Liberal Watchdog Group Launches "Equality Matters"

Richard Socarides and Kerry Eleveld of Equality Matters

On the heals of Saturday's historic victory against anti-LGBT bigotry, the liberal watchdog group Media Matters for America has launched what the New York Times is calling "A War Room for Gay Equality". The web-based project Equality Matters was created by Media Matters founder David Brock and Richard Socarides, former domestic policy adviser to President Bill Clinton. The site went online early this morning and will be managed by The Advocate's ace Capital Hill reporter, Kerry Eleveld.

The New York Times reported Sunday:

As gay people around the country reveled on Sunday in the historic Senate vote to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," a liberal media watchdog group said it planned to announce on Monday that it was setting up a "communications war room for gay equality" in an effort to win the movement's next and biggest battle: for a right to same-sex marriage.

The new group, Equality Matters, grew out of Media Matters, an organization backed by wealthy liberal donors -- including prominent gay philanthropists -- that has staked its claim in Washington punditry with aggressive attacks on Fox News and conservative commentators like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.

It will be run by Richard Socarides, a former domestic policy adviser to President Bill Clinton who has been deeply critical of President Obama's record on gay rights. A well-known gay journalist, Kerry Eleveld, the Washington correspondent for The Advocate, will leave that newspaper in January to edit the new group's Web site, equalitymatters.org, which is to go online Monday morning.

LGBT rights activist and author David Mixner hails the new project, saying, "While a range of groups are working to advance gay rights, the movement has lacked a national rapid-response war room of the sort that can push back against homophobic messages in the media and the political arena and keep the pressure on elected officials."

Mixner adds, "I think the lesson we have learned over the last two years is that you've got to be tough and you've got to keep people's feet to the fire."

With the political shift in Washington coming up in just weeks, the unfortunate reality is that we are unlikely to see the introduction or passage any new legislation regarding LGBT equality, but two major challenges still exist. The discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) remains law and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is dead for now. While passing ENDA during the next two years may be all but impossible and legislative repeal of DOMA has a snowball's chance in hell, there are marriage equality cases making their way through the federal courts. Equality Matters has made achieving marriage equality a priority.

Socarides writes on the site's blog:

"The struggle for marriage equality goes back to the late 1980s when groups like Lambda Legal and leaders like civil rights attorney Evan Wolfson (now head of the equality group Freedom to Marry), brought the original same-sex marriage case.  Many, even those who were gay rights supporters then, thought they were asking too much.  The truth is that they were visionaries.

Last year, following voter approval of the anti-gay marriage Proposition 8 in California, another visionary, Chad Griffin, formed the American Foundation for Equal Rights.  He hired two of the best lawyers in America, one of them the most respected conservative legal figure in the country, former Republican Solicitor General Ted Olson and Democratic legal superstar David Boies.  Together, they have since won the most sweeping gay rights court ruling in history.

That ruling captured an historical imperative. Supporting full equal rights is no longer out of the political mainstream, nor should we let our elected officials fail to seize this moment in history to embrace the dignity of each and every human being. Anyone who misses the opportunity will undoubtedly find themselves on the wrong side of history.

And as the Democratic Party starts work on its new national party platform next year, it will have to face the issue head on, as will President Obama."

Although the Equality Matters site is up and running, it looks a little bare bones at the moment. I'm sure that will improve in time. 

Related articles

• "Media Matters starts Equality Matters, 'war room for gay equality,' run by Socarides and Eleveld" and related posts (gay.americablog.com)
• Gay rights group - Equality Matters - launched (sfgate.com)
• Media Matters to Launch New 'War Room' for LGBT Equality (towleroad.com)
• With One Battle Won, Activists Shift Sights (nytimes.com)
• Richard Socarides: Why Equality Matters (huffingtonpost.com)

Be Careful What You Wish For

Well, boys and girls, the Democrats got their asses handed to them last night, as the Republicans gained control of the House and the Teabaggers gained power and influence. The message "Take our country back" (from who?) seems to have gotten some traction with the "disaffected" and "angry" American people. I love it when the sore losers from the last election are now called "disaffected American voters".

Those same Palinite wingnuts seem to have forgotten that it was their party and their policies that created the mess we're in.

Every election is like a psychotic case of buyer's remorse, with the American people deciding they're not happy with the choices they made in the last election. Maybe if they did more research, they wouldn't be so surprised to find out who the people they elected really are. The same old Bush-era nut-jobs have successfully repackaged themselves and the always gullible American people have swallowed it hook, line and sinker.

