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Burr, Portman targeted ahead of ENDA vote

GOP senators pressed to support LGBT anti-bias legislation

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Richard Burr, Rob Portman, Republican Party, United States Senate, Ohio, North Carolina, gay news, Washington Blade
Richard Burr, Rob Portman, Republican Party, United States Senate, Ohio, North Carolina, gay news, Washington Blade

LGBT activists are pushing Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) (left) and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) to support ENDA (Photos public domain).

UPDATE: Following the initial posting of this article, Burr said in a statement to the Washington Blade that he plans to oppose ENDA.

If a Republican U.S. senator can support marriage equality or vote for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal, why can’t he also back the Employment Non-Discrimination Act?

That’s the question LGBT activists are asking of Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) on the eve of a historic Senate committee vote on ENDA, legislation that would prohibit bias against LGBT workers nationwide.

In one camp, the LGBT group Freedom to Work has enlisted Dan Gurley, who’s gay and a former executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party, to push Burr to vote for ENDA. In another camp, the grassroots organization GetEQUAL is showcasing Ohio mothers to win over Portman.

Gurley, who oversaw anti-gay campaigns at the Republican National Committee before being outed by gay activist Mike Rogers and joining LGBT activism, told the Washington Blade as a former businessperson, Burr should have an interest in voting for ENDA because it would enhance North Carolina’s business climate.

“There’s a lot of transition still taking place in our economy here, but the growth areas, many of them are the creative fields of employment and white-collar growth,” Gurley said. “We strongly feel, and believes that there’s evidence to prove that having non-discrimination laws in place would serve as an important recruitment tool for business, and that’s why it’s an important thing to do for North Carolina and the country.”

Gurley said he hasn’t had any personal conversations with Burr on ENDA, but believes the North Carolina senator would be amenable to the bill because he’s heard from others familiar with his thinking that his support would be a logical step for him.

Burr voted in favor of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal in 2010, but also voted against cloture for the bill before the final vote took place. Burr has said he believes marriage is between one man, one woman, but at the same time believes it should be left for the states to decide.

Tico Almeida, president of Freedom to Work, said Burr should take heed from North Carolina companies that have set up LGBT non-discrimination employment policies.

“Itā€™s long past time for our politicians to follow the good example set by companies with a strong North Carolina presence ranging from American Eagle Outfitters to BP gasoline to Coca-Cola, all of which have endorsed the proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act,” Almeida said.

In Ohio, GetEQUAL is showcasing two mothers with different stories. Both are set to speak at a news conference Wednesday at the John W. Bricker Federal Building in Columbus, Ohio.

One, Lyn Herron, is the mother of a straight son who was a salesperson at a national retail establishment for four years, but was denied several promotions allegedly because the district manager thought he was gay.Ā The other, Gail Burkholder, is the mother of one gay son and one straight son, said she doesn’t know why the federal government treats them differently.

“Both of my boys are over six feet tall, are studying the sciences in college and graduate school, and have found the person with whom they want to have kids and grow old together,” Burkholder said in a statement. “Please tell me which one can and should be legally fired because of who he is, rather than what he can do for his employer!”

Heather Cronk, managing director for GetEQUAL, said her organization is helping bring these stories to Portman’s attention because he already publicly came out for marriage equality after learning his son is gay.

“We’re calling on Senator Portman to ‘evolve’ on workplace discrimination in the same way that he ‘evolved’ on marriage equality ā€” by seeing this issue as one of fundamental fairness and equal opportunity,” Cronk said.

The Human Rights Campaign is also taking action in favor of ENDA on the eve of the Senate markup. The organization announced on Tuesday that the hotel chain Hilton Worldwide will become the 100th major corporation to join HRCā€™s “Business Coalition for Workplace Fairness,” a coalition of U.S. employers that support ENDA.

Although Portman isn’t a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, Burr is. The North Carolina senator’s views on ENDA will become known on Wednesday during the final vote to report the legislation to the floor.

In a statement to the Blade provided by his office, Burr said he plans to oppose ENDA despite his earlier vote in favor of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal ā€” even though he opposes discrimination.

