National
GOP letter complicates ‘Don’t Ask’ repeal efforts
All 42 members of GOP caucus penned names to missive
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is among the signers of a letter vowing to obstruct movement on certain bills before the Senate (Blade photo by Michael Key.)
A recent letter in which the Senate Republican caucus has pledged to obstruct movement on legislation unrelated to government funding or taxes is complicating efforts for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal.
In the missive, dated Nov. 29, Republicans vow to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that they’ll vote against cloture for any legislative item until the Senate has “acted to fund the government and we have prevented the tax increase that is currently awaiting all taxpayers.”
“With little time left in this Congressional session, legislative scheduling should be focused on these critical priorities,” the letter states. “While there are other items that might ultimately be worthy of the Senate’s attention, we cannot agree to prioritize any matters above the critical issues of funding the government and preventing a job-killing tax hike.”
The letter is signed by all 42 members of the Republican caucus, including those who are seen as swing votes on moving forward with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” such as Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Scott Brown (R-Mass.). Newly seated Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) is also among the signers.
Capitol Hill observers see the letter as an attempt to derail movement on the DREAM Act, an immigration-related bill, as well as repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Legislation to repeal the military’s gay ban is pending before the Senate as part of the fiscal year 2011 defense authorization bill.
A Democratic aide, who spoke to the Washington Blade on condition of anonymity, said the letter is “very, very bad news” for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal efforts.
“They’ve essentially said that they’re going to vote against cloture on any bill but the tax bill, so they’ve actually just all drawn the line … on all armed services bills,” the aide said.
Kevin Kelley, a Collins spokesperson, said in a statement that although the Maine senator signed the letter and believes tax cuts and funding for the government “are the top two priorities for the lame duck session,” she still wants to see “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal this year.
“However, she also believes the there is time in December to consider all three issues, including the defense authorization bill, which includes a repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,'” Collins said. “She has made it clear that if the majority leader brings the defense authorization bill to the floor and allows sufficient debate and amendments, she would vote to proceed to that bill.”
In a statement, Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, chided Republicans for not being as committed to the defense authorization bill as they are to taxes.
“The Republican caucus that has expressed strong support for a vote on extending the Bush era tax cuts should be as equally unified in support of a vote in the lame-duck session on the nation’s defense bill, the very bill which provides for our security and the well being of service members who defend us every day,” Sarvis said.
Winnie Stachelberg, senior vice president for external affairs at the Center for American Progress, said the letter underscores Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has a “sole focus on obstruction” and wants to make President Obama a one-term president.
“Rather than dealing with the myriad of issues that face this country, he’s made clear what his route is,” Stachelberg said.
Stachelberg also noted a recent report from the Washington Post’s Greg Sargeant quoting a Collins spokesperson as saying even though the senator signed the letter, she would be open to voting for a motion to proceed on the defense authorization bill.
Additionally, Stachelberg said she’s had conversations with people on Capitol Hill suggesting Collins, Sen. Richard Lugar and Sen. Lisa Murkowski would be open to voting to moving forward on the defense legislation.
“They actually maintain that while the focus should be on taxes and the economy, that they believe, too, that other issues should be considered as well,” Stachelberg said.
One gay GOP organization was sympathetic to the goals of the letter. R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of the National Log Cabin Republicans, said Congress must push forward with tax legislation “to avoid punitive tax increases come 2011,” but said the Senate can take action on taxes as well as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” before the year’s end.
“Further, while time is limited, the Congress can complete action on taxes as well as a [‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’] repeal inclusive [defense authorization bill],” Cooper said.
Download a copy of the letter here.
National
Results from key Tuesday primary races
State officials in California had not called the governor’s race as of Wednesday morning but Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra appear likely to advance to the general election.
The race for governor has been scrambled several times after Kamala Harris opted not to run, Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced, and Rep. Katie Porter’s campaign fizzled. Becerra would be the state’s first Latino governor since 1875 if elected. Hilton was endorsed by President Trump.
In the Los Angeles mayor’s race, the AP declared that incumbent Mayor Karen Bass will advance to the Nov. 3 runoff while former reality TV star Spencer Pratt and LA Council member Nithya Raman were competing for second place. California is notoriously slow in counting ballots and only about half of the results were available by Wednesday morning.
In San Francisco, Democratic State Sen. Scott Wiener advanced to the general election in November, besting Supervisor Connie Chan, who was endorsed by House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi is retiring from Congress after nearly 40 years in the House.
In Iowa, Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek won the primary for an open U.S. Senate seat, defeating state Sen. Zach Wahls. Turek will face Rep. Ashley Hinson, who won the GOP primary with President Donald Trump’s endorsement, in the general election.