For me it was worth losing a Democratic seat in congress if it means getting rid of the lying sack of shit from Virginia's 9th District (where I live) Rick Boucher. This guy is a Democrat in name only who is more concerned with protecting the environmental rapists in the coal industry then protecting the jobs of LGBT Americans. I lobbied for his support on passing ENDA, which he assured me in writing that he would do, only to back away over the inclusion of transgender workers, who apparently are supposed to be homeless and hungry in his version of America. Boucher is s self-loathing asshole with plenty of skeletons in his "closet" who deserves to be unemployed after 30 years in office. I'd rather deal with a Republican. At least they're honest about who they are and what they want.

Sadly, Virginia's best Democrat ever, Tom Periello also lost his congressional seat.

Some of the bright spots from yesterday include news that four openly gay Democrats, Barney Frank-MA, David Cicilline-RI, Tammy Baldwin-Milwaukee and Jared Polis-CO, kept their seats. LGBT ally Kristen Gillibrand (NY), who was appointed to replace Hillary Clinton, also kept her seat.

Andrew Cuomo defeated homophobe Carl Paladino to become Governor of New York. Cuomo has said he will sign marriage equality into law if it reaches his desk.

The city of Lexington, KY elected Vice Mayor Jim Gray as its first openly gay mayor.

Perhaps the best news of all is that Sarah Palin's failed clone Christine "I'm not a wiyotch" O'Donnell lost, big time. Now if the media would just stop asking her to talk.

This afternoon I'm going to the voter registrar's office to change my party affiliation in Independent. I am tired of being taken for granted by the Democrats. If they want my support, they're going to have to work for it.

Meanwhile, we have just two months left to see if DADT will be repealed. It's the only piece of LGBT legislation showing any signs of life this year. Forget abut passing ENDA or DOMA repeal. ENDA effectively died with Ted Kennedy, the last true liberal. We have a better chance of achieving marriage equality through the courts anyway.

What are your thoughts on the election results?

Related articles

• Virginia House Democrat Boucher loses re-election: networks (reuters.com)
• 14-term Democratic Rep. Boucher defeated in Va. (thenewstribune.com)
• Democratic Bloodbath in Virginia (newsweek.com)
• Where the Republican Midterm Rout Leaves Obama and the Dems (time.com)
• Republicans Claim Control of House (online.wsj.com)
• Tomorrow The Dems Had Better Begin To Listen To The LGBT Community (lezgetreal.com)

Cool Site of the Week: The Bilerico Project

This week's pic for Cool Site of the Week is long over due. When I first started blogging last year, some of my biggest supporters were the folks at The Bilerico Project, Started in 1998 by Bil Browning and his partner Jerame Davis as a website focused on LGBT issues in Indiana, called Bilerico.com, the site has grown into a nationally recognized source of news, information and opinion, featuring over 75 regular contributors, including a weekly Vlog from out comedian Kate Clinton.

Last year, as I was struggling to find my way in the blogosphere, Bil was kind enough to post one of my stories as a guest blogger. I was bowled over that he and Weekend Editor, Dana Rudolph of Mombian.com liked my story enough to post it. I was even more blown away when they published a second submission a couple of months later.

Dr. Jillian Weiss, Associate Editor of the site, has been an invaluable source of information for me on transgender issues and has been a tireless lobbyist for the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and provides regular updates on its status.

What I love best about Bilerico is that it's a one-stop shop for a true diversity of opinions, commentary and humor from every corner of our community and sets the standard of excellence for bloggers every where. Bil has become a nationally recognized citizen journalist and is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post on LGBT issues. He and Jerame recently relocated to DC, when Jerame took a new job there. This puts the Unambiguously Gay Duo right in the heart of the fight.

If you're looking for a site that is truly representative of the diversity of the LGBTQIA community, I strongly recommend that you check out The Bilerico Project, just don't forget to stop by and see The Rev. now and then. Don't make me come looking for you.

 

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DADT, ENDA Legislative Update

I just wanted to take a minute to share with you the latest info on the status of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) repeal and where we are with passage of the "Employment Non-Discrimination Act" (ENDA). I received the following e-mail this afternoon from my friend and contact at HRC, Terry McGuire. I thought I'd share it with you all:

Hello Friends and Advocates,

Sorry for the mass email, but I wanted to reach as many of you as possible with an update on the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT).

Frankly, there isn’t much new information since earlier in the summer. Congress is currently not in session during the August recess, and most members of Congress are home campaigning.  Congress will return to session on Monday, September 13th.

HRC continues to push for a Senate vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes DADT repeal. Senator Reid indicated that he would like to take the bill up in September. It’s important to keep the pressure on Senate leadership as well as rank and file Senators. The number of congressional work days in September is limited, and there are many bills awaiting Senate action. Because it will take some time to reconcile the differences in the House and Senate versions of the NDAA before the bill reaches the President’s desk, it’s critically important that we push for a Senate vote in September.

