Ruben Diaz: “I support North Carolina” [UPDATED]

Not content to wait for his office to send out a “What You Should Know” missive, I called up State Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. to gauge his reaction to President Barack Obama’s endorsement of same-sex marriage.

As you can imagine, it was not positive.

“I am very disappointed that the president has decided to support gay marriage,” Dias Sr. said. “But we are America. And in America you have the freedom to chose whatever you want.”

The Rev went on to say that he supports North Carolina’s vote yesterday to support a constitutional ban against gay marriage, noting that every time the question of gay marriage came before the electorate, the vote is always to reject it.

“In every state that people voted for gay marriage, people rejected gay marriage,” he said. “The only way to get gay marriage is through the Legislature, with lots of money.”

Not even Bill Clinton, who traveled to North Carolina before the vote to urge its defeat, could sway the people, Diaz Sr. said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who successfully pushed for the legalization of gay marriage last year, told reporters today that he had not talked about gay marriage with the president during his Albany visit yesterday. And Diaz Sr. said that Obama’s change-of-hear most likely had to do with Vice President Joe Biden’s comments earlier this week than any conversation he may or may not have had with Cuomo.

“They had this planned already,” he said. “Cuomo had nothing to do with it.”

The senator, who frequently and loudly vocalizes his opposition to gay marriage and abortion, recently equating the later to the Holocaust (as well as a ban on Happy Meal toys), said that Obama’s final “evolution” on gay marriage will hurt him electorally.

“That will help Mitt Romney, that will definitely help Mitt Romney,” Diaz Sr. said.

[UPDATE] About 20 minutes after I got off the phone with him, the senator sent out a “What You Should Know” statement. Here it is:

“As a conservative Democrat, I am very disappointed with President Barack Obama regarding his announcement today in favor of gay marriage. It is well known that in every state where the people have had the opportunity to vote, including in North Carolina this week, the people have rejected gay marriage. Even though the polls indicate that the majority of Americans favor gay marriage, the reality is clearly very different when the people are given the right to vote on this issue.”

Thirty-one (31) states have already expressed that sentiment in the voting booth. I am afraid that with this pronouncement, the President has hurt the Democrats’ chances of regaining the Senate and will hurt many Democratic candidates throughout the nation. I will not be surprised if in the next few days you see in the polls that Mitt Romney has surpassed Barack Obama.

“Gay marriage has been the Achilles Heel in New York State since it became law. The Democratic party has lost every single election to Republicans, even in Democratic controlled areas.”