and current fundraising teams).

Of course, attending an event like this rarely speaks for a candidate's view on certain issues. In fact every mayoral candidate who attended the event except for Salgado supports marriage equality but I am often asked why Diaz remains in power after all these years of demagoguing against the LGBT community and, unfortunately, here is the answer: He gets a pass by those in power who should know better.

NOM expenditures: As for Brian Brown, the event invite did not mention he would be in attendance but I find it hard to believe that people like Schumer were in any way unaware of the pro and anti-marriage equality rallies in DC just days earlier and knew exactly who NOM was as he sat next to Brian. To mayoral candidates who might not have known who he was it would not be a shocker that someone like him would be a guest of honor at the event fully knowing of Diaz's views about gays and lesbians.

The event did break some news: In a Spanish-language speech Diaz made at the end of the ceremony after most if not all of the mayoral candidates had left.  As famously guarded as NOM is about the money they spend, Diaz revealed that NOM had spent $60,000 dollars on 30 buses used to transport hundreds of people to Washington, DC, for an anti-marriage equality rally outside the Supreme Court in March.

Diaz also said that NOM had brought a check for $25,000 to the banquet as a donation to the several radio stations used by the Hispanic Ministers of New York Organization to spread their anti-marriage equality message.

Another surprise: Diaz's mayoral candidate Erick Salgado also donated $4,000 for two additional buses to the anti-gay rallies in DC.

Direct quote from Diaz:

I wanted to let you know that for the march we did to Washington, thirty buses two out of 32 buses were paid by Erick Salgado - and thirty of them, the ones we ran from here, were paid by Brian Brown. All those buses. Each bus cost $2,000 and multiply thirty buses by two and you have $60,000 spent on the "Vigil on Wheels to Washington"

Diaz also said that all the previous rallies had been funded by NOM.

I took the liberty of posting an edited clip of the two hour event.  Click on it to open it in a separate window and it will be easier to read my translated annotations. It must be said that by the time Brian spoke at the end most if not all of the mayoral candidates had left. Here is a link to a full version of the clip including speeches by each of the mayoral candidates who attended.

Turn on 'annotations' to read subtitles.

Something big is about to happen in Maine -- 4 days to go!

The leaf-strewn winds of October have brought me to Portland, Maine. I've been here less than 48 hours and I've already had my first Maine lobster and checked out both of the local gay bars, Blackstones and Styxx. Yes! Styxx! Like the 80's band. I almost have gotten the hang of the city's layout and, though it's been mostly grey and rainy since I arrived, the temperatures have been rather mild for this time of year. With some luck, I'll get time to visit some of the local federal parklands as well.

What brings me, here, mostly, is my friendship with Rex Wockner, a San Diego-based journalist who I've known, like, forever. He has been here for a few days covering a referendum on Tuesday's ballot that would strike down a law allowing same-sex couples to marry in Maine. Recent polls have been too tight to predict whether anti-gay forces will prevail and Question 1 will pass or if Maine will respect equality for all by voting "No on 1". Rex, who has been sharing up to the minute commentary on his blog, said it best on the update he posted yesterday:

Maine doesn't have a lot of people (the same number live in the San Diego city limits) but this battle is hugely important as the first voter referendum on gay marriage since Prop 8. If the gays win here, they knock the wind out of the opposition's sails, they go on to win same-sex marriage in New York and New Jersey later this year, California votes again and Prop 8 dies, and that's the end of same-sex-marriage culture war. If, on the other hand, the opposition wins here in Maine, they prove that they can continue to take away gay people's marriage rights by blasting the airwaves with hateful ads claiming that gay marriage melts kindergartners' brains -- and they prove, for the first time, that they can take away gay people's marriage rights even when the Legislature passed the gay marriage bill and the governor signed it into law. There were no "activist judges" involved here in Maine. So, what happens here Tuesday: It matters, no matter where you live in the U.S. (Scroll down to learn how you still can volunteer to save the gay world, even without leaving the comfort of your La-Z-Boy, from anywhere in the U.S. Or just click here.)

So, yes, the second reason that brings me to Maine is to experience what hopefully will be victory on Tuesday when the ballot results come in -- for all Mainers in particular and for all the other reasons indicated by Rex above.

Having said that, tonight was my first visit to the "No on 1 / Protect Maine Equality" headquarters. I loved it! And not necessarily because they offered brownies (sorry, folks, I don't like brownies -- the thought is what counts, though). We must have gotten there around 9:30pm, or so, and the place was a-buzzin'. There were staffers and volunteers aplenty and the place was still rockin' when we left around 11:00pm.

As closely as I've been following the campaign from New York, it also felt surreal to walk in and see the gang. Ooh! There's Campaign Manager Jesse Connolly! Ah! Karin Roland of the Communications Team! Hey! There's Jenna Lowenstein from National Stonewall Democrats! We also ran into Joe Sudbay of AMERICAblog. He is based in DC, but grew up in Portland, Maine, and has been putting his heart and soul into it as well (that's Joe on the left and Rex on the right in the pic above). "4 days to go!"