As for Virginia’s Senators, I would encourage you to continue applying friendly pressure on Senator Warner. Unfortunately, we do not expect Senator Webb to change his position and support repeal this year. If you are inclined to express disappointment with his office, please remember that he has supported the LGBT community on other issues and we should remain respectful and polite.

Regarding the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), we continue to push for a House vote before the end of the year.  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has said that she is committed to House action on the bill this year. A House vote on a fully inclusive ENDA would be a significant and historic event. A Senate vote on ENDA looks very difficult this year.

If you have not already done so, please contact your representatives and senators regarding ENDA and DADT repeal. Our Countdown 2010 site is a great tool to help you contact your elected officials. Visit www.countdown2010.hrc.org for more information.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the upcoming elections. This is expected to be a particularly bad year for our fair-minded incumbents. A lot of our friends will likely lose their seats, making our work even more challenging next year and in the years to come. I would strongly encourage you to get as involved as possible in your local races, particularly if you live in an area with a hotly contested election. To learn more about the competitive races around the country, try taking a peek at  www.cqpolitics.com

Thanks again for all that you have done in the movement to repeal DADT. I firmly believe that all of the hard work will pay off very soon. In about a week I will be deploying to Minnesota to work on that state’s gubernatorial race. We are optimistic that if we can elect Mark Dayton (D) as the next governor from Minnesota that the legislature would work to pass a marriage equality bill to send to his desk. Dayton is strongly pro-marriage equality, so Minnesota might well be the next state to enact full marriage equality! While I expect to remain very busy, please don’t hesitate to email or call if there is anything at all I be helpful with….or if you just want to say hello.

All the best, and I’ll see you around!

Terry McGuire
Western Regional Field Organizer | Human Rights Campaign
1640 Rhode Island Ave., NW | Washington DC | 20036
c: 202-294-0784
terry.mcguire@hrc.org | www.hrc.org

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Roanoke's LGBT Community Leaders Meet with Sen. Mark Warner's Staff

Leaders of Roanoke's LGBT community met Friday morning at the downtown office of Sen. Mark Warner with Beatriz Ibarra, Legislative Counsel to the senator. The meeting was arranged by Roanoke Equality (RE) Founder, Frank House and Senator Warner's Constituent Services Director, Lou Arnatt Kadiri.

Ibarra traveled from Washington to meet with a cross section of Roanoke LGBT Community Leaders to give them the opportunity to ask questions and voice their concerns about the lack of progress on our issues.

Along with yours truly, there were seven representatives from our community in the conference room at 129 Salem Ave., including Frank and his partner Richard Sifton, Rev. Joe Cobb of MCC of the Blue Ridge, Sean Avedano, of The Roanoke Pride Pageants and The Roanoke Pride Committee and Garland Gravely, of Fashionista Roanoke. Others in the meeting were Suzanne Ashley and Eugene Shanklin, who attended to show their support of LGBT equality.

The topics of discussion ranged from mainstream subjects like stem cell research, to the status of ENDA and DADT repeal. Ms. Ibarra explained that there has been such a legislative log jam on Capitol Hill with health care reform, the troubled economy and the extension of unemployment benefits, that LGBT issues have had to be put on the back burner. One of the pressing issues expected to dominate this legislative session is a debate about whether to extend the Bush Tax Cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans during a period when unemployment continues to hover in the 9% -10% range.

Ibarra did say, however, that when congress returns from its summer recess, one of the first pieces of legislation they will take up is the Defense Authorization Bill, which is expected contain language repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

RE's Frank House pointed out to Ibarra that Sen. Warner has not sponsored or cosponsored a single piece of legislation that our community is most concerned about. He asked Ibarra to convey to the senator that our community is "impatient about getting somewhere" and that "we are not seeing results".

House also sent a message to Senator Warner, challenging him to sign on as a cosponsor of a senate version of "The Respect For Marriage Act", which is intended to repeal much of the Defense of Marriage Act. The bill was introduced in congress last year by Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY).

Both Rev. Joe Cobb and Sean Avedano raised the issue of ENDA, pointing out that protecting jobs for LGBT workers during the worst recession since The Great Depression, should be a higher priority.  Rev. Cobb told Ibarra, "Economic realities are primary when people are hurting financially."

Avedano also discussed the warming trend toward the LGBT community among some influential Republicans, telling Ibarra that it would be a shame if the Republicans were able to take credit for moving forward on LGBT equality after decades of  foot-dragging by the Democrats.

