Look how great religion is.....

[SpontaniousSteve]

"NY Sen Ruben Diaz Sr. Calls Marriage Bill "Ridiculous" and Demands "Emergency Summit"

2009_04_16_DIAZ Not everyone is pleased with New York Gov. David Paterson's decision to re-introduce marriage equality legislation. State Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. —the arch-conservative anti-gay Pentecostal minister from the South Bronx who once claimed the Gay Games would lead to "an increase in AIDS and more homosexuality in young people"— is predictably outraged.

Diaz Sr. demands an "emergency summit" of the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization to respond to Paterson. The meeting is this afternoon and Elizabeth Benjamin in the Daily News writes:

In a brief telephone interview, Diaz Sr., a Pentecostal minister who has long been vocal in his opposition to gay marriage, questioned Paterson's timing and called it 'ridiculous,' particularly given the fact that this is the week Archbishop Timothy Dolan is being installed in his new job. 'I think this is the wrong time to do it,' Diaz Sr. said. '(Paterson) is doing this as a welcoming ceremony for the new Catholic? It's ridiculous.'

In the press release announcing [todays] meeting at the Christian Community Neighborhood Church, the Bronx Democrat went even further, calling the governor's move "disrespectful, and adding: 'If I were Governor Paterson, I would abstain from going to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for the welcoming ceremony and to celebrate Mass.' "

Paterson did attend yesterday's installation of the archbishop. The two spoke briefly and we're guessing they did did not discuss the hot-button issue.

Diaz Sr. is one of the so-called "Gang Of Three" in the state Senate that threatened to bolt from the Democrats slim majority unless the gay marriage vote was postponed. Openly gay Sen. Thomas Duane tells the Daily News some Democrats and Republicans are considering switching their votes and believes "we can win this year."

The Pentecostal minister and Bronx legislator has a colorful history fighting anti-gay causes. Diaz Sr. sued to stop the expansion of the Harvey Milk School, which provides a safe space for persecuted LGBT teens. Ruben Diaz Sr: A shining example of why church and state should not mix."

I can't believe he would say such ignorant things like! It is very embarrassing because I live in the Bronx. 1. There will be more gay people, not because they "converted", but because people around them will accept them. 2. Most AIDS comes from heterosexual couples. The AIDS rate would go down because people are not afraid to be themselves and educate themselves about safety and prevention instead of doing it in the shadows. Religion and government should never mix. New York is VERY close to being the 5th state of the LGBT Team. If you would like to call his office:

OK. Everyone who reads this blog and feels as I do that Sen. Diaz' rabid homophobia has gone way too far, please call his office at (71 cool 991-3161 and let him know we're here, we VOTE, and we are not going away.

(I am definitely calling.)  

[Daffodil the Destroyer]

I used to be one of those homophobic ultra-religious folk; I was sort of indoctrinated into it by my religious peers. I thought that being that way was what I was "supposed" to do in order to be a good and moral person. So I understand why individuals raised in that sort of movement think along those lines, even though I don't agree. But I still don't understand the movement itself. I don't understand why the homophobia arose in the first place. It's not as if two dudes or two girls being in a relationship with each other affect anyone outside of that relationship.

 

[Athena_Ritashe]

Wow, they just can't stop screwing a minority, can they? I really cannot understand why they keep this stupidity up. What effect would gay marriage have on the concept of marriage? I don't see how keeping it "one man one woman" keeps marriage an honorable institution when divorce is so common. I don't see how gay marriage would change the marriage concept.  

[PathlessPlot]

I don't understand why people keep insisting that marriage is an "honorable" institution. With the divorce rate and infidelity, marriage has been a joke for quite some time.

On another point, I want to know who they really think is going to be a victim if gay marriage is made legal everywhere. A piece of paper telling the world that two people are in love and hope to spend the rest of their time together shouldn't be anyone's business, but the two people involved.  

[SpontaniousSteve]

i sent him quite a long angry letter ^_^  

[MercurialInK]

Some people....
A girl who I once counted as one of my best friends told me on election day that global warming was a punishment for accepting homosexuality.

Why should a gay couple be denied the rights of a married man and woman? Why shouldn't a woman be able to collect social security for her dead female partner? What does it matter to them if there are other couples that are different out there?  

[WolfSyndrome]

Is it okay if I'm pro-gay marriage, but anti-buttsex? Afterall, homosexuality doesn't equal a**l-sex right????  

[Athena_Ritashe]

WolfSyndrome

Is it okay if I'm pro-gay marriage, but anti-buttsex? Afterall, homosexuality doesn't equal a**l-sex right????

How often will two lesbians be having a**l sex? Here a good guess: not that often. Here's another thing, you can be in a legally binding straight marriage and still have butt sex. (some girls are weird sweatdrop ) Where ever you go you'll be running into people that like it, gay straight or bisexual. Some homosexuals will be doing buttsex, some won't. I suggest that you distance yourself from the subject in your personal life. Don't go seeking after it from your partner, tell your partner you don't approve of it, and if you have a gay friend that loves to go into intimate blow for blow details of their friday night adventures have a private, polite but pointed chat about how you feel on the subject and that you do not wish to hear about it.  

[MahouTragicQueen]

The definition of Bible-based marriage.