Father Knows Best: State Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr.'s Anti-Gay-Marriage Parade to Disrupt Boro Prez Son's Event

By Steven Thrasher Mon., Apr. 25 2011 at 3:12 PM

Jr and Sr on a happier occasion

Looks like it isn't just HIV positive New Yorkers whose parade Senator Reverend Ruben Diaz, Sr. is intent on raining upon.

When it came out last Friday that Diaz Sr. would be holding an anti-gay marriage rally on May 15, gay rights activists were furious because it coincides with the annual AIDS Walk. Mounting a counter demonstration will be rather difficult for them during the biggest fundraiser of the year for HIV/AIDS.

But it wasn't just them Diaz, Sr. turns out to be dissing - he's also squashing his own son.

May 15 falls on the Sunday during Bronx Week, a weeklong celebration of the borough, and a major event for Sen. Rev. Diaz's namesake, Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.

When asked if the Beep would go to his father's march, a spokesman for Diaz Jr. wrote to us in an e-mail that "The borough president will not be attending this protest." He also wrote that "As for the AIDS Walk, the borough president will not be attending that event, either. May 15 is part of our annual Bronx Week celebrations, and the borough president will be attending a number of events related to Bronx Week that day."

It's worth noting that Diaz, Jr. is not the anti-gay demagogue that his father is. He's been highly supportive of the Bronx Pride Center as well as the Bronx Knows campaign, a borough-wide initiative to get every adult tested for HIV.

The last time Sr. had an anti-gay marriage rally, it drew thousands of people, many on buses from out of town churches. The prospect of a repeat, traffic snarling episode during the multi-venue Bronx Week festivities is probably not relished by Jr. We can only imagine what conversation was like at Easter Dinner between the two men, a couple days after dad announced when and where he was going after the gays.

sthrasher@villagevoice.com / @steven_thrasher

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Open Letter to Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr: We Hope You Live a Long, Happy Life
Ruben Diaz Sr. : Gay Marriage Over My Dead Body

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HeinrichHenneke

Maybe if they were to have buckets of chicken and watermelon it would make Sr. happier. That is usually what it takes to calm a feral negro! He could also take the leftovers to his house, sit on the front porch with the fridge and sofa and enjoy it with his people.

ChristianDJ

Ruben Diaz is so twisted in the head that he can see how he hurts his gay brother and Lesbian granddaughter.

Kathlene

His brother is gay too? How hateful can a person be?

Observer

brothers. both of his older brothers. and his best friend is gay (still don't get that relationship, but it's long-standing - he even called him his second wife in a NY Times article a few years back), and his first Chief of Staff was a lesbian and his campaign manager was another gay man. He's reprehensible and surely knows better than his hate rhetoric.

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