I had a chance to talk to Ibarra after the meeting. We discussed Ken Melhman's coming out last month and Bill O'Reilly's remarks to Jay Leno in July calling on the president to abolish DADT with the stroke of a pen.

I also mentioned Glenn Beck's recent statements in favor of same-sex marriage and Ann Coulter's scheduled key note speech at GOProud's HOMOCON convention later this month. Ibarra admitted she was unaware of any of this summer's biggest developments. She also said she did not know about the "Don't Ask, Don't Give" campaign, launched last year by LGBT activists as an economic boycott of the Democratic National Committee, encouraging queers instead to give to individual candidates, until we see more leadership and results.

With all due respect, Ms. Ibarra, consider yourself schooled.

From what she told us during the course of our meeting, as legislative counsel, Ibarra meets with Senator Warner on a daily basis. We are all hopeful that she shares with him what she learned here in the valley, specifically that Roanoke's LGBT community is large, diverse, increasingly organized and paying attention. We want Senator Warner and the Democrats to lead decisively on full LGBT Equality and we want him to know that, with the recent overtures from the key Republicans, the LGBT community's loyalty to the Democrats is no longer a sure thing.

Well done, Frank.
 

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Breaking: GetEQUAL Protesters Arrested in Capitol Rotunda

Several members of GetEQUAL, the direct action LGBT rights group that staged sit-ins at the Washington, DC and San Francisco offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in March and shut down traffic on the Las Vegas Strip last week, have been arrested after staging a sit-in in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC on  Wednesday afternoon. The group called on Pelosi to move forward with a floor vote on the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

GetEQUAL co-founder Robin McGehee said via FaceBook, "We are pressuring Speaker Pelosi to move on ENDA because, while we know that she values the legislation, we have yet to see her show the leadership she's promised in taking ENDA out of committee and moving it through the House."
‎

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LGBT Groups Send Open Letter to Pelosi Urging Movement on ENDA

Eight LGBT groups sent an open letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calling on her to stop the delays, stop the lies and schedule a floor vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA):

From San Francisco Pride at Work, One Struggle, One Fight, GetEqual, Harvey Milk Democratic Club, Transgender Law Center, National Center for Lesbian Rights, El / La, and National Pride at Work

An Open Letter to the House Speaker on ENDA

We are writing to express how extremely troubled we are that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) has not yet been scheduled for a vote by the full House of Representatives. We believe a floor vote must be scheduled for ENDA immediately.

It would be devastating for LGBT workers for this Congress to not complete its work on ENDA before the end of this session. ENDA would be historic in the number of LGBT people who would benefit from its passage. During this economic crisis, it is more important than ever to prohibit the often impoverishing effects of workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Most LGBT workers have no protections from workplace discrimination. ENDA would provide legal protection against discrimination nationally. Over and over we have been promised that a vote would be scheduled on ENDA, and these promises have been repeatedly broken. In 29 states, it is still legal to fire someone solely because they are lesbian, gay or bisexual. And in 38 states it is legal to fire someone solely for being transgender. The current version of the bill would outlaw discrimination on both sexual orientation and gender identity.

A 2006 study by the San Francisco Bay Guardian and the Transgender Law Center found that 60 percent of transgender people in San Francisco earn less than $15,300 per year, only 25 percent have a full-time job and nearly 9 percent have no source of income.

Only 4 percent reported making more than $61,200, which is about the median income in the Bay Area. More than half of local transgender people live in poverty, and 96 percent earn less than the median income. Forty percent of those surveyed don't even have a bank account. What this study reveals is that even in a city that is considered a haven for the LGBT community, transgender workers face profound employment challenges and discrimination.

A 2007 meta-analysis from the Williams Institute of 50 studies of workplace discrimination against LGBT people found consistent evidence of bias in the workplace. The analysis found that up to 68 percent of LGBT people reported experiencing employment discrimination, and up to 17 percent said they had been fired or denied employment.

Public opinion polling shows that Americans are overwhelmingly in favor of making sure LGBT Americans get the same employment opportunities as everyone else. In fact, the latest surveys shows that nearly 90% of Americans support workplace fairness for LGBT workers.

As you know, in a few weeks, Congress will finish it's legislative business for the year so that they can return to their districts to run for re-election. Last month at a LGBT Pride event, Congresswoman Jackie Spier announced to the LGBT community that not only would we not get ENDA before the end of the legislative session, that she did not think we would get it for five years because we won't have enough votes in Congress again to ensure passage. It is ironic that Congress plans on leaving town and going home to campaign for their own jobs while leaving thousands of LGBT workers without protections for the next five years. When 90% of Americans support workplace fairness, it is challenging to believe that anyone fears a backlash from the voters. The time to pass ENDA is now. The American people support it, the politicians promised it. No more broken promises. We demand that a vote be scheduled now.

