Lawmaker: Racism Fuels Resignation Calls for Monserrate

A growing number of public officials are calling for state Sen. Hiram Monserrate to resign after his conviction for misdemeanor assault on his girlfriend, including New York's two U.S. senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as Councilman Bill DeBlasio.

"Domestic violence has no place in our society, and certainly has no place in the state Legislature," Gillibrand said. "We must take a hard line against violence toward women in our society."

Indeed the state Senate has formed a panel to look into possible action against Monserrate, who said that the incident last year in which his girlfriend's face was slashed was an accident.

Now one of Monserrate's most vocal backers says those calls for his resignation are "racist."

State Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. told Fox 5 News that many of the officials telling Monserrate to resign are white, while Monserrate is Hispanic. Diaz said that Monserrate was convicted of a misdemeanor for trying to force her to go to the hospital to get treatment, not for the slashing itself.

After his trial Monserrate indicted he would not resign, but did not comment about the latest developments involving members of his own party.