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GayCityNews.com | MARCH 24 - APRIL 7, 2022
Pair of politicians stand together to denounce cancel culture
BY MATT TRACY
Exiled former Governor Andrew
Cuomo is apparently
willing to do just about anything
to resurrect his image
— even if it means embracing anti-LGBTQ
Rev. Ruben Diaz, Sr.
Diaz, who recently left his City
Council seat at the end of his term,
welcomed the disgraced former governor
to the Bronx on March 17 for a
meeting with Hispanic Clergy, marking
Cuomo’s latest public appearance
since resigning in the face of sexual
harassment allegations from nearly
a dozen women. The Hill and Emerson
College unveiled new polling this
month showing Cuomo trailing Governor
Kathy Hochul by just four points in
a hypothetical primary race.
The event featured other faith leaders
and another anti-gay former Bronx
city lawmaker, Andy King, who was
booted from his Bronx Council seat
following a slew of allegations, including
harassment and retaliation against
former employees.
Cuomo used the event in part to
complain about “cancel culture” — yet
another example of his bid to rescue
his reputation amid rumors that he is
considering a run for his old job.
“Cancel culture says if you don’t
agree with me and my point of view,
then you should be canceled … anyone
can be canceled,” he said.
In a written statement provided to
Gay City News after this story was
published, Cuomo spokesperson Rich
Azzopardi said the former governor
works with those who are not politically
aligned with him.
“Obviously we don’t stand for intolerance
of any kind, but what separates the
public servants from the politicians is being
able to work with people who we don’t
always agree with,” Azzopardi said. “No
one can credibly question this governor’s
commitment to the LBGTQ community.
Among many other measures, he’s the
one who led the charge for and got marriage
equality passed and he’s the one
who banned conversion therapy and instituted
GENDA by executive order until
the legislature found the votes.”
The ex-governor drew praise from
Diaz, who vowed not to run for re-election
in the City Council after losing to out gay
lawmaker Ritchie Torres in a crowded
2020 Democratic primary to replace retiring
Congressmember José Serrano.
“We cannot deny the contributions
that this family did for the Bronx …”
Diaz said. “I also would like to publicly
thank the former governor for what you
have done for my brothers and sisters
in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.”
Diaz faced his own political isolation
in 2019 after he said the “homosexual
community” controlled the City Council.
He drew further outrage when he
repeatedly refused to back down from
those comments, prompting his colleagues
to strip him of his subcommittee
on for-hire vehicles.
During his time in the State Senate,
Diaz famously organized rallies against
marriage equality and served as a key
voice against the marriage movement
in New York. His decades of homophobia
date back to at least 1994 when he
asserted that the Gay Games “would
lead to an increase in AIDS cases and
to wider acceptance of homosexuality
by young people.”
Adrian Childress
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo joined ex-lawmaker Ruben Diaz, Sr., on March 17 in the Bronx.
BY MATT TRACY
An appeals court in Texas on
March 21 reinstated a temporary
injunction barring
the state from investigating
families of trans youth receiving gender
affirming care.
The ruling came after Texas Attorney
General Ken Paxton signaled that
he would ignore the initial March 11
court ruling ordering the state to halt
the investigations.
The legal battle arose when Governor
Greg Abbott directed the Department
of Family and Protective Services
on February 22 to investigate “any reported
instances” of children receiving
gender-affirming care. The directive
already suffered an early defeat earlier
in the month when the ACLU, ACLU
of Texas, and Lambda Legal filed a
lawsuit on behalf of a 16-year-old girl
whose family was under investigation.
That suit prompted a narrow ruling
in which the judge halted the investigation
into that one family.
However, State District Judge Amy
Clark Meachum issued the broader
March 11 ruling following a court hearing.
The latest ruling will stop all investigations
until the case is heard in July.
Meachum acknowledged that there
is a “substantial likelihood” that the
ACLU and Lambda Legal attorneys
will be successful in the case and further
said the governor acted “beyond
the scope of his authority.”
In their lawsuit, the ACLU and
Lambda Legal argued that the directive
violated the constitution and the
constitutional rights of their clients.
Those groups are also representing
Megan Mooney, a licensed psychologist
who said she cannot work around the
directive without violating ethics.
RE UTERS /Go Na kamura
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been dealt a legal defeat just weeks after issuing a directive targeting families
of trans children.
POLITICS
Cuomo Cozies Up to Homophobic Ex-Pol Ruben Diaz, Sr.
Judge Orders Texas to Stop Investigations of Trans Youth
/GayCityNews.com