Sincerely,

SF Pride at Work, One Struggle, One Fight, GetEqual, Harvey Milk Democratic Club, Transgender Law Center, National Center for Lesbian Rights, El / La and National Pride at Work 

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CA Congresswoman Predicts ENDA Passage Could Take 5 years

Congresswoman Jackie Speier recently told a crowd at the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club Pride breakfast in San Francisco that DADT will be history this year, but getting ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, passed could take another five years.

In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter following the annual breakfast, Speier broke ranks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has consistently stated that ENDA will pass this year.

From The Bay Area Reporter:

Addressing the crowd of gay and straight political and community leaders at Sunday's Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club Pride breakfast, Speier said, "Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi is doing all she can to ensure a majority for next year so we can pass ENDA."

Asked later in a brief interview if that meant the House would not vote on ENDA this year, Speier told the B.A.R. , "The rest of the year is in question."

"There's no question 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' will be history this year," she said. "ENDA, we will have that law for sure within the next five years."

Speier, a Democrat whose district includes parts of San Mateo and San Francisco counties, said she was acknowledging reality.

"I'm being realistic," she said.

With Congress leaving Washington, D.C. next week for its Fourth of July recess, and the summer recess in August, there's not much time left before members head out on the campaign trail in the fall ahead of the November midterm elections.

Speier also said that right now there are 290 bills in the Senate awaiting action that the House has already passed. Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said Monday that the number was now over 300 bills.

"A lot depends on the Senate," Speier said.

While this is a disappointing -- but not completely unexpected -- development, it is refreshing to hear truth coming from an elected official. I just wish it had come sooner so we could step up our efforts before the 2010 election madness kicks off. Read the full story here.

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Queer Media/Bloggers Meet with Obama Aide, Leave Unimpressed

The White House Office of Media Affairs invited several members of the LGBT media, including noted queer bloggers, to meet with a top presidential aide in Washington Thursday to address our concerns, mainly, why there has been no movement on the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

Those in attendance included Americablog's Joe Sudbay, Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend, Dr. Jillian Weiss of the Bilerico Project and Lisa Keen from Keen News Service, Lou Chibarro of the Washington Blade, Paul Schindler from Gay City News and Jen Colletta from Philadelphia Gay News.

From all reports, nobody in attendance was impressed by the "more of the same" answers given by Melody Barnes, Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.The purpose of the meeting at the Old Executive Office Building seems to have been to reassure the LGBT community that the president cares about our issues. Judging from the reports of those who attended to meeting, the administration once again missed the mark.

Bilerico's Dr. Jillian Weiss, a trans rights activist and university professor, who has provided me with invaluable advice on transgender/trans-sexual issues writes:
"I enjoyed meeting Melody Barnes. She was genuine, personable, and very, very smart and knowledgeable. I am genuinely thankful for the work she and the other members of the Administration, including the President, have put in on LGBT rights.

But I don't feel like I walked out with any more information than I walked in with. I already knew that the President was letting the legislative branch get away with ignoring LGBT rights.
I'd like to be able to say I was satisfied with these answers. I'm sure you'd like to say nice things too. But it seems we have a fundamental disagreement with the President as to what his job is. Is it to lead -- or to follow?"

Oh, he's led on plenty of legislative issues. Health care. Financial reform. And a bunch of others. But not on our issues. On that it's "up to them."

Pam Spaulding writes:
"Short version: Nothing new was learned, despite numerous attempts to get substantive answers about administration policy; move along to the next PHB post.

Long version: Keep reading if you want color commentary and a general review on the dodge and parry.

Assistant to the President Barnes started off, as expected, summarizing a list of administration accomplishments, noting of course, other than signing hate crimes legislation, all have been accomplished through executive action only (Cinderella Crumbs), such as hospital visitation, Family Medical Leave Act extension, HUD's announcement on LGBT discrimination policy, changes in addressing transgender passport application measures, and the lifting of the HIV ban. She underscored that the President is trying to accomplish as much as possibly in this manner, which does not require Congressional approval."

Americablog's Joe Sudbay asked Barnes about "killer amendments", like funding for the F-35 jet engine that nobody wants, that are part of the current Defense Spending Bill, that could kill DADT repeal. Barnes answered, "What I can tell you is that when we see the amendments that are filed that we will continue to do what we did through the process in the House, which is work to make sure that this moves forward. Obviously, if there is an effort to undermine repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the President wouldn't be supportive of that. At the same time, I can't sit here and walk through hypotheticals for amendments that I haven't seen and haven't been filed."

