Homophobes Deutsch, Diaz Cross-Endorse for House
A Brooklyn and a Bronx anti-LGBTQ lawmaker united in their quests for Capitol Hill
BY MATT TRACY
Anti-LGBTQ City Councilmembers
Ruben
Diaz, Sr., of the Bronx
and Chaim Deutsch of
Brooklyn are reaching across boroughs
and pooling their homophobia
together in one united show
of force ahead of their respective
Democratic primary races for Congress
in June.
The allies — who are among
the city lawmakers most hostile to
queer rights — co-endorsed each
other in a March 3 Twitter post
that included a photo of the conservative
lawmakers smiling with
their hands joined in unison.
Diaz’s tweet, retweeted by
Deutsch, stated, “Bronx and
Brooklyn. Puerto Rico and Romania.
Christian and Jewish. Council
Member Chaim Deutsch is a colleague
and friend from a different
path but we are headed towards
the same goal! Proud to announce
our mutual endorsements for US
Congress!”
Diaz is running to replace outgoing
Congressmember José E. Serrano
in Bronx’s 15th Congressional
District in a crowded race featuring
out gay Bronx Councilmember
Ritchie Torres, former City Council
Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito,
Bronx Assemblymember Michael
Blake, activist Samelys López,
and Manhattan Councilmember
Ydanis Rodriguez, among others.
Down in Brooklyn, Deutsch is
touting his conservative agenda
in a bid to unseat incumbent Congressmember
Yvette Clarke, who is
also facing a challenger to her left,
Adem Bunkeddeko, in Brooklyn’s
Ninth Congressional District. During
this primary campaign Clarke
and Bunkeddeko have both pointed
to Gay City News’ reporting on
Deutsch’s homophobia in fundraising
emails to their supporters.
Councilmembers Ruben Diaz, Sr., and Chaim Deutsch seal their cross-endorsement in their respective
congressional primary campaigns.
Torres, the fi rst out LGBTQ
elected offi cial in the history of the
Bronx, appeared to have cordial relations
with Deutsch in the past. It
was less than a year ago when Torres
took to Twitter to wish Deutsch
a happy birthday with balloons and
birthday cake emojis, and Deutsch
at one point described Torres as
his “esteemed colleague.”
But now it appears things have
changed.
Deutsch’s homophobic reputation
surfaced in the Bronx congressional
admitted in a recent Stonewall
Democratic Club of New York City
questionnaire that she had supported
anti-LGBTQ lawmakers in
the past, which Gay City News fi rst
reported when the former Council
speaker answered the same club’s
questionnaire during her previous
campaign for public advocate.
Mark-Viverito donated to Deutsch
in his fi rst campaign for the Council
in 2013 and endorsed him when
he ran for re-election four years
later.
But Torres, who declined comment
for this story, was not afraid
➤ JASON SALMON, from p.16
peared from the several races demonstrated a
clear dedication to the community but he gave a
special nod to those the club endorsed.
race when Mark-Viverito
TWITTER/ REVRUBENDIAZ
to rip Mark-Viverito for supporting
Deutsch, telling the Daily News in
October, “You can either be pro-
LGBT or you can contribute to anti
LGBT candidates, but you cannot
be both.”
Now, of course, Deutsch is responding
by throwing his support
behind Torres’ anti-LGBTQ opponent.
Diaz and Deutsch’s partnership
came as little surprise. The pair of
elected offi cials have resisted LGBTQ
rights advances throughout
their careers, and Diaz was a driving
force against the effort to usher
in same-sex marriage rights in
New York when he was a state senator.
Deutsch, meanwhile, once attacked
a debate opponent for having
the support of an organization
he said had an “agenda with gays
and lesbians,” and he has repeatedly
cast votes against queer rights
legislation, including a bill to ban
on conversion therapy in New York
City.
The out lesbian former president
and founding director of the New
York City Veterans’ Alliance, Kristen
Rouse, told Gay City News that
“Our endorsements represent the views and
values of the members of our club,” Arader said.
“These candidates best refl ected the type of
commitment to our community that we want to
see in our elected offi cials.”
POLITICS
Deutsch, who chairs the Council’s
Veterans’ Committee, made inappropriate
homophobic comments
to her and told her “that he cannot
be seen supporting the equality of
LGBTQ individuals, even if they
are veterans.”
The friendly relationship between
Deutsch and Diaz is not
new. Deutsch was there for his
cowboy hat-wearing colleague last
February when he was the only
city lawmaker to vote against the
dissolving of Diaz’s committee in
response to homophobic comments
the Bronx politician made about
the City Council.
“When I get to the City Council,
I fi nd that the City Council is controlled
— most councilmembers
out of 51 councilmembers — over
there, everybody is controlled by
the homosexual community,” Diaz
said last year.
During a 40-minute interview
with Gay City News last year, Diaz
doubled down on those remarks.
“What is wrong with what I
said?” he asked this reporter. “That
the gay community has power and
control? Yes, they do!”
Diaz, a Pentecostal minister,
continued, “I don’t believe in gay
marriage, I don’t believe in abortion,
I don’t believe in drinking,
I don’t believe in smoking, and I
don’t believe in dancing.”
Despite all those infl ammatory
remarks, Diaz has maintained a
vibrant base of supporters in his
district — so much so that he has
a decent shot at elevating his homophobia
to Capitol Hill, even as
Torres outpaces him with a signifi -
cant fundraising advantage.
The question now is whether
Deutsch and Diaz’s mutual endorsement
will benefi t their respective
quests to inject New York Democratic
congressional delegation
with a double dose of homophobia
later this year.
Prior to Lambda’s endorsement, Montgomery
herself endorsed Wright. Since the Lambda
vote, Brisport has won the support of Brooklyn
Senator Julia Salazar. Both identify themselves
as democratic socialists.
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