In what was surely a coincidence, Senator Ruben Diaz, the most vehement defender of ‘traditional’ marriage in the New York State Senate, happened to hold his ‘Rally to Protect Marriage’ on the same weekend as NYC’s annual AIDS Walk. By the way, Ruby… what exactly is ‘traditional’ marriage? Is that the one where you marry the person who knocked you up because your family will disown you if you don’t? Is it the one where you wake up in a hotel room with a hangover and an Elvis bathrobe and immediately bolt to the closest courthouse to get a rapid-fire annulment? Or is it one of the many other marriages where straight couples abuse ‘the sanctity of marriage’ that you hate mongers manage to turn a blind eye to? Because no big deal, right? As long as it’s a man and a woman shitting all over marriage, we’re straight – literally and figuratively.
Diaz has been a shamelessly aggressive opponent of gay marriage during his tenure, most recently facing off in a heated public debate on gay marriage (against his granddaughter, a lesbian who was discharged from the Navy for coming out shortly before the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell).
And one GLBT lit mag ain’t takin’ it. The New Gay will host Fuck Ruben Diaz: Gay Erotica Featuring NYC’s Number One Bigot – a literary event to be held this weekend in Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s renowned gay bar, Metropolitan. The event takes place this Saturday, June 11th at 8:00 PM, where entrants will read their satirical essays (the Top 3, as chosen by the audience, will be published on The New Gay). Hope to see you there!
Should be an awesome event! I created the artwork featured above by repurposing an anti gay marriage sign taken from a Diaz Rally. You can see more of my work at niceghost.com.