The Iowa seat is open because Sen. Joni Ernst (R) decided not to seek re-election. The primary was closely watched by LGBTQ advocates because Wahls rose to national prominence after a speech he made defending marriage equality went viral in 2011. Wahls was raised by a lesbian couple.
National
White House Correspondents’ Dinner rescheduled after shooting
‘We will not allow an act of violence to have the last word’
The White House Correspondents’ Association announced on Tuesday that it has rescheduled its annual dinner for July 24 after the April event was halted when gunshots rang out at the Washington Hilton.
Cole Allen, 31, is charged with the attempted assassination of President Trump, who was in the ballroom at the time of the incident. One Secret Service officer was wounded in the attack. Officers stopped Allen before he could enter the ballroom where 2,500 journalists and politicos were having dinner and waiting for Trump to speak. It was Trump’s first time attending as president.
“We will not allow an act of violence to have the last word, especially during a year when we are reflecting on the 250th anniversary of America and everything we stand for,” said WHCA President Weijia Jiang in a statement to members.
She did not announce further details, including venue and ticketing.
Washington Blade White House reporter Joe Reberkenny was in the audience when shots were fired and reported live on social media from the scene.
This post will be updated as more details are announced.
Federal Government
Advocates push back on proposed FCC warning labels
New rating system public notice seeking comments issued on April 22
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a new rating system that would require a warning label to appear before any television content that includes LGBTQ characters.
On April 22, the FCC issued a public notice asking Americans to submit comments on whether the TV Oversight Management Board should create new TV ratings to alert viewers to “transgender and gender nonbinary programming” and “the discussion or promotion of gender identity themes.”
This proposed warning would appear before content, similar to warnings that explain a program contains sexual content, drug use, or violence — categories that Congress explicitly included in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 on the grounds of obscenity and violence that some parents “believe is harmful to their children.”
The public notice says that “recently, parents have raised concerns that controversial gender identity issues are being included or promoted in children’s programs without providing any disclosure or transparency to parents.”
It goes on to say that not having a warning for trans and nonbinary people is “undermining the ability of parents to make informed choices for their families.”
LGBT Tech is an organization that works to provide LGBTQ representation in mainstream media or entertainment. The group notes 81 percent of trans respondents it surveyed said these representations had a positive impact on them discovering or learning about their identity.
“These numbers reflect a basic truth: for many people, and especially young people, seeing LGBTQ+ lives represented in ordinary media is not harmful. It is formative, affirming, and often lifesaving.”
Since the public notice’s publication, more than 40 organizations have come out against the proposed alert.
GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis issued a statement in May on the proposal, highlighting what she described as a concerted effort by the Trump-Vance administration to other trans and nonbinary people.
“The FCC does not set TV ratings, but under this administration the FCC has repeatedly tried to control what Americans can see on their own televisions. This government overreach is dangerous and a threat to our community and our democracy,” Ellis said.
“LGBTQ+ people and their families deserve to see their lives represented in the media they watch. And media companies must have the freedom to create programming that appeals to their viewers and subscribers without interference from a government pursuing its own anti-LGBTQ+ political agenda.”
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson pointed out that this is an act of politically motivated policy, not one based on any rhyme or reason.
“LGBTQ+ stories matter and deserve to be told, seen, and heard,” Robinson said. “The Trump administration does not get to use the FCC to try and erase us simply because they want to pretend to live in a world where we don’t exist. This is a brazen form of political interference that will hurt the ability of all people to appreciate, understand, and learn about the world and people around them.”
Brian Dittmeier, director of LGBTQI+ equality at the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, echoed Robinson’s concerns that this is attempted censorship for the sake of political gain.
“The FCC is cloaking itself in purported concern for parents in an attempt to censor content, intimidate industry, and silence depictions of our trans siblings and neighbors,” Dittmeier wrote. “The FCC is overstepping its authority to undermine the existing ratings system, which is well understood by parents and enjoys broad public support. The FCC’s presumption that it knows better does not reflect parents’ priorities and reeks of government overreach.”
PFLAG National Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs Diego Sanchez said this is federal government overreach into censorship — something the First Amendment protects against.
“The FCC has given us yet another example of what ‘small government’ means: small enough to fit in your living room; to interrupt family movie night; small enough to make home feel unsafe,” Sanchez said. “Parents and families with transgender loved ones in particular know too well how big government actions impact their families directly, because they feel those impacts before everyone else.”
This proposed warning follows a slew of other federal actions targeting trans people in America, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandated that only sex assigned at birth be used on federal government documents regardless of gender identity, as well as broad-based restrictions on gender-affirming care, particularly for trans minors.
Results from key Tuesday primary races
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