Sudbay writes, "We know that the administration thinks DADT and DOMA are discriminatory. We've heard that many times, but the administration continues to defend those laws in court. But, today, several of us asked Barnes if the administration considers DADT and DOMA unconstitutional? She's going to get back to us."

I guess my question would be, why did the White House feel that it was necessary to invite these respected journalists and bloggers to travel all the way to DC -- at their own expense -- just to have some administration lackey tell them what we've already heard a million times before? I do have to say that those who made the trip asked some tough questions. I recommend reading their posts on the event. For their part, the administration was just engaging in yet another elaborate circle jerk.

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Obama Serves Up More Lip Service at Pride Reception

Citing a laundry list of his accomplishments on LGBT issues, President Obama hosted a reception last night in honor of Pride Month.

• Matthew Shepherd Hate Crimes Act: Check, 

• Domestic partner benefits for federal workers: Check

• FMLA benefits for Lesbian and Gay parents: Check.

In light of the fact that we've heard this all before, what can I say that I haven't said before?

Yes, he's done more for LGBT Americans than any other president in the history of the US. Yes, he's got a lot on his plate, but it sort of comes with the job. He made lots of promises to the LGBT community in return for our support and he's been fiddle around for 18 months with his piecemeal approach to helping us achieve full equality.

In the following video, the Big O addresses the crowd made up of LGBT youth, like Constance McMillen, who sued her school for the right to attend her prom with her girlfriend and country music star Chely Wright, who recently came out as a lesbian. Also in the carefully selected crowd were leaders of state LGBT rights groups, but leaders from national groups, like HRC's Joe Solmonese and GetEqual's Robin McGehee were notably not invited.

Notice that when he talks about passing an inclusive ENDA, he says that no one should be fired for being gay, but leaves out gender expression or identity. Did Obama tip his hand? Are trans people being thrown under the bus? Stay tuned folks. This should be in interesting summer.

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State LGBT Leaders Invited to White House Pride Reception, National Leaders Left Out

The President will play host to leaders from state LGBT organizations at today's Pride Month reception at the White House. Maybe these queer leaders will do what our national leaders don't seem to have the stones to do -- lead!

With the president taking so much heat from some national LGBT orgs and most LGBT bloggers, maybe he thought he'd call in the second string team, who might be more grateful and less critical. My guess is that that the Big O is in for a rude awakening. State groups are hungrier than the national orgs. They don't have the spotlight very often or the financial backing to get their messages out. I'm betting that at least some of them will use the opportunity to hammer the prez on his failure to deliver on ENDA and the repeal of DOMA and DADT.

The Washington Blade reports:

People speaking anonymously to the Blade have said invitations generally were restricted to the heads of state equality groups, members of the LGBT community with compelling stories and a contingent of LGBT youth.

The upcoming reception recalls a similar White House event last year. That reception came in the wake of the publication of a controversial legal brief from the Justice Department defending the Defense of Marriage Act, a move that incurred the rancor of many LGBT activists.

But this year’s reception follows no such controversy and seems to be targeting different members of the LGBT community. The leaders of national LGBT groups — including Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese — weren’t invited to the event next week, according to one source.

Leaders of state equality groups who were invited to the White House Pride reception and said they want to hear Obama speak about issues affecting LGBT people in the places they represent.

Ian Palmquist, executive director of Equality North Carolina, said he wants the president to urge Congress to move forward with pro-LGBT legislation, particularly the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

“I would like the president to publicly and vocally call on Congress to pass ENDA as soon as possible,” Palmquist said. “I believe that ENDA is the most important item on our agenda right now — and passing it would have a transformative effect on a lot of LGBT people in our country.”

North Carolina is among the states that have no laws intended to protect LGBT residents against discrimination in the workforce.

Palmquist said he would speak with Obama about the importance of ENDA if given the chance during the reception.

“I think I’d tell him about the impact that discrimination is having on people here in North Carolina and why it’s so important for him to stand up and ask that ENDA be passed as soon as possible,” he said.

According to On Top Magazine, one such notable invitee with a compelling story is teen activist Constance McMillen, who made headlines last year for suing the Itawamba County Mississippi school district for the right to attend her prom with her girlfriend.

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Obama Administration Passes the Buck on Fair Housing for LGBT Americans

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced Monday that all applicants for funding must comply with all state and local laws prohibiting discrimination of the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. Currently there is no federal law prohibiting such discrimination. Only 20 states and the District of Columbia have laws providing protection based on sexual orientation and only 10, plus DC have protection based on gender identity or expression.

HUD provides funding to federal, state and local agencies for affordable housing programs and oversees the Federal Housing Authority, which insures loans made to low income and first-time home buyers.

