|| News ||
Page 1 of 1

Antigay N.Y. State Senator Expelled


Hiram Monserratex180 (Wikimedia Commons) | Advocate.com

The New York state senate voted to expel Hiram Monserrate on Tuesday night, citing his misdemeanor conviction in an assault on his girlfriend. The Queens lawmaker was one of eight Democrats who voted against the marriage equality bill that failed in December.

Senators voted 53 to 8, with one abstention, to remove Monserrate effective immediately after agonizing discussion, according to the New YorkDaily News. 

“The dramatic vote came after hours of impassioned closed-door debate — the only question seemed to be just when Monserrate would be expelled,” reports the Daily News.

Monserrate is the first state lawmaker to be expelled in over a century. He has vowed to mount a legal challenge to the ouster, and said he would run to reclaim the seat in the special election to be held within 30 to 45 days to fill the vacancy.

“Monserrate supporters expressed concern about the precedent of making him the first senator ever booted because of a misdemeanor conviction,” reports the Daily News. “They claim his expulsion is payback for his brief role in a GOP-leadership coup that shut down the senate for a month last year. A former city cop and city councilman, Monserrate was elected to the Senate in 2007. Between his election and swearing in to office, he was charged with slashing his girlfriend's face with a broken glass and then forcibly pulling her down a hall on the way to the hospital.”
 
The removal of Monserrate brings the Democrats’ already tenuous senate majority to 31-30.

Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Facebook. Page 1 of 1
Reader Comments
  • Name: Jeffrey F.
    Date posted: 2/22/2010 9:41:21 PM
    Hometown: Kennerdell, PA

    Comment:

    I think he deserves to loose his seat. Whether it's for the reason that is stated, or some other reason, after his actions, this just helped whoever, get him out. He slashed his girlfriend's face with glass. That's a permanent disfiguring scar, for life. He deserves this, and more.

  • Name: Just Doing the Math
    Date posted: 2/10/2010 3:39:55 PM
    Hometown: LA

    Comment:

    Note the last line of this story--"The removal of Monserrate brings the Democrats’ already tenuous senate majority to 31-30." Does his removal really have anything to do with his anti-gay voting record or his misdemeanor conviction, or is it a way to reduce Democratic power in the Senate?

  • Name: Paschal
    Date posted: 2/10/2010 3:06:16 PM
    Hometown: Sligo, Ireland

    Comment:

    We all know that the senator is an anti-gay hypocrite. He was, however, elected and therefore the New York Senate shouldn't be able to expell him. That's for his constituents to do.

  • Name: Arlene Pfeiffer
    Date posted: 2/10/2010 1:11:05 PM
    Hometown: Nipomo, CA

    Comment:

    Has anyone noticed the connection between "ex-cop" and " misdemeanor"? He slashed his girlfriends face with broken glass and dragged her down a hallway. How can this be a misdemeanor? Sounds more like attempted murder.

  • Name: Roger Burr
    Date posted: 2/10/2010 12:15:35 PM
    Hometown: Marble Hill

    Comment:

    He's homophobic trash. Glad he's getting the boot!

  • Name: Jackson
    Date posted: 2/10/2010 10:29:35 AM
    Hometown: Providence, RI

    Comment:

    time to flush this piece of shit!

  • Name: Scott
    Date posted: 2/10/2010 9:48:24 AM
    Hometown: NYC

    Comment:

    bi-bi

  • Name: JR
    Date posted: 2/10/2010 9:04:07 AM
    Hometown: Dallas, TX

    Comment:

    Good riddance to bad rubbish !!!

  • Name: Chris
    Date posted: 2/10/2010 8:31:56 AM
    Hometown: Brooklyn

    Comment:

    he's an out of control animal and deserves worse than mere expulsion.

  • Name: Katie Murphy ex cath
    Date posted: 2/10/2010 4:09:18 AM
    Hometown: chicago

    Comment:

    Guess that shows that people who vote against gay people also hate their GF. One must wonder if he is secretly gay, or perhaps just another victim of the church. Fred Phelps, Saddam Hussein, and so many other madmen were abused as children. And true to form, they become abusers. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find out that the catholic church hid the abuse of so many children for 3 reasons. 1 - the priest brought in the money. 2 - the rot reaches all the way to the top. And the Big one - abused kids become abusers themselves. And will follow the church line to focus their self hatred - the old trick of the priests who abused - telling the kids it was their fault - to create a new generation of monsters. Nothing would surprise me from the church whose hatred of the Jews was leveraged by the Catholic Hitler to win election in germany. And 50 million died for the "church of life" Psychopaths is a better descriptor



Don't Miss
  • Best of Broadway Smash: Why You Will Love It

    Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, two of the producers of NBC’s new critically acclaimed musical series, explain why the backstage drama of creating a musical about Marilyn Monroe has mass appeal and why big stars like Anjelica Huston, Uma Thurman, Bernadette Peters, and Nick Jonas were eager to appear in it.

  • Best of Broadway How Broadway Does a Flea Market

    Find out why actress Kathleen Chalfant calls the annual Flea Market and Grand Auction in Times Square "the most glamorous flea market you've ever seen." It raised half a million dollars to fight HIV/AIDS.

  • Travel Slideshow Flag Gayest Cities in America, 2012

    It's no secret that megalopolises New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles have robust LGBT life — and we've even heard tell of little queer hoods like the Castro and P-Town. This isn't that list.

 
 
Advocate Subscribe Promo Banner 300x50
 
Follow Us Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterSubscribe to our RSS feedsDownload our app
Facebook Activity
 
1056 COVER X135 | ADVOCATE.COM
Today's Headlines