TODAY: Day Of Action To Pass Trans Rights In New York State Senate

The Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act has passed in the New York Assembly SEVEN times, but shamefully it has never been allowed to come to a vote in the state Senate. Today openly gay Sen. Brad Hoylman (above right) and Sen. Daniel Squadron will attend a rally at the state capitol building. Via press release from the Empire State Pride Agenda:

“It is unconscionable that, in most of the state, an individual can lose his or her job or home or be denied the right eat at a restaurant based on gender identity or expression," said New York City Public Advocate Letitia James. "These are not hypothetical scenarios—one out of every three transgender New Yorkers have been homeless; two out of three experience discrimination at work; and one in five have been fired explicitly for being transgender. New York City is one of only 11 cities and counties in New York State that have passed local GENDA laws. Outside these communities, this despicable discrimination is perfectly legal. GENDA is a basic human rights law and it must be passed statewide and it must be passed this year to secure the most fundamental protections against discrimination."

Come on New York, this is embarrassing.

New York City Councilman Fernando Cabrera Praises Uganda's Anti-Gay Laws

Andres Duque writes at YouTube:

In a 30 minute video posted on January of 2014 New York City pastor and Councilmember Fernando Cabrera addressed viewers from Uganda and praised their draconian anti-gay laws for lowering HIV transmission. He also said the United States should have an "department of ethics" such as the one that launched the extreme attacks against the Ugandan LGBT community.

RELATED: Cabrera represents the Bronx and is running for the New York state Senate. The Gotham Gazette wrote about him last month:

City Council Member Fernando Cabrera's run for the state Senate in the Bronx's 33rd district, a seat currently held by Sen. Gustavo Rivera, is becoming more complicated by the minute. Cabrera, a Democrat challenging Rivera in September's primary, has expressed interest in joining the Independent Democratic Conference if elected and appears to have its members' support. However, IDC leader Sen. Jeff Klein, also of the Bronx, recently said that he would have a "litmus test" for any candidate the IDC might support. Based on his conservative stances on reproductive rights and marriage equality, Cabrera appears likely to fail such a test.

Cabrera is a conservative Democrat and pastor at New Life Outreach International. He has ties to the Family Research Council, which was recently labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for insisting that gays and lesbians should be imprisoned. According to records from Westchester County and the New York City Board of Elections, Cabrera switched his registration from Republican to Democrat when he moved to the Bronx in 2007, yet continued to vote in the 2008 Republican presidential primary. Cabrera enjoys support from Sen. Ruben Diaz and from the conservative Democratic base in the Bronx that backs both legislators.

The primary is Tuesday.

NEW YORK: State Senate Blocks Trans Rights And "Ex-Gay" Therapy Ban Bills

As expected, the GOP leadership of the New York state Senate has blocked the passage of both GENDA and a bill that would ban the "ex-gay" torture of minors. Openly gay state Sen. Brad Hoylman reacts via press release:

“It's bitterly disappointing that the State Senate bowed to partisan politics and failed to protect our kids in New York from so-called “conversion therapy," which considers homosexuality a sickness that needs to be cured. This bill had the votes to pass the Senate, virtually unanimous support from mental health professionals, and was modeled after legislation passed with bi-partisan support in California and New Jersey, where it was signed by Republican Governor Chris Christie. The bottom line is until we change the leadership of the State Senate, New Yorkers can continue to expect forward-thinking bills to stall. Add conversion therapy to the pile of failed progressive initiatives in the Senate, which includes a decent minimum wage, codifying a woman's right to choose, the DREAM Act, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, and others. I want to thank Governor Cuomo, my co-sponsors Assembly Member Deborah Glick and Senator Mike Gianaris, my supportive Senate colleagues from both parties, the Empire State Pride Agenda, and the scores of individuals who shared their deeply personal stories about their experiences with sexual orientation change efforts. I will continue to work with all of them to outlaw this practice.”