My favorite thing tonight, though, was walking into the Communication Team's office and have Julia Rosen, who I had actually met at this year's Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh, show us a brand new ad that the campaign had just launched tonight. Probably the best ad I have seen from the campaign...



Truth be told, though, the vote is now up to whoever mobilizes the most voters on Tuesday. And, in that respect, everyone can help out. Even if you're not in Maine. You can sign-up for a call-only shift from anywhere in the United States here.

A great bunch of folks, I say. And I'm here to stay... at least until Tuesday, when I will probably be blogging from campaign central and hopefully sharing the joy. More pretty pictures here (photo album to be updated as the days go by).

Updates:

• Pod people take over Maine -- 2 days to go (Nov. 1, 2009)
• Hallow's Eve in Maine -- 3 days to go! (Oct. 31, 2009)

National Organization for Marriage launches NY ad, misspells "marriage"

NOMfail: So, over on Facebooklandia and Twitterlandia I've been complaining that I keep getting robo-calls from the homophobic National Organization for Marriage asking me if I believe in "traditional marriage" and urging me to call my state senate representative to vote against marriage equality.

So today's announcement by NOM that they have done over 1.4 million robo-calls in 25 of New York State's senate districts comes as no surprise.


But - hey! - they also announced the launch of a new ad (as well as a TV ad-buy targeting markets in Long Island, Albany-Schenectady-Troy, Poughkeepsie, Watertown, and Newburgh-Middletown).

Obviously the messaging is similar to the ads that proponents of Prop. 8 in California said were most effective: Claiming that children are at risk if same-sex couples are allowed to marry. Notice, too, the voice over and imagery and know that they are also specifically targeting black communities in the area.

Some folk have already indicated that the ad uses stock images from a British company (never mind that NOM is based in New Jersey and meddling in New York State). But the funniest bit is that - for an anti-marriage organization - they certainly seem to have a loose hold on their actual spelling of the word "marriage".

Check out the last frames and see what I mean.

Go ahead. Feel free to chuckle. "Say no to same same marraige" indeed! I certainly had a big laugh this morning. But, also, don't let the funnies make you think that their strategies will not be effective. As much as they present themselves as victims, they are going to push hard to deny us our rights with a single-minded tenacity that our community sometimes lacks. Keep an eye on NOM and push back. Please consider donating to the Empire State Pride Agenda so they can fight back (click here for info). The cynical part of me thinks that NOM might have even deliberately misspelled marriage at the end so that it would ensure that the YouTube video would be passed on over and over.

In the meantime, The Advocate reports that WPIX-TV has refused to air the NOM commercial. Please contact WPIX-TV here and thank them for refusing to run an advertisement that clearly seeks to discriminate against one specific community by denying us the same rights as everyone else.

BTW: Good as You has a screen capture of one of the last frames here.

UPDATE: A second version of the new ad is out! "Marraige" is now "Marriage"! Good for NOM spell-checkers! "Same Same" is still on. NOMfail. Again. Here's my screen capture of the 'fixed' but still embarrassing ad. Will the third time be the charm?

NYC: Foes and friends of marriage equality organize separate rallies

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related:

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

About those NOM ads on Blabbeando...

I would like to extend a hearty welcome to the National Organization for Marriage and their advertising on Blabbeando!

"Who are they?," you may ask yourself.

You know - NOM. The organization that brought us the infamous 'A Storm is Coming' ad and which stands against marriage equality, despite their pretty name.

Not that NOM specifically planned to run ads on blogs that counter their homophobic vile or that I, as a blogger, manually accepted their advertising.

Their ads, actually, come courtesy of Google's AdSense service which is supposed to automatically match advertisements on a specific topic with the most appropriate websites by analyzing which words are most frequently used on the site (in this case, Blabbeando contains a lot of words related to gay issues and since the NOM ads are all about the gays - in a negative way - it's an instant match!).

Other queer blogs currently running the ads include NGblog, The Bilerico Project, QUEERTY and GoodAsYou, among others.

Here is the thing: Every time you click on the ad, you will be redirected to the NOM website - which means that NOM has to pay Google for the click-through! Yes! By clicking on the ads, you will take money away from NOM!

So, click away and enjoy the ludicrous messages on the NOM site. Blabbeando will be thankful and you can rest assured that featuring the ads does not mean that we have, all of a sudden, switched sides to the Dark Force.

(UPDATE @ 7:00PM EST: The AdSense ads are gone a mere hours after they started to appear. Perhaps NOM caught wind that their ads were being queeryfied. Or perhaps they could only afford a few hours of AdSense exposure).

(UPDATE @12:01AM EST WED. MAY 6TH: They are baaaaaack!!! CLICK CLICK CLICK away!!!)

