Form of order, man. It’s all about a form of order.

-Someone said we don’t have the votes nor the political will, so why bother. You both missed my whole point. We’ll never have the votes if we don’t have the will. They are not one and the same, one precedes the other. I’d prefer to see someone like Mr. Frank stand up for what is right…he can work to pass what is passable without killing what is clearly the top priority.

-For the person saying tax credits are less important than being beaten you miss the whole point about the American people being sheep that follow whatever authority figure they like at the moment. Only 5 to 10%of the population think and bring forth new ideas, the rest follow. This is clear if you study religion, business hierarchy or even student bodies. Leaders and followers. Telling the entire group of dumb followers that it is ok to discriminate against us then allows them to see violence against us as not as bad as violence against women or minorities. DOMA enshrines the acceptance of bigotry in our laws and in the hearts of our extremely gullable citizenry. For me, yes, it is about unfair tax credits..unfair to the point we should be rioting! And Barney wants me to shut up and be polite….

-For the ENDA comment about most gays being employed by small businesses, I’m not disagreeing but I’d like to see some numbers to back that up. I also do not know the state of small companies and equal benefits. All I’d say is that the marketplace of jobs is one of choice and you can choose to work for a fair company or not. You may not have a choice, I know, but in looking at this from my vantage point, nearly all the gays I know do have a choice. We are highly sought after! My company recently laid off 10% of the workforce. I let 5 people go in one day, people I consider friends. Very tough. However EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM got a job in a few months…even in this horrible economy. Why? most of my colleagues are extremely employable and the huge competition out there did not affect them. Maybe I’m not seeing the whole slice of our population but I don’t see gay people here in Mass in jobs where they are discriminated against and who do not possess marketable skills that would allow them to move. ENDA for me is important but the goal can be achieved in the marketplace much faster, and it has as proof of my point.

We’ll never all agree..we are more diverse than any other group by definition of what holds us together..something that is a tiny part of who we are (at least for me…I’m creative, problem solving and forceful…just happen to like men).

so no disrespect meant, but I still do not agree that DOMA repeal is not the top priority. I think it is a no brainer but these comments have made me realize we have progress to be made, and won’t ever totally agree which is ok.

For the person mentioning the death tax I agree. I call abortion foes anti-choice and have for 20 years. Language matters. WE want to defend marriage, THEY want to limit it and thus make it insignificant.

But I have to say the death tax is alive and well, not as you implied it has been killed.

The death tax is one of the main reasons I’m very, very conservative (not Republican, please don’t insult me with the knuckledraggers).

Taxing what my family earned and paid taxes on already upon their death is disgusting. It is un-American..just like the regressive tax rate is. It is original sin to tax money twice just as it is to tax earnings at a higher rate based on earnings…it shows people do not understand the definition of “per cent”.

Oh, REALLY? Every year we have four other major bills to pass?! We pass ENDA and repeal DADT every year?!

If you calm down and rethink your position, I’ll think you’ll change your mind. And this daddy bear lover didn’t appreciate your fat/old remark. Classless, man!

If we can get the four major bills passed this year, I’d consider it a good year. In particular, I want ENDA (check out the article on this site about Ohio dragging its feet on their ENDA as a reason why we need a national law).

We can fight DOMA next year.

Also, how often do we *say* we want politicians who will be leaders, in that they will say and do the right thing even when it’s difficult? Barney’s very, VERY bright. He knows what would have played well both within the gay community and within his district: clearly that would have been taking on DOMA. (Locally, Martha Coakley took on DOMA, in large part, I think, to throw a bone to the gay community so that we’d support her upcoming run for the Senate, even though her case has 0 chance for success.)

But Barney didn’t do the easy thing, here. He did the *right* thing–win what you can today, and come back tomorrow to fight again–even though he *knew* he’d get tomatoes thrown at him from the gay community. Agree with him or disagree with him, but you have to admit he’s principled and gutsy. He’s what we say we want in a politician, but what makes us gripe when he tells us hard truths.

It’s scary to me to see how many commentors here keep poo-pooing hate-crime and non-discrimination legislation in comparison to DOMA and DADT. I have some very serious questions for all GLBT people: do you think there will NOT be a backlash from that portion of the population that actively wants to restrict GLBT rights if marriage and military service are suddenly opened up for everyone? What protections will be in place for GLBT citizens once measures like DOMA and DADT are repealed? There’s a form of order to this legislation, and Barney Frank seems to be in a minority of people who understand this concept.

And I’m sorry, but that poster who puts tax credits higher on the list of necessities than legal protections from hate and discrimination really needs to step back and take a few moments to prioritize. What good is money if you’re in no shape to use it? Or if you’re effing dead…

We’ve had eight years of superconflation. If you’re American, you support your President, and if you support your President, you believe each and every word from Faux News. Obama has managed to sustain the beast by refusing to get bile on his hands and shove the blade of truth as deep as the hilt (because he has a bipartisan complex). Obama can maybe be forgiven his delusion. Dude, do you REALLY believe that audience equals veracity?

Clout, influence and power in Congress comes with seniority. Frank was first elected to the House in 1980 and since then has been re-elected to his seat thirteen times. Baldwin was first elected in 1998 is is currently serving her serving her sixth term. Polis was just elected last year. Frank is a committee chair. Baldwin and Polis are not.

Frank isn’t our ‘spokesperson’. But it is an undeniable fact that he is the most powerful and influential gay member of Congress because he is by far the most senior.

“ENDA? yes important but most big companies have gotten with the picture long, long before the government.”

Big companies are not the reason we need ENDA. The majority of Americans work in smaller businesses, not Fortune 500s. Yes, Corporate America has been wise to the gay issue for a while. They’re not employing the majority of our community or the majority of America.

ROMA is not the highest gay legislative priority because there just aren’t enough votes to pass it. Polls don’t indicate the majority of the American people are on board with the idea either. Lack of public support combined with lack of political will generally results in a bill being dead on introduction.

Johannes: “If Frank is so reliably astute in regards to knowing how to get LGBT legislation passed, then why did he strip transgender protections from ENDA last year, thereby losing the support of many progressives and dooming the bill’s passage?”

Uh, the non-inclusive version of ENDA *PASSED* the House last year. It died when the Senate failed to take any action on the bill. The inclusive ENDA has been introduced in both houses this year, but doesn’t seem to be moving at all.