Ros-Lehtinen unsure about LGBT bills under GOP control

A Republican lawmaker known for her support for the LGBT community said Wednesday she’s unsure about the fate of pro-gay bills should the GOP win a majority in the U.S. House in November.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) told the Blade following her remarks at the National Log Cabin Republicans annual dinner in D.C. that she doesn’t know what will happen with pro-LGBT legislation as she took a dig at the current Democratic majority for not moving forward.

“I don’t know what will happen with Republicans,” she said. “I know what’s happening now. I don’t really get an opportunity to get to vote on those [bills] very often on the floor.”

Asked whether she thinks pro-LGBT legislation would advance in a Republican-controlled House, Ros-Lehtinen replied, “The Democrats are in control. I don’t know that they’ve gone forward. … I guess you should ask [U.S. House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi why they haven’t gone forward.”

Ros-Lehtinen is a co-sponsor of many pro-LGBT bills, including the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Domestic Partnership Benefits & Obligations Act as well as legislation that would repeal”Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

The Florida lawmaker could be the Republican leading the way for this legislation if the GOP takes control of the U.S. House in November as many pundits predict. On Sept. 17, Nate Silver, a political analyst and founder of the FiveThirtyEight blog, estimated Republicans have a 63 percent chance of winning the U.S. House.

Asked whether she’ll champion pro-LGBT bills in a Republican-controlled House,  Ros-Lehtinen replied, “I think that there are a lot of champions in a bi-partisan way on these issues. I would not consider myself a champion of anything, but I’m proud to support the bills. But right now, it’s Democrat control, so you got to ask Nancy what’s up.”