From the Empire State Pride Agenda:

The bill to protect LGBT youth from conversion efforts passed with strong bipartisan support in the Assembly. We had the votes lined up from both sides of the aisle in the Senate. We had widespread backing from every medical association and the general public. GENDA passed for the seventh time in the Assembly and has already been signed into law in 18 other states. Yet Senate leaders refused to bring both to the floor for a vote. Clearly something is broken in Albany. There is no good reason why two bills critically important to the lives of LGBT New Yorkers did not pass in the Senate this session. The Senate Leadership failed us today by not bringing these life-saving bills to the floor for a vote. Without GENDA New York remains behind more than one third of the country that already provides protections for transgender individuals. By not passing the bill to protect LGBT youth from conversion efforts, our youth remain vulnerable to harm at the hands of quack therapists. The failure of the Senate Leadership to bring these bills to the floor for a vote leaves thousands of transgender New Yorkers vulnerable to discrimination where we work and where we live. And children are left susceptible to dangerous and discredited conversion efforts in the offices of so-called therapists licensed by the State of New York. We will not give up. We will hold our elected officials accountable for their failure yet again to protect LGBT New Yorkers.

The New York state Senate has a slim GOP majority and pro-LGBT bills are regularly thwarted with the aid of Democratic anti-gay crackpot Sen. Ruben Diaz.

Ruben Diaz: Satan Runs Public Schools

The Odd Couple

This week the New York Senate passed a resolution honoring Tony Danza as part of Italian-American Day. Viciously anti-gay crackpot Sen. Ruben Diaz felt the need to Instagram a photo of them together with the hashtags #whostheboss and #senatorrevrubendiaz.

For The Seventh Time

NEW YORK: State Sen. Ruben Diaz Promotes NOM's Hate March

(Tipped by JMG reader Scott)

NY Sen. Ruben Diaz: I'm Bringing 100 Buses To NOM's Hate March In DC

New York state Sen. Rubin Diaz, who is possibly the most viciously anti-gay Democrat in the nation, claims to be bringing 100 buses of Hispanic evangelicals to NOM's hate march in Washington DC next month. Brian Brown has issued a money beg:

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! Beyond even that, the requests we've received from spiritual leaders have been truly overwhelming. Almost daily we are receiving requests from poor churches, asking us for assistance in bringing thousands of marriage champions to Washington DC to attend the March and make their voices heard in our nation's capital. We have committed to helping Rev. Diaz fund those 100 buses out of New York and we'd like to help fund as many additional buses as possible so that everyone who wants to attend the March will be able to do so!

RELATED: During New York's battle for marriage equality, Diaz staged two massive anti-gay marches in New York City for which he bused in thousands of Hispanic evangelicals from northern New Jersey. At the second march in 2011, Brown and Diaz strolled arm-in-arm to the steps of the Bronx County Courthouse where a Christian radio preacher invoked Leviticus, bringing roars of approval when he declared that gay people are "worth of death." My slideshow of that hate march is here.

Gay Marriage Turns Two In New York

Two years ago today same-sex marriage became legal in New York state, exactly one month after being passed in the state Senate and signed into law by Gov. Cuomo that same day.  Happy anniversary, New York!

Quote Of The Day - Ruben Diaz

"You should know that Erick Salgado is the President of the Council of Youth Christian Churches. Not satisfied with the moral, civic, cultural and political status of New York City according to Mr. Salgado, “after careful consultation with his family, with Mr. Gregory Davidzon and others”, Erick Salgado decided to become a candidate in the Democratic Primary for the Office of Mayor that will take place on Tuesday, September 10, 2013.

"Salgado’s problem, now, is how to raise millions of dollars to allow him to pay for radio, tv and newspaper advertising in order to compete with the other candidates’ millions – and to let New York City voters learn more about his platform and agenda for the city. Salgado could declare that he is a homosexual, go to the City Hall Clerk, get a license, marry another man in a public garden, and become the very first male New York City mayoral candidate who is officially married to a man. If he does this, I am absolutely certain that he will get millions and millions of dollars in free publicity.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the problem with Erick Salgado is that he is an Evangelical Minister, a teacher and a preacher of the Gospel of Christ and a believer." - New York state Sen. Ruben Diaz, on the mayoral candidacy of NOM-endorsed Erick Salgado, who helped Diaz and NOM organize their anti-gay hate rally in the Bronx in 2011.  (Tipped by JMG reader Colin)

NEW YORK: State Legislature Grants Tax Breaks To Jillionaire Apartment Owners

The New York state legislature has approved a bill sponsored by GOP Sen. Martin Golden that will grant tax breaks to the owners of multimillion dollar apartments at five skyscrapers presently under construction in Manhattan.

