Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Erica Diaz Blasts Her Grandfather Ruben's Homophobic Rhetoric
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jun 5, 2011
Modified Jun 5, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jun 5, 2011
Modified Jun 5, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Erica Diaz, the lesbian granddaughter of anti-marriage-equality State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., has come out against her granddad again today after an ill-advised photo-op at his rally last month. In an op-ed for the Post the younger Diaz speaks of how her grandfather outed her on TV for political convenience and how "every word he utters hurts his own blood."
In the post Diaz discusses how shattering it is to see your flesh and blood vehemently denounce your status as a human, and how she initially didn't even come out to him, but discovered he knew when he announced it on TV:
Three years [after she came out to her parents] I was watching grandpa do a TV interview. "I'm not homophobic. I have gay family members. I have a gay granddaughter."
I was stunned that he outed me on the air, since I never spoke to him about it directly.
Though the elder Diaz has told his granddaughter privately and and in public that he loves her, that no longer seems to be enough Erica. She writes that Ruben Sr. called her after the rally to praise her for "respectfully speaking up for what you believe in," but she seems to have moved past that saying "You cannot tell someone that you love them and stay silent when people call for their death. "Love" is empty when you say someone's life isn't natural."
Tagged
erica diaz
gay marriage
marriage equality
ruben diaz sr.
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot and killed on Midtown subway platform Saturday afternoon, NYPD says
Police said they're searching for a person of interest.
By
Ryan Kost
and
Elizabeth Kim
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 1:16 p.m. ET
Modified Oct 17, 2026 at 4:10 p.m. ET
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
Suspects were driving a Subaru Forester, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
News
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
Suspects were driving a Subaru Forester, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans, but we could get used to this.
By
Catalina Gonella
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
By
Willow Higgins
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
By
Rosemary Misdary
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .