The Human Rights Campaign can now confirm the House Education and Labor Committee will vote on Wednesday, November 18, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. on legislation to end the widespread practice of employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The vote was noticed moments ago.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 3017), introduced by Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), would prohibit employment discrimination, preferential treatment, and retaliation on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity by employers with 15 or more employees.

Currently, it is legal to discriminate in the workplace based on sexual orientation in 29 states and to discriminate based on gender identity in 38 states. You can view a map of the states online: http://www.hrc.org/documents/Employment_Laws_and_Policies.pdf

Earlier today the Human Rights Campaign announced that as Congressional action looms on the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), it is extending the grassroots “No Excuses” campaign to increase constituent contact with Congress and awareness of the comprehensive website: www.PassENDANow.org.

We launched a national action alert this week to grassroots members and supporters urging them to contact Congress and express their support for a fully-inclusive ENDA. HRC also plans to release details next week on its participation of a national call-in day organized by a coalition of groups urging members and supporters to call the Congressional switchboard in support of ENDA.

Meanwhile, HRC members and supporters have been overwhelmingly responsive this week to the organization’s national call to action on ENDA by sending off more than 62,000 emails or letters to members of Congress and newspapers urging for swift passage.

http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2009/11/breaking-committee-to-hold-vote-on-enda/

What’s the deal with these Republican “intellectuals”? One tried to peddle the idea that all pornography is gay. Now there is a representative from Iowa (a good day to the Hamers) who thinks pushing for gay marriage is really a desire to transform the country into a socialist haven.

Iowa’s Rep. Steve King is no fan of same sex marriage. No biggie there. Free country, first amendment, blah, blah. All that good stuff. However, it would be nice if he had the decency to come up with reasons that are not loony.

“If there’s a push for a socialist society where the foundations of individual rights and liberties are undermined and everybody is thrown together living collectively off one pot of resources earned by everyone, this is one of the goals they have to go to, same sex marriage, because it has to plow through marriage in order to get to their goal. They want public affirmation, they want access to public funds and resources.”

A few things. This exposition is nonsensical. How King gets from couples having rights to “one pot of resources” is a wee bit murky.  And the socialism charge seems to be the  only thing Republicans throw out about topics they don’t like.

Like your standard hysteric though. King seems unable to read numbers. While Iowans are presently divided over whether to vote for or against a ban on same sex marriage, an overwhelming majority, 92 percent, note that gay couples jumping the broom has not impacted their lives.  More than likely King would say they are just a bunch of socialist hacks.

“We have one demand only,” he said. “For equal protection under the law for LGBT Americans in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.”

Now is the time, he said, for federal action – the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress provide us with a unique window.

His remarks came in response to local LGBT organizations who have complained that a national march siphons off energy, money and volunteers from local Congressional districts and civil rights fights.

But Jones said that “I reject the notion that there’s a finite number of volunteers at any one time. An equal amount of money is spent every weekend on major parties.”

If people are worried about money and volunteers, he said, then they should focus on growing the movement.

“A historic opportunity is open to us. It would be foolish and short-sighted not to push [for LGBT rights] on a Federal level. It is simply a matter of fact: true equality can only come from the Federal Government.”

Cleve said that he was “tired of the laundry list of individual demands that allow legislators to prioritize and compromise.” He is advocating for an ominibus bill similar to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

But Jones said he’d also be happy with individual bills that added up to a package of full civil rights.

**A reminder – 365gay will be at the March!**

We will have a meet up with other readers at Armand’s in DC at 7 pm on Sat. Oct. 10 (that’s the day before the march). It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet with pizza, salad and drinks for $12 each – but we need to give them a headcount by next week. So email me at jennifer.vanasco@ logostaff.com if you’d like to meet readers and (hopefully) some writers!

1. Looks like Atlanta has a thing against gay bars (Memphis also!) We’ll stay on top of these stories for you–thanks to Trace for pushing us to do something about Atlanta. What do our readers in those two cities have to say?

2. The Democrats are hyperventilating about Joe Wilson’s inability to act like an adult when the president is speaking. He’s apologized, President Obama has accepted his apology. Calls for censure are a bit much.

3. If you call Obama a socialist, communist, fascist, Kenyan, Hitler, and/or Stalin you need to keep the tin foil hat on and sit in the corner.

4. Any Graham Swift fans out there? His new book is worth looking at.

5. A gay black gospel singer?!?! Clutch those pearls! On the serious side, it will be interesting to see how gospel music fans react to his admission.

6. Loved, as in completely, Serena Williams’ meltdown in the US Open! I’m a cheerleader for that type of foolishness.

7. Last Joe Wilson comment: did you hear him go on about his “relationship” with Michelle Obama’s family? Looks like the Wilson clan and the Robinson brood live in neighboring South Carolina towns. How that counts for a relationship is beyond me.

8. Anyone shocked that Barney Frank is not part of the push to repeal DOMA?

9. Kayne West should put the vodka down.

10. A whiff  of Cafe Bustelo brewing makes me think all is right in the world.

First there was Gov. Mark Sanford, his, love affair, and inability to shut his trap about it. There is the state’s lieutenant governor and his supposed gay gay ways. Then last night, as President Barack Obama was speaking to a joint session of Congress, Rep. Joe Wilson squawked “You lie!”.Wilson’s town-hall antic came when the president said his health insurance proposal would not cover illegal immigrants (I’ll let the good people at FactCheck.org deal with that). If we lived in Great Britain, Wilson’s outburst would be no biggie. The give and take between a prime minister and MPs are rather legendary; however, here in the US of A Wilson’s eruption is a break with decorum. The South Carolina representative issued a statement last night, offering his regrets.

“While I disagree with the president’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the president for this lack of civility.”

Wilson apparently even called White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. Good for him.

The crazies of his party will turn Wilson into a hero who faced down the fascist/Muslim/socialist/nazi Obama with unvarnished truth. If Wilson has an ounce of honor he will reject any hosannas and say what he did was out of bounds. After he does that, he can then say why he and Obama don’t see eye to eye.

We on the left will be shocked (simply shocked sir!) at Wilson’s inability to act like an adult, but let’s not turn this into a cause. If we want to mock a Republican, let’s turn our ire toward fool Michael Duvall, who when caught sharing salacious details of an affair offered this as his initial excuse: he thought his conversation was “private.”

The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act for the 21-year-old college student who was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in Wyoming in October 1998, would provide local police and sheriff’s departments with federal resources to combat hate violence.  

“No one should face violence simply because of who they are,” said Judy Shepard, executive director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation. “This bill is a critical step to erasing the hate that has devastated far too many families.”

Wednesday morning, just hours before the vote, President Obama urged Congress to pass the bill.

” I urge members on both sides of the aisle to act on this important civil rights issue by passing this legislation to protect all of our citizens from violent acts of intolerance – legislation that will enhance civil rights protections, while also protecting our freedom of speech and association,” the President said in a statement.

” I also urge the Senate to work with my Administration to finalize this bill and to take swift action.”

During debate on the bill, prior to the vote, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) alleged that it was a “hoax” that the slaying of Matthew Shepard’s had anything to do with him being gay.

“That young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery, it wasn’t because he was gay,” said Foxx.

The Senate version of the bill was filed this week by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).  It still needs to go to committee before being voted on in the full Senate.

Gay rights groups have been fighting to have the legislation passed for over a decade.

The legislation  passed the House in 2007 but President Bush threatened to veto it if it passed in the Senate. 

In an effort to get around a veto the Senate version was tied to the 2008 defense authorization bill.  It passed, but then was stripped out in conference.

Because there is no federal law mandating states and municipalities to report hate crimes, they are often under-reported.  However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s own statistics, based on voluntary reporting, show that since 1991 over 100,000 hate crime offenses have been reported to the FBI, with 7,624 reported in 2007, the FBI’s most recent reporting period.  

Violent crimes based on sexual orientation constituted 16.6 percent of all hate crimes in 2007, with 1,265 reported for the year. In addition, while not captured in the federal statistics, transgender Americans too often live in fear of violence.

Last night I watched as President Barack Obama walked out of the House of Representatives chamber after he was done talking to the nation. He was glad handing, giving hugs, and when people whispered in his ear the president would slowly nod. Democrats and Republicans asked for his autograph and Obama obliged, using a Sharpie.  One Republican even asked the president for a basketball game—he also suggested a round of golf.

As an old head I’ve been watching these winter presidential speeches for awhile, and I’ve never seen a president sign so many pieces of paper. Imagine Brad Pitt at some movie premier working the crowd. That’s how Obama looked.

And those same Republicans who whisper about Obama’s citizenship status (I’m talking about you Mr. Shelby) made sure their pictures were taken with the man.

All of this movie star love could be gone in 30 seconds (the economy continues to tank,  some foreign policy failure, a terrorist attack, etc., etc.); however, if all the Republicans can do is to roll out Louisiana’s governor Bobby Jindal to offer the GOP response to Obama’s speech they are going to be in the minority for a goodly while (and Jindal is a rising star).

You know they are in it deep  when the folk at Fox News are not impressed (you read that right). Any speech is bound to fail when a large portion of it extols the virtue of a government employee who was a bigot.

In the Monday primary, Polis defeated former state Sen. Joan Fitz-Gerald, long considered a heavyweight in Colorado Democratic politics.

He now goes on to face Republican Scott Starin in November. But in a district where Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans, Polis’ victory in the general election is all but assured.

Polis would join Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Barney Frank (D-Mass.) as the only openly gay or lesbian members of Congress.

There was scant controversy in the primary over Polis’ sexuality.

“I think the people chose me for the ideas I articulated, the war in Iraq, the fight for universal health care, and really challenging the status quo,” Polis told a cheering throng at his victory rally, standing with his partner Marlon Reis.

To win the nomination, Polis tapped into his personal fortune producing flashy glossy mailers to voters and a glitzy internet campaign promoting his platform.

Still, the victory makes him the first openly gay person to run for Congress from Colorado.

“Jared’s election is a victory for democracy,” said Chuck Wolfe, president of the Victory Fund, which endorsed Polis.

“Gay Americans are woefully underrepresented in our government. Jared’s victory brings us one step closer to fulfilling America’s promise of a truly representative government.”

Polis, who was previously elected statewide to the Colorado State Board of Education, would fill the seat of Rep. Mark Udall, who is running to represent Colorado in the U.S. Senate.

The Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute, the Victory Fund’s affiliated organization, supported Polis when he came out publicly while serving on the Board of Education.

Polis would become the sixth openly gay person to serve in the House of Representatives. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat elected from Wisconsin in 1998, was the first openly gay person to be elected to the U.S. House as a non-incumbent. Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, also a Democrat, announced he was gay in 1987 after having served several terms in the House. Frank is now the powerful chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. The late Gerry Studds, a Democrat of Massachusetts, came out publicly while serving in the House, as did former Congressman Steve Gunderson, a Republican from Wisconsin, and former Congressman Jim Kolbe, a Republican from Arizona.

No openly gay or lesbian person has yet been elected to the U.S. Senate.