ā€œLike most Americans, I strongly oppose and condemn unjust discrimination,” Burr said. “It is my hope that our society can be tolerant of different people and ideas. That said, whenever we consider new legislation we must always consider the interplay of new laws with existing rights. I am concerned that the ENDA bill would go beyond our existing laws protecting individualsā€™ employment rights and would impose new burdens and legal uncertainties regarding the exercise of religious liberties. Therefore, I plan to oppose the bill.ā€

Last month, Jeffrey Sadosky, a Portman spokesperson, told the Blade that Portman is reviewing ENDA and opposes discrimination, but has concerns about the bill.

ā€œSen. Portman is strongly opposed to discrimination and is looking at proposals to address it,ā€ Sadosky said. ā€œHe is concerned about excessive reliance on litigation as a tool for social change, and will continue to review the most recent version of ENDA.ā€

Attention is also focused on Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska,) a Republican member of the committee that will vote Wednesday on ENDA. She’s hasn’t yet articulated a position on the legislation, but is one of three sitting Republicans support marriage equality and voted for hate crimes protections and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal.

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Congress

House passes spending bill as Greene threatens to oust Johnson

51 of 52 anti-LGBTQ riders were defeated

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) speaks at a press conference on Sept. 20. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The U.S. House of Representatives averted a government shutdown on Friday with a vote of 286-134 to pass the $1.2 trillion spending bill, over the objections of hard-right members like U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).

The congresswoman subsequently filed a motion to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who is himself an ultraconservative legislator. The move marked the second time in six months that the party has called for a vote to oust their own leader.

ā€œToday I filed a motion to vacate after Speaker Johnson has betrayed our conference and broken our rules,ā€ said Greene, who refused to say whether she would call up the resolution to call for a snap vote, which likely means the matter will be delayed until after the two-week recess.

Greene and Johnson are at odds over the content of the minibus appropriations package, with the congresswoman calling it a “Chuck Schumer, Democrat-controlled bill” that does not contain conservative policy demands on matters like immigration and LGBTQ issues.

The speaker, meanwhile, proclaimed, ā€œHouse Republicans achieved conservative policy wins, rejected extreme Democrat proposals, and imposed substantial cuts while significantly strengthening national defense.ā€

With respect to anti-LGBTQ riders submitted by Republican members, more than 50 were ultimately stripped from the bill, which the Human Rights Campaign celebrated as “a victory,” crediting lawmakers for their “bipartisan, bicameral negotiations.”

Of the 52 anti-LGBTQ riders, only one survived in the $1.2 trillion package passed on Friday: A ban on flying Pride flags at U.S. embassies.

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Congress

Massive defeat for anti-trans, anti-LGBTQ riders in spending bill

Proposal has only one rider that would target community

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U.S. Capitol
U.S. Capitol (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

On Thursday, Congress unveiled the much-anticipated spending bill to avert a government shutdown. The bill, which includes funding for major government departments such as Health and Human Services and Education, featured fierce negotiations over conservative ā€œpolicy riders.ā€ 

These policy riders included bans on coverage for gender-affirming care, DEI bans, sports bans and more. Despite some indications that Democrats might compromise due to the sheer number of conservative policy riders, it appears those fears did not come to fruition. Democrats held firm in negotiations, and the most impactful anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ riders were nowhere to be found.

One policy rider proposed for the Food and Drug Administration would have defunded any hospital that ā€œdistributes, sells or otherwise uses drugs that disrupt the onset of puberty or sexual development for those under 18,ā€ a measure targeting not only transgender youth but also those experiencing precocious puberty. 

Another rider sought to bar any government funding toward ā€œsurgical procedures or hormone therapy for the purposes of gender-affirming careā€ in the Department of Health and Human Services. This move would have significantly impacted private and subsidized insurance in the Healthcare Marketplace. It also aimed to bar the enforcement of President Joe Bidenā€™s executive order titled ā€œPreventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity,ā€ which broadened anti-discrimination protections for trans individuals.

Additional riders included bans on funding for any organization thatĀ ā€œpromotes transgenderism,ā€Ā Title IX protections for trans youth, bans on legal challenges against states over anti-LGBTQ+ laws, book bans, DEI bans and more.

In total, over 40 riders were proposed and negotiated in the spending bills. None of these were found in the final bill.

Ultimately, the final spending bill released contained only a single anti-LGBTQ rider: A ban on Pride flags being raised or displayed above foreign embassies. The policy, while certainly qualifying as anti-LGBTQ and a regression to Trump-era policies, notably does not bar personal displays of Pride flags by embassy workers.

