New York Senate Votes Overwhelmingly To Allow Church Services In Public Schools

By vote of 54-7 today the New York Senate voted to allow churches, many of them viciously anti-gay, to conduct services in public buildings when they are "not in use for school services." Only seven Democrats opposed the bill, including openly gay Sen. Thomas Duane. But even this lopsided victory was not enough for Sen. "Reverend" Ruben Diaz:

I am disappointed that seven Senators: Senator Liz Krueger, Senator Daniel Squadron, Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Senator Tom Duane, Senator Bill Perkins, and Senator Suzi Oppenheimer – all Democrats – voted against this bill. You need to know that the 160 religious groups, including churches that rent space in public schools for their activities are all located in Democratic areas, and mostly minority members of the Democratic Party.

The Bronx-based Diaz went on to slam the NYC Council for refusing to support "even a simple resolution" endorsing the bill. The bill has 70 cosponsors in the Assembly, which has not yet voted on the item.