THE FLIP SIDE

NY Sen. Ruben Diaz Doesn’t Speak For the Entire Bronx, Y’know?

Fire-and-brimstone New York state senator Ruben Diaz—with his comparisons of homosexuality to drug addiction—held a large anti-gay rally in the Bronx on May 16th. But while he may be the Bronx’s loudest anti-gay voice, but he isn’t the borough’s only voice.

A group of “elected officials and organizations including members of the New Yorkers United for Marriage coalition, [and] local activists” from the Bronx have their own march and rally scheduled for August 7th to show the other face of the Bronx’s battle for marriage equality. The march will “follow the same route that Díaz took through the South Bronx last month,” and then end in a rally in front of the Bronx Borough Courthouse in the South Bronx.

The re-creation of Diaz’s march route and rallying point aren’t just great political theatrics, it also gives a voice to the large segment of Bronx constituents that do support marriage equality:

Indeed, recent surveys suggest that Díaz holds the less popular opinion in the Bronx, a borough where 52% of the population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, according to the U.S. Census. A Siena poll from May, which found that a majority of voters statewide support marriage equality, found that among Hispanics and Latinos, support stood at 55% compared to 41% opposed. According to a Williams Institute study, more same-sex couples are raising families in the Bronx than any other borough, adding local urgency to the marriage push.

Hopefully Diaz won’t be too upset about his pro-gay, “drug addict” supporting neighbors copycatting his May rally. After all, imitation is the highest form of flattery.

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