Related:

• Placing Anti-Hate Speech Banners on our LJ accounts (Low-Fat Muffin)

Pedro Julio outwits NOM Board Member in Spanish-language TV debate about marriage equality in NY

Have you seen this ad? It was produced by an anti-gay organization called the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) in the wake of the recent marriage equality victories in Iowa and Vermont.

Reaction from the gays since it was released on April 7th has generally gone from shock and fear that the tropes used (the imagery and language about diversity, inclusion and change) might be effective; to a realization that perhaps there was some overreaction to the ad; to outright laughter at its portentiousness; which seems to have culminated with a number of online spoofs (the best one is here) and today's OpEd column by Frank Rich in the New York Times ("The Bigot's Last Hurrah").

Or perhaps you also saw that, on Thursday, New York State Governor David Paterson introduced a marriage equality bill.

Of course, there was some virulenty homophobic reaction to the announcement from the usual suspect: The Pentecostal minister - and State Senator - Ruben Diaz, Sr. He certainly was all over the press and media - happy as a peacock for all the attention he was getting.

So you would probably think that if a NOM Board Member spoke to media about the bill, everyone would be all a-twitter about how NOM's Gathering Storm might have arrived in New York.

And it did (quietly):



The two clips above are from Friday's edition of the weekly Spanish-language political show "Pura Politica" on Time Warner Cable's NY1 Noticias (CLICK on video to open larger YouTube window and read my full translation of the exchange). It features a debate between Pedro Julio Serrano from the National Lesbian and Gay Task Force and Luis Tellez from The Witherspoon Institute, as moderated by political reporter Juan Manuel Benitez.

Mr. Tellez also happens to be one of five members of NOM's Board of Directors.

So, while Rev. Diaz was huffing-and-puffing and grabbing everyone's attention, here was NOM's first media foray after the Paterson announcement: No big flashy display and no attention-whoring; just an attempt to speak directly to Latinos in their language. In other words, a similar under-the-radar strategy that foes of marriage equality in California used with minority communities in their successful defeat of Prop. 8

Luckily, Mr. Tellez met more than his match in Pedro Julio. I might be a bit biased since PJ is among my closest friends, but I thought he destroyed Mr. Tellez arguments.

It's clear, as the debate begins, that Mr. Tellez is trying to avoid a strictly religious argument to make it seem as if there is no religious bias in his claims and that his concern is only about the 'institution' of marriage, regardless or religious belief. In responding to a question about the church's role in defining marriage he actually says the following:

I cannot speak for the church - but it seems to me that the role of the church is to back, or... what is already known... er... the institution that has already existed which precedes... which precedes!... all societies that we have known.

And, yet, by debate's end, after his arguments have been destroyed, he reacts in frustration and plays the victim card as he addresses Pedro Julio, claiming that it is his religious beliefs that make him a victim:

...it's so good that you gave me your business card because, upon leaving this place, I can assure you that I will receive 'hate mail' and you won't, won't... won't receive any 'hate mail'. Why? Because those who think as we do, as you said, due to religious education or for facts that we have from common sense, which is still a majority of people in this country, we will... we are attacked. They say we are 'bigots'. NO, we aren't 'bigots'! I have tremendous respect for all the homosexuals.

The best part, though, is that he briefly falls on his own sword. Mr. Benitez. who does a good job of being even-handed by grilling Pedro Julio on why the word "marriage" and why now, asks Mr. Tellez the following question:

As Pedro Julio says there are many children who already live with same-sex couples. Don't they have the right to the same benefits and protections held by children who grow up among heterosexual couples who are married?

Mr. Tellez responds:

Of course, it's clear that all children should have the same rights.

So here we have one of the five NOM Board Members saying that he agrees that all children, regardless of whether they are being raised by same-sex couples or heterosexual partners, should have equal rights. He also goes to acknowledge that adoption by gays is better than a kid not being adopted by anyone.

And the key thing about this exchange, if you remember California's unsuccessful "No on Prop. 8" campaign, is that here we have NOM jumping at the gates to talk about the rights of children (since it worked so well to turn voters against marriage equality in California), but, in this instance you have someone who is willing to take on the lies about a kid being worse off if they are being raised by same-sex partners head on and winning the debate.

Yes, I still remember this ad:


...and the fact that all the "No on Prop. 8" folk did mediawise to counter it was to hire the ENGLISH-language Ugly Betty cast (ugh!).

One final thought: As NOM's Mr. Tellez cries victimization, and says that Pedro Julio doesn't know the half of it, my blood boiled. He would probably have avoided bringing the victimization card if he'd known that, as the first openly gay person to have sought political office in Puerto Rico, Pedro Julio received many a death threat. So much for Mr. Tellez certainty that Pedro Julio has never been and will never be the recipient of 'hate mail' or worse.

Update:

NOM.nom apparently likes Tellez' abismal performance. They posted the Spanish-language version of the interview on Facebook (see screen capture, right) but not the ones with my English-language translation.

Related:

• Frank Rich - 'The Biggots' Last Hurrah'. Is it? (Pam's House Blend, April 19, 2009)