|
 |
JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
Friday, June 06, 2008
The
only
two
openly
gay
members
of
Congress
announced
Wednesday
creation
of
the
“LGBT
Equality
Caucus,”
comprised
of
52
members
of
the
U.S.
House
of
Representatives.
Reps.
Tammy
Baldwin
(D-Wis.)
and
Barney
Frank
(D-Mass.),
who’ve
taken
the
lead
previously
in
introducing
gay
legislation,
were
joined
by
13
of
their
colleagues
at
a
news
conference
on
Capitol
Hill.
Baldwin
said
the
caucus
will
be
both
“symbolic
and
substantive”
and
“will
serve
as
a
resource
for
members
of
Congress,
their
staffs
and
the
general
public
on
LGBT
issues.”
“Our
work
this
session
on
legislation
combating
hate
crimes
and
employment
non-discrimination
highlighted
the
need
and
the
desire
people
had
for
more
information,”
Baldwin
said,
referring
to
the
Matthew
Shepard
Hate
Crimes
Act
and
the
Employment
Non-Discrimination
Act
(ENDA).
The
House
passed
ENDA,
but
the
Senate
has
yet
to
take
it
up
this
session.
The
hate
crimes
measure
was
attached
to
the
Defense
authorization
bill,
but
later
yanked.
Baldwin
also
said
the
new
group’s
existence
“makes
a
strong
statement
about
the
values
this
Congress
and
this
nation
hold
dear.”
She
said
the
caucus
will
“engage
in
substantive
work
to
achieve
the
extension
of
equal
rights
and
the
repeal
of
discriminatory
laws.”
Frank
intimated
that
Baldwin
had
done
much
of
the
behind-the-scenes
work
to
get
the
caucus
started.
“People
have
asked,
‘Why
now?,’”
Frank
said.
“The
answer
is
that
before
this
Congress,
there
wouldn’t
have
been
enough
for
us
to
do.
Until
this
Congress,
the
role
of
those
of
us
supportive
of
legal
equality,
the
progress
of
sexual
orientation
and
gender
identity
was
purely
defensive
and
you
don’t
need
a
big
caucus
to
say
no.”
Scoffing
at
notions
of
a
“radical
homosexual
agenda”
Frank
said
his
opponents
have
suggested,
he
said
his
work
and
the
work
of
the
caucus
will
pertain
to
three
main
areas.
“They
essentially
are
the
right
to
get
married,
the
right
to
join
the
military
and
the
right
to
have
a
job,”
Frank
said.
“Now
what
radical,
in
the
history
of
the
world,
would
have
considered
joining
the
military,
getting
married
and
going
to
work?”
Frank
said
the
caucus
will
work
to
make
sexual
orientation
and
gender
identity
“irrelevant
legally.”
Baldwin
said
that
while
some
work
will
start
now
—
she
mentioned
educational
briefings
on
the
Hill
and
building
communication
networks
between
Caucus
members
to
allow
them
to
correspond
“on
a
rapid
basis”
—
the
group
will
also
be
building
a
foundation
for
next
year.
“We’ll
have
a
new
president
and
one
who
hopefully
will
not
issue
veto
threats
on
a
number
of
the
things
that
will
go
through
the
House,”
Baldwin
said.
Some
gay
rights
advocates
are
frustrated
with
Congress.
ENDA
was
opposed
by
many
transgender
activists
who
objected
to
the
House
version
that
passed
because
it
didn’t
include
a
transgender
clause.
Frank
said
it
wouldn’t
have
passed
with
trans
inclusion.
Frank
indicated
Wednesday
that
the
House
may
consider
a
separate
trans
bill.
He
said
he
spoke
with
Rep.
George
Miller
(D-Calif.)
Tuesday
about
the
issue.
“We
will
be
having
the
hearing
on
transgender
protection,
employment
protection
for
transgenders,
very
soon,”
Frank
said.
ENDA
hasn’t
been
introduced
in
the
Senate
and
its
future
is
uncertain
because
Sen.
Edward
Kennedy
(D-Mass.),
who
is
fighting
brain
cancer,
planned
to
introduce
it.
Baldwin
said
the
new
caucus
has
no
plans
to
lobby
senators.
“I
think
the
primary
focus
for
this
House
caucus
for
right
now
will
be
trying
to
pave
the
way
for
even
more
advances
in
the
next
session,”
she
said.
There’ve
been
no
discussions
of
a
Senate
version
of
the
caucus
but
Baldwin
said,
“perhaps
we
can
lead
by
example.”
Among
the
co-chairs
who
spoke
Wednesday
were
Reps.
Jose
Serrano
(D-N.Y.),
Hilda
Solis
(D-Calif.),
Chris
Shays
(R-Conn.),
Barbara
Lee
(D-Calif.),
Lois
Capps
(D-Calif.),
Mike
Honda
(D-Calif.),
James
McGovern
(D-Mass.)
and
Jerry
Nadler
(D-N.Y.),
who
pledged
increased
gay
rights
in
his
state.
“We
still
have
a
ways
to
go
to
get
as
far
as
California,”
he
said.
“But
we’ll
get
there
as
soon
as
we
get
another
state
Senate
next
year.”
|
 |
