New York State Senator Ruben Diaz said
Tuesday that he would co-sponsor a bill which would repeal the
state's one-year-old gay marriage law.
The bill was introduced earlier this
month by freshman Senator David Storobin.
In a memo attached to the bill,
Storobin wrote: “The government has thrust upon the people of this
state a definition of marriage that violates their religious and
personal moral beliefs.”
In an e-mail to supporters, Diaz, the
only Democrat to vote against the measure in the Senate, thanked
Storobin for “giving me the opportunity to join him as a co-sponsor
to this historic and pending piece of legislation.”
“You should also know that so far –
as of today – it is only Senator Storobin and me who support this
legislation. It will be a difficult and uphill battle. Nonetheless,
our struggle will continue as we work to get 30 more senators to join
us. We are not giving up.”
During a heated campaign to replace
Carl Kruger, a closeted gay Democrat convicted on corruption charges,
Storobin's opposition to marriage equality won him the endorsement of
the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the nation's most
vociferous opponent of gay marriage.
Storobin attacked his rival, Democratic
City Councilman Lew Fidler, for his support of gay marriage during
the campaign. His position helped the Republican attorney turned
politician win over a large Orthodox Jewish bloc in the district, The
Wall Street Journal reported.
No companion bill has been filed in the
Assembly, where marriage equality has more robust support.