“We‘re using every avenue to shut the door against discrimination,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Today, we take an important step to insist that those who seek federal funding must demonstrate that they are meeting local and state civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.”

This is one of those "no news is good news" stories. While this is a step forward in federal recognition of the fact that LGBT Americans have no rights, it does nothing to expand our rights. All it does is require lenders, landlords, and others involved in buying, selling or renting living spaces to abide by the state and local laws -- that they are already required to abide by -- if they want money from HUD.

Several years ago I was a HUD-certified housing counselor and conducted first-time home buyer counseling and seminars for a local debt counseling agency. I know from having written HUD grant applications that the agency already requires you to submit paperwork showing that your organization is in compliance with all federal, state and local fair housing laws. Failure to provide such documentation means no money.

This whole story smacks of more Obama lip service. It is no coincidence that this announcement comes during Pride Month. This summer we are dealing with some very serious issues. The repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and getting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed are two that come to mind. Why isn't the president pushing congress to pass a trans-inclusive ENDA? Why has there been no movement on repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)?

The only real news, buried at the end of the press release, is that HUD will now require that all applicants for FHA-backed loans be considered on their income, creditworthiness and other relevant factors and not their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

The HUD statement also announced... wait for it... a study. Yes, in what's becoming a hallmark of the Obama administration, if you want to be perceived as doing something, while actually doing nothing, launch a long, expensive study. This one is relying on the LGBT community to offer suggestions on how the study should be conducted by visiting a web site and leaving comments.

While all of this is being greeted by the LGBT community with much fanfare, there is not much about this announcement that is new. Contrary to what you might read elsewhere, this is not historic. There is no change, or proposed change, to the Federal Fair Housing Act, just a passing of the buck to those states and municipalities that have the balls to stand up for LGBT Americans while the federal government, once again, does nothing.

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Tell the Democrats How you Feel

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has launched a page on its web site called Your Voice Matters where they are asking members of the LGBT community for our opinion of the DNC. I say we let them have it, right in the face!

The format is very simple, a space for comments and spaces for your contact information. The DNC promises to deliver all of the comments to DNC Chairman and former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. There are a few things I'd like to share with him about his lack of action on LGBT rights during his four-years in Richmond as well.

Here are some of the things I'm going to share with the do-nothing Dems:

1. LGBT Americans are tired of supporting candidates that pay lip service to our community during election campaigns, then throw us under the bus to save their own careers once they are in office.

2. We insist on a moratorium on discharges under Don't Ask, Don't Tell until full repeal is achieved. We insist on a time table for full repeal. We insist on a legally binding non-discrimination policy for military service to protect LGBT service members in the future.

3. We insist that congress pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) this year with full protection for the trans members of our community. We will not allow Democrats to strip protection from employment discrimination on the basis of gender expression or identity from ENDA in order to save their own jobs this November.

4. We call on Democrats to begin the process of repealing the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act and to work for full legal recognition of our relationships and families.

5. We put the Democrats on notice that failure to follow through on their commitment to LGBT Americans, who have supported them for over four decades, will result in the loss of our support with our votes and our checkbooks.

Click here to go to the site and share your opinion.

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CALL TO ACTION!: Call Virginia Congressmen Boucher and Nye and tell them pass ENDA with Trans Protection

With all the focus on Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal this week, let's not lose sight of the fact that we are also extremely close to getting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed as well. The question is whether protection for gender identity or expression will be stripped from the bill before it goes to a final vote.

I have it from a reliable source that there are some representatives in Washington who don't want their names on legislation that includes anti-discrimination protection for trans people, out of fear it will hurt their chances for re-election. For them, this is the only sticking point in getting ENDA passed. We cannot allow our trans brothers and sisters to be thrown under the bus!

Two such congressmen, Rick Boucher (D-Va.), from the very conservative 9th District in western and far southwestern Virginia (my home district, which includes Virginia Tech and Radford University) and Glenn Nye (D-Va.) from Virginia's 2nd District (Pat Robertson's Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach area) are considering proposing a motion to rescind, which is a procedure that allows legislation to be stripped of certain components after the final language has been approved.

Confused? It's sort of like getting an low insurance rate quote only to find out that your actual rate is higher after you sign up. It's nothing more than a classic "bait and switch" con game.

The trans-inclusive language has been part of ENDA since last year. There are some who didn't like it at the time, but we still had the votes to pass it, if the president and congress hadn't dragged their feet. Boucher and Nye and some others have begun to get nervous now that this legislation has been dragged out into the mid-term election season.

