New York State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr.,
the only Democratic senator to vote against a gay marriage bill, will
join the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) at its New York
City protest on the law's first day.
The nation's most vociferous opponent
of giving gay couples the right to marry is organizing four rallies
to coincide with New York's first gay and lesbian weddings on Sunday,
July 24.
NOM rallies will be held in Manhattan,
Rochester, Albany and Buffalo.
Diaz has also invited Timothy Dolan,
the Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, to attend one protest.
“In the great spirit of interfaith
unity, I invite you to join me and my fellow ministers on Sunday,
July 24 at 3PM at a March for Marriage that has been organized by the
National Organization for Marriage to be held outside Governor Andrew
Cuomo's midtown office at 633 Third Avenue,” Diaz
wrote in an open letter to Dolan posted at his website.
“Our peaceful and prayerful rally
will protest the redefinition of marriage and demand that all New
Yorkers have the right to vote on this very serious social issue,”
he added.
Dolan had strongly condemned allowing
gay couples to marry, calling it an “ominous threat” to society
and “a violation of what we consider the natural law that's
embedded in every man and woman.” Writing at his blog after
passage of the law, Dolan
warned against polygamous unions.
NOM has already pledged $2 million to
oust the four GOP senators who voted for the legislation establishing
marriage equality in the state. The group has also announced a
four-year plan to reverse the law, which includes growing a majority
in the Legislature to approve a constitutional amendment for the 2015
ballot.
But unlike NOM's previously successful
campaigns against gay marriage laws in California and Maine, New York
requires legislative approval to put a ballot question before voters,
a significant barrier.