The millionaires buying apartments in a soaring tower rising on 57th St. will get more than sweeping views of Central Park: They’ll also be eligible for massive city tax breaks. So will the homeowners and builders of four other luxury Manhattan condo and rental developments. Language quietly inserted into a bill that sailed through the state Legislature singled out the five developments to make them eligible for tax breaks — which could cost the city tens of millions of dollars in property taxes, the Daily News has learned. The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn), defended the tax breaks, saying the projects would create jobs and boost the economy. “These projects were ready to go,” he said. But Golden could not say who selected the five projects for special treatment. “I’m not sure where they came from,” he said.

The Daily News points out that developers of four of the projects have contributed $1.5M to state campaign committees since 2008.  The 90th floor penthouse at One57 sold for over $100M to the Prime Minister of Qatar last year. (Tipped by JMG reader Win)

RELATED: Last January the anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund wrote a bill that Golden sponsored which forces NYC to allow churches to hold weekend services at public schools.  In 2011 Golden joined with anti-gay freak show Sen. Ruben Diaz in sponsoring a bill to void New York state's recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages. The bill failed.

Former NY Sen. Pedro Espada: I Was Corrupt Because I Was Almost Molested

Former NY state Sen. Pedro Espada faces a possible 43 year prison sentence on corruption charges. His lawyer has filed a plea for leniency that includes a claim that Espada was almost molested by a man when he was a child. Via Gothamist:

In a 21-page court filing relating to personal hardships that could be factored in to a more lenient sentence, his lawyer wrote, "He was the second of six children born to his parents and enjoyed a happy childhood until the age of 5, when he was the victim of an attempted sexual assault by a male relative. Mr. Espada is haunted to this day by the terrible memory." Espada told the Post that he was upset that this "revelation" came out. It's unclear what connection this almost-molestation has to stealing almost half a million dollars from tax-payers, but that's up to a judge now. He's set to be sentenced on June 14th, though Espada's been seeking a new trial, accusing the judge of "improperly pressuring the jury to reach its verdict."

RELATED: In a failed bid to be named Majority Leader of an evenly split state Senate, in 2009 Espada attempted to stage a coup and temporarily joined the GOP, effectively preventing a vote on marriage equality at that time. He is just one of six recently former members of the New York Senate who are in or on their way to prison.

ANOTHER New York Senate Dem Busted

Ho hum. Another day, another busted Democrat from the New York Senate.

Brooklyn state Sen. John Sampson, once one of the most powerful politicians in Albany, surrendered to the FBI on Monday to face charges of embezzling funds from escrow accounts he controlled as a lawyer and using the money to finance an ill-fated run for district attorney. In their investigation, prosecutors recorded Sampson saying he would track down an informant implicating an associate and “take them out,” according to a 24-page indictment unsealed Monday.

RELATED: If convicted, Sampson could become the sixth Senate Democrat sentenced to prison in the last twelve months.  Former Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith was arrested last month and is awaiting trial on charges that he conspired to fix the New York City mayoral race. Former Sen. Shirley Huntley pleaded guilty to corruption charges in March. Three other Senate Democrats were sentenced to prison late last year.

Gay NY State Reps Endorse Quinn

New York state Assemblymember Deborah Glick and state Sen. Brad Hoylman have endorsed Christine Quinn for New York City mayor.  Via their joint press release:

“Christine Quinn has remained a stalwart advocate of civil rights, driven by a passion for equality and justice,” said State Senator Brad Hoylman. “She is a ‘do-er’ not a ‘say-er’—her commitment to improving housing and employment rights, increasing public safety, ensuring reproductive freedom and fighting against discrimination in the workplace shows Christine is true leader who will move New York City forward. As a grassroots organizer, I know what it takes to get the job done and Christine Quinn is the candidate I can count on to make sure New York City is just and fair, for residents of all races, genders, sexualities and backgrounds.”

Hoylman was first elected in November and is the only openly gay member of the state Senate. His district includes Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen, and the West Village. Glick's district covers the West Village and much of lower Manhattan. She was the first ever openly gay New York state legislator and is in her eleventh term in the Assembly.

Tabloids React To Malcolm Smith Arrest

Unsurprisingly, yesterday's arrest of NY Sen. Malcolm Smith is dominating today's tabloids. Smith, City Councilman Daniel Halloran, and two GOP borough party leaders are accused of attempting to bribe Smith's way into the GOP mayoral primary race. The FBI has hinted that more arrests may come.

