Subscribe to Breaking News
Loading ...New gay Congressman sworn in
01.06.2009 12:02pm EST
(Washington) The number of openly gay members of Congress grew by one on Tuesday with the swearing in of Jared Polis (D-Colo.). Polis joins the returning Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) in the House.
Polis has been given a plum committee position. He has been named to the House Committee on Education and Labor.A major priority of the committee will be the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, the main federal law affecting education from kindergarten through high school.
Polis had little difficulty winning his firmly Democratic district last November, but he took no chances and ran a strong campaign, putting much of his own money into the run. He also had the support of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund.
Previously, Polis was elected statewide to the Colorado State Board of Education from 2001 - 2007. During that time he served a term as vice-chairman and one as chairman.
In 2000, he founded the Jared Polis Foundation, which works to improve and expand access to education. Its annual Teacher Recognition Awards celebrate the enormous commitment and importance of teachers. Hundreds of teachers and their schools receive micro-grants as part of this program.
Polis came out publicly while serving on the Board of Education.
During his tenure on the Board, he successfully worked to establish new ways to help schools close the learning gap, improved access to online education, helped win increased funding for at-risk students, and worked to improve teacher preparation programs at our colleges and universities.
Polis also co-chaired a successful $300 million bond initiative in the Boulder Valley School District to make repairs and upgrades to learning environments across the district as well as improve energy efficiency.
so now with Jared Polis we have a total of 3 openly gay Congress people after Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin. Still so few! we need some more openly gay voices in Congress to make sure the business of all Americans straight and gay alike gets taken care of and that antigay rubbish gets voted down, tabled, delayed or whatever and so that an antigay amendment of any type may never make it into the US Constitution, and so that a defeat of the Federal level DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act (authored by a Bob Barr who is now seeking the repeal of his own mess)is a surer thing during this or the next administration.
So much of gay family life is hamstrung by the Federal level DOMA and I want to see it gone. Maybe then a whole host of inequalities might start to disappear like gay marrieds suddenly not married when entering US entry points. Or being able to file as married on Massachusetts tax returns just to be forced to file single on federal tax returns, no Veteran’s or social security benefits for surviving same=sex spouse in a gay marriage should one of the spouses die. 1,300 Federal level rights and responsibilities of marriage out of reach gay couples married in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and maybe soon in New Jersey And maybe again this spring in California after California Supreme Court reaches a decision.