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Loading ...Economy may delay major gay bills
01.06.2009 9:15am EST
(Washington) The new Congress convenes today but four pieces of legislation pushed by LGBT advocates may be placed on the back burner as lawmakers grapple with the rapidly deteriorating economy and two wars.
Joining the two returning gay members of the last Congress, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass) and Tammy Baldwin (Wisc.) is newly elected Colorado Democrat Jared Polis.Three of the bills – the Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Act, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell – died when the the last session of Congress ended and will need to be reintroduced. The fourth is the proposed repeal of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act which bars the government from any form of recognition of same-sex relationships.
The Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Act was named for the 21-year-old college student who was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in Wyoming in October 1998. It would have added sexual orientation to the list of categories covered under federal hate crime law.
The bill passed the House in 2007 and the White House threatened to veto it. In an effort to get around a veto, the Senate version was tied to the 2008 defense authorization bill. It passed, but then went to conference, where it was stripped out.
Last fall, the FBI released statistics showing that hate crimes in general had dropped across the country except for those against LGBT people. The bureau report showed a 6 percent increase in anti-gay hate crimes.
If the Shepard Act is passed, it would allow federal charges to be brought in hate crimes against gays and give judges power to impose tougher sentences.
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, also passed the House in 2007 but without protections for the transgendered.
The legislation would have made it illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in hiring, firing, promoting or paying an employee.
When ENDA returns it is likely to include gender identity protections.
ENDA, originally introduced by Frank, included transgendered people, but Frank removed those protections in committee, saying it would be impossible to pass.
More than a dozen LGBT groups immediately distanced themselves from the legislation. Frank later reversed himself and said he would fight to ensure an inclusive ENDA is passed.
Legislation to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the ban on gays serving openly in the military, was taken up in committee last year for the first time, but did not make it to a vote.
DADT was enacted in 1993. Since then, more than 12,000 servicemembers have been dismissed when it was learned they are gay. According to statistics from the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which advocates for gays in the military, an average of two service members are dismissed under the law every day.
It also is widely expected that legislation will be introduced to repeal the so-called federal Defense of Marriage Act, which forbids the federal government from recognizing any form of gay union – marriage, civil union or domestic partnership. President-elect Barack Obama has said he would sign such a repeal, although no Democrat has so far said such a bill would be brought in.
Obama also has said he supports repeal of the gay military ban, an inclusive ENDA and passage of the Shepard Act.
While Congress takes up a massive economic stimulus package and grapples with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, LGBT civil rights groups say they will continue to lobby for passage of the four bills.
as a federal employee i really need this doma to go away.i was charged with awol after calling my boss telling him that my wife hurt her back and needed to go to the doctor.I requested sick leave for dependant care just like any other married worker in my office and was denied.Luckly the union got the awol taken out and i was paid but out of my vacation time not sick time.
Do any of you EVER think that gay rights will EVER be the priority in Congress? Why should any of them care much about less than 5% of the population. They don’t need us to win elections and we have far less economic power than Out Magazine and HRC would have you believe. People, get real. There is no reason for them to care about us.
Rick Warren should have already alerted us that LGBT concerns are not at the front of the new administration’s thought process.
Why is it that the UAFA … the Uniting American Families Act never gets brought up when discussing “gay legislative bills”? This would enable same sex couples to sponsor their partner for immigration purposes.
Why is it automatically assumed that Congress is “too busy” to work on GLBT issues because of the economy and health-care? I’m sure Congress will find time to continue doing pork-barrel stuff. Let’s hope the gay advocacy lobbies won’t wait too long to press the Obama administration to make good on its fine-sounding rhetoric.
Apologies for the double post.
Is it really a load of bull? No kiddin’… I guess what we should do is consult Amy Balliett about holding some rallies and making some posters for the lgbtqqi amongst us to hold up defiantly provided we can get our schedules all straightened out. Because ya know, there’s nothing that gets things done like holding rallies, lighting candles, and preaching to the choir instead of contacting elected officials and relentlessly lobbying them.
Is it really a load of bull? No kiddin’… I guess what we should do is consult Amy Balliet about holding some rallies and making some posters for the lgbtqqi amongst us to hold up defiantly provided we can get our schedules all straightened out. Because ya know, there’s nothing that gets things done like holding rallies, lighting candles, and preaching to the choir instead of contacting elected officials and relentlessly lobbying them.
This is a load of bull. Congress has no excuse not to pass ENDA and hate crimes legislation within the first 100 days of the Obama Administration.
It’s true that an economic stimulus bill has to be Congress’s first priority. The stimulus isn’t going to take that much time, though. Obama won’t get a bill to sign by February 1, as he wants, but he may well get one by mid-February. Also, Congress won’t be putting 100% of its effort into the stimulus bill for those first thirty days, since Congress works in committees. The House and Senate Judiciary Committees don’t need to be involved the the economic stimulus legislation. They can get to work on the Matthew Shepard Act.
With unemployment rising, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act isn’t a luxury. We need it as soon as possible. Call your representative and your senators and tell them you want ENDA to be a high priority.
You deserve neither.
“I am affected by the economy and would rather have a job and better access to credit than to be worrying about equal rights.”
Martin Luther King is rolling in his grave with that comment.
Unfortunately, the economy is in bad shape. I would like to see gay rights be a concern by Congress, but I think as a nation as a whole, the economy is top priority. I am affected by the economy and would rather have a job and better access to credit than to be worrying about equal rights.
Gay rights bills have been on the back burner for decades. Enough! These bills are as essential to our well-being as economic and war issues. Too many people have died because of bigotry and discrimination.
Congress can multitask. Like Brian said, they have all sorts of committees working on bills that are unrelated to war and the economy. He’s right, this is just an excuse. Congress needs to know that if they don’t pass basic fairness bills, we won’t be passing them our hard-earned “discretionary income.”
If they can’t pass these bills now, after this election, then when exactly can they? Are we also supposed to believe that these have to separate bills, voted on separately? Why not one bill, dealt with once?