The Daily News today reported more details.

As a Democrat, Smith needed the permission of three of the city’s five county Republican leaders to appear on the GOP primary ballot. Halloran served as Smith’s go-between — the corrupt quarterback running his crooked coach’s political game plan, said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. The pair allegedly arranged to get envelopes of cash into the hands of GOP officials in the Bronx and Queens — though neither publicly endorsed Smith. In return, Smith agreed to use his office to obtain as much as $500,000 in state funding to benefit a real estate project supposedly being developed by the man who paid the bribes, the feds said. But that “developer” was an undercover FBI agent.

RELATED: Crackpot Sen. Ruben Diaz is praying for Smith.

Those who know me, should know that I don’t kick people when they are down, I pray for them as I will be praying for Senator Malcolm Smith and his family and I extend my hand to help them get up as I did with Senators Pedro Espada, Hiram Monserrate, Carl Kruger and others. That is my calling. That is my responsibility and that is what God expects me to do. We all know that Senator Malcolm Smith is entitled and will have his day in court and the opportunity to prove his innocence if it so. In the meantime, let’s keep praying for him and his family and wait for the outcome.

NY State Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) Busted In Plot To Fix NYC Mayoral Race

Democratic New York state Sen. Malcolm Smith and NYC Councilman Daniel Halloran (R-Queens) were both arrested by the FBI this morning on charges that they had conspired to fix this year's New York City mayoral race.

Mr. Smith was taken from his Queens home in handcuffs before sunrise and Mr. Halloran was arrested at about the same time, the people said. Mr. Smith has said he was considering running for mayor of New York as a Republican, and the charges contend that he made payments to Mr. Halloran in exchange for the councilman’s assistance in setting up meetings with Republican leaders as part of an effort to get on the ballot, one of the people said. The criminal complaint in the case, which was brought by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, was expected to be unsealed later on Tuesday morning, when Mr. Smith, Mr. Halloran and the others appear before a United States magistrate judge in United States District Court in White Plains.

Several other people were also arrested today including Bronx GOP chairman Jay Savino, Queens GOP vice chairman Vincent Tabone, and the mayor and deputy mayor of Spring Valley, a small town just north of New York City,

UPDATE: The New York Daily News has more details.

A 28-page complaint unsealed this morning detailed the scheme: an undercover FBI agent posing as a wealthy real estate mogul acted as a facilitator between the politicians and the county leaders, recording hours of conversation between November and last week. Council member Halloran was to receive $20,500 while Tabone and Savino received $40,000 in bribes with a promise of $40,000 more. At meetings in hotels in White Plains in Manhattan and Queens restaurants, Halloran promised to win support for Smith from Savino and Tabone. Smith actively participated in multiple conversations and spoke openly about bribing county leaders.

UPDATE II: Steven Thrasher's 2011 Village Voice profile of Halloran is really something. Whoa. He's a pal of Pam Geller and that's not even the beginning.

UPDATE III: The US District Attorney's office has issued a blistering statement.

Today’s charges demonstrate, once again, that a show-me-the-money culture seems to pervade every level of New York government. The complaint describes an unappetizing smorgasbord of graft and greed involving six officials who together built a corridor of corruption stretching from Queens and the Bronx to Rockland County and all the way up to Albany itself. As alleged, Senator Malcolm Smith tried to bribe his way to a shot at Gracie Mansion – Smith drew up the game plan and Councilman Halloran essentially quarterbacked that drive by finding party chairmen who were wide open to receiving bribes.

RELATED: Malcolm Smith was elected Senate Majority Leader in early 2009 after renegade Democrats (the infamous "Gang Of Three") finally ended their anti-gay marriage coup which had put the Senate in GOP hands. Malcolm had been accused of dragging his feet on same-sex marriage even though he publicly supported the issue and appeared at an HRC fundraiser.  Smith was ousted as majority leader in 2010.  All of the Gang Of Three were sentenced to prison on various charges last year.  Last month Democratic former Sen. Shirley Huntley pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges. If convicted, Smith could be the fifth New York Senate Democrat sentenced to prison in the span of one year.

NY Sen. Ruben Diaz: We Will Pray All Night On The Way To The Supreme Court

"You should know that on Monday, March 25, 2013 at 12:00 midnight, the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization will hold an all-night vigil on buses bound to Washington, D.C., to join the National Organization for Marriage who is organizing a demonstration on Tuesday, March 26, 2013 at 9:00 AM in front of the United States Supreme Court.