When I met with Rick Boucher's staff in his Pulaski, Virginia office last October, with two students from Virginia Tech, to ask for his support for ENDA, we were assured by his staff that Boucher would most likely vote in favor of it's passage. When I received a letter from Congressman Boucher (four months later) acknowledging the meeting, he assured me that he would, in fact, be voting in favor of ENDA's passage. At no time was there any mention by Boucher of not wanting to include gender identity or expression as a protected status.

That was before Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council started his anti-ENDA smear campaign with videos like this, that call ENDA "the end of religious liberty and free speech in America":


Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell said earlier this year that he didn't include LGBT protection in his executive order of employment protection because the U.S. Constitution already provides such protection. Hello, Mr. Governor? WRONG!! That's why we need ENDA with full protection for all people, including LGBT Americans.

Call Rick Boucher and Glenn Nye today and tell them not to be swayed by lies from the religious right. Virginia has always prided itself as being a "right to work" state. No one should be fired from their job because of factors that don't effect their ability to to that job. Rick Boucher has a long pro-jobs track record in southwestern Virginia. With the economy in such a mess, people who have jobs should be able to keep them without fear of discrimination.

Call Congressman Boucher and Congressman Nye via the congressional switchboard in Washington at (202) 224-3121, (or at the numbers below) and tell them to pass the current version of ENDA that includes protection on the basis of gender expression or identity. This is no time to be throwing people under the bus.

Local numbers are:
Rick Boucher: Direct line in DC: (202) 225-3861, Pulaski, Va., (540) 980-3410, Abingdon, Va., (276)-628-1145, Big Stone Gap (276) 523-5450.

Glenn Nye: Direct Line in DC (202) 225-4215, Virginia Beach, (757) 326-6201, Accomac, Va., (757) 789-5092. 

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Pelosi: "DADT will be a memory by Christmas." (Video)

Yes, it sounds like a broken record. We've heard this all before from our elected officials. We've been getting mixed messages from the White House on Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) repeal for the past year and a half.  Does it have any more weight this time around? Possibly.

At Equality California's Harvey Milk Day celebrations over the weekend, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi discussed the the frustration felt by the LGBT community and her commitment to passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and overturning The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and DADT. Pelosi told her audience, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell will be a memory by Christmas."

If any of these measures is going to be moved forward this year, it's going to take strong leadership in congress. I have no doubt that Nancy Pelosi is on our side. What remains to be seen is whether she still has the clout to gather enough support in congress. 

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GetEqual Protest on Capitol Hill Today at Noon over Lack of Movement on ENDA

GetEqual the direct action LGBT rights group announced yesterday via press release that they will be staging a protest on Capitol Hill today calling on congress to move forward and vote on the much delayed Employment Non-Discrimination Act. ENDA, which would make it illegal to discriminate against LGBT people in the workplace has suffered setback after setback, even though there appears to be enough support in Washington to pass it.

The clock is counting down on the current legislative session. There are less than 45 days left before congress adjourns for the mid-term election season in November.

GetEqual posted this statement on their website:

“We’ve heard all we can stand to hear from leaders in Congress, they promised a vote this calendar year and we expect them to honor their word,” said Robin McGhee, co-founder of GetEQUAL. “As the window continues to slowly close on available legislative calendar dates to vote on ENDA in the House and in the Senate, we will continue to hold Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid accountable for the direct promise they made to the LGBT community. Our community has done the work to lobby and educate members of Congress on the need for a fully inclusive ENDA and now is the time to stop the talking and start the voting.”

The picketing is scheduled to last for two hours from 12p - 2pm  near the Library of Congress, at the intersection of Independence Ave. SE and 1st St. SE. If you're in DC today and can lend your support to the effort, please be there.

GetEqual is responsible for the Don't Ask, Don't Tell protests where Lt. Dan Choi and others chained themselves to the White House fence and for staging sit-ins at the district offices House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. John McCaine.

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Pelosi on ENDA and DADT: "I have no intention of losing either of these."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a conference call Monday with LGBT advocacy groups to spell out her plans to move forward on LGBT legislation during the current congressional session. The Advocate reports:

The speaker relayed different avenues to passing both “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act this year and solicited feedback from advocates, according to two participants of the call.

“I have no intention of losing on either of these,” Pelosi said, according to one person on the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

A second participant said the speaker discussed the timing of taking a vote on ENDA relative to a DADT repeal vote, which is automatically built into the calendar for next week based on the fact that the House is scheduled to consider the National Defense Authorization Act that week. A DADT repeal measure is likely to be proposed on the House floor as an amendment to the defense bill.

The second source said the speaker went through the chronology of the calendar and the fact that taking a vote on ENDA and DADT in the same week is literally impossible from a scheduling standpoint. Pelosi also said she thought ENDA would have a much better likelihood of passing if DADT repeal were successfully ushered through first.

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