In the past, some embassies have gotten around such bans by not ā€œflying a flag over the embassyā€ but rather, painting portions of the embassy in rainbow colors or draping flags on the side of buildings.

News of the defeat of the most impactful anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ riders comes after a significant push from Equality Caucus Democrats and the Biden administration against the riders. ā€œAs you negotiate government funding for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), we write to strongly urge you to reject any attempts to include anti-LGBTQ+ provisions in any final FY24 funding agreement,ā€ said a letter signed by 163 representatives on behalf of the Congressional Equality Caucus to the Biden administration.

However, Republicans also pushed hard for their inclusion. In a shutdown threat issued Feb. 21 from the House Freedom Caucus, Republicans indicated that bans on gender affirming care and trans participation in sports were necessary to prevent a potential shutdown.

Previously, U.S. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) stated that such bans are the “hill we will die on.” In a report published by Axios, one Republican lawmaker stated, ā€œPeople are predicting a shutdown even if it’s just for a few days.ā€ Others concurred, citing gender affirming care riders as one of the potential reasons for such a shutdown.

Many anti-LGBTQ leaders in the Republican Party reacted negatively to the bill. U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)Ā expressed angerĀ at funding for the New Jersey Garden State Equality in Education Fund, calling it ā€œforce feeding the LGBT agenda in schoolsā€ and stating that it enables ā€œgender mutilation surgeries in minors,ā€ ā€œbiological menā€ in womenā€™s bathrooms and trans participation in sports.

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) decried the lack of a DEI ban. U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) stated that Republicans ā€œsurrenderedā€ to Democrats on hormone therapy. The House Freedom Caucus published a lengthy list of healthcare and equality centers that the budget would fund, urging the GOP to vote ā€œnoā€ and to shut down the government.

In a press release published by House Appropriations Democrats, they stated that the bill rejected over a hundred poison-pill riders, many of which targeted LGBTQ people. For example, the Labor-HHS-Education portion of the bill blocked provisions around gender affirming care, sports bans and nondiscrimination.

See the House Appropriations Democrats statement:

Press release, House Appropriations Democrats on Labor-HHS-Education

The bill must pass by Friday evening to avert a government shutdown, though the impacts of such a shutdown would likely not be felt until Monday. If passed, the bill would keep the government funded through September, at which point all of the riders could resurface during the peak of the 2024 presidential election.

However, for the next several months, LGBTQ riders will not pose a significant threat in a year where trans and queer individuals have faced attacks at historic levels.

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Erin Reed is a transgender woman (she/her pronouns) and researcher who tracks anti-LGBTQ+ legislation around the world and helps people become better advocates for their queer family, friends, colleagues, and community. Reed also is a social media consultant and public speaker.

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The preceding article was first published at Erin In The Morning and is republished with permission.

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Congress

Padilla, FCC introduce measure to improve 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

HHS launched effort in 2022

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U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) (Screen capture: YouTube)

U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), joined by U.S. Rep. Tony CƔrdenas (D-Calif.), Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, introduced a measure on Thursday to improve the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Calls are currently routed to mental health professionals and local public safety officials based on the caller’s area code ā€” even though, as the lawmakers and officials noted during their announcement ā€” in many cases, the area code, especially for cell phone numbers, does not match the location from which they are calling.

Under the new proposal, Padilla said, “We’re going to be in a position to be able to provide care as quickly and as safely as possible.”

“In the same way that 911 calls in the case of an emergency are routed to local providers, local first responders, so ambulances can come out and help quickly when you call 911, 988 should be tied to a caller’s location, not their area code,” he said.

Calling Padilla, Tillis, and CĆ”rdenas “great champions of mental health,” Rosenworcel noted, “that’s not our stock and trade” at the FCC.

“We are people who deal with technology and communications,” she said, “but we came to realize that we could work with Congress to make sure that everyone in this country who’s going through a crisis has someone to call and someone who can listen ā€” and that’s why in 2022, we set up 988, the easy-to-remember three digit number for anyone who is in crisis.”

A press release from Padilla’s office explains the details for how the update to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline will work:

“The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) announced today seeks to address the discrepancies and inefficiencies of the current system by proposing the adoption of a rule that would require a georouting solution to be implemented for all