"You should know that the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has always been in the forefront, throughout the nation, in the struggle to stop same sex marriage. It is also a fact that for many years, NOM has been raising funds, and coordinating every march and demonstration in the state of New York and everywhere else." - NY Sen. Ruben Diaz, posting on his official state government webpage.

You should ALSO know that it was a member of the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization who stood on the steps of the Bronx Courthouse with Diaz and Brian Brown to scream that gay people are worthy of death.  I wonder if THAT guy will do the same on the steps of the US Supreme Court.

Ruben Diaz Cheers His Third Hate March

"You should remember that when Governor Andrew Cuomo used his office and staff to raise money and to orchestrate the passing of gay marriage in the State, it was the National Organization for Marriage among others, who took the fight on their shoulders. With their help, we organized different rallies and demonstrations where thousands of people came together, in front of Governor Cuomo’s office in Manhattan, On the steps of the Supreme court of Bronx County and in many other places.

“Now, one more time, NOM is giving us the opportunity to join people from all over the nation, in what could be our last opportunity to deal with same sex marriage once and for all. Due to the fact, and you should know, that with the ruling of the United States Supreme Court, same sex marriage will be legal or illegal in every state in the nation, including Puerto Rico and any other colony of the United States.” - New York state Sen. Ruben Diaz, on his participation in what will be his third anti-gay hate march.

NEW YORK: Former Sen. Shirley Huntley Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement

Former NY Sen. Shirley Huntley (D-Queens) yesterday pleaded guilty to embezzling almost $90K in public money for the sham non-profit group she had established.

The Queens Democrat said that she used government grants for her charitable non-profit education organization, the Parents Information Network, to buy personal items and benefit family members. Huntley admitted that she utilized "straw recipients" to help disguise her embezzlement scheme from the charity, which was founded to help parents understand issues related to the New York City school system. Several large withdrawals of the money intended for the non-profit organization instead were slipped to some of Huntley's relatives, officials said. "And did you know that was criminal conduct?" Brooklyn federal Judge Jack Weinstein asked at today's hearing. "Yes, your honor, I did," the ex-lawmaker answered. Huntley, who served in the state legislature from 2007 to 2012, admitted that she had committed felony mail fraud in furtherance of her embezzlement scheme. "I'm guilty. I plead guilty," Huntley said.

Huntley faces two years in prison. If she serves time, she will become the fourth New York Senate Democrat sentenced to prison in the last eight months. While still in office, Huntley gained notoriety for declaring that she would never vote for marriage equality, "not even if you gave me a million dollars tax-free."  Huntley later flip-flopped and did vote in favor of the marriage bill that ultimately passed in 2011.  Despite the fact that she had been arrested for corruption, NOM claimed to have defeated Huntley over her marriage vote when she lost her September 2012 primary.

HRC: Stick A Fork In NOM

The Human Rights Campaign today issued a press release roundly mocking NOM for their failures to make good on their threats.  An excerpt:

Opponents’ financing is drying up. They were outspent almost three to one last year, $12 million to $34 million in the ballot campaigns. More broadly, tax documents obtained by HRC last fall show that NOM’s funding declined by one-third for 2011 – and that a whopping 75 percent of the anti-gay organization’s funding came from just two donors. It’s not surprising then that NOM is unable to follow through on the threats the group makes to Republicans supportive of marriage equality.

NOM promised, for instance, that it would spend $2 million to defeat the four Republican State Senators in New York who backed the legislature’s same-sex marriage bill in 2011. NOM then backpedalled, saying it would spend $250,000 in the primary fights. According to NOM PAC NY’s campaign finance reports, it only raised $45,000 and only spent $40,000 in 2012 – nowhere near what it claimed it would spend.

Beyond funding, NOM’s pressure campaigns – which the group insists have been successful - have produced little return on investment. A new HRC fact check piece makes clear the effort to oust the four Republicans strictly because of their votes on marriage did not work. “NOM’s threats to kick Republicans out of office – whether in New York two years ago or in Illinois earlier this month - are empty,” said Nix. “It’s nothing but bluster aimed to instill fear in lawmakers. NOM’s become nothing but a paper tiger.”

Read HRC's debunking of NOM's claims about the 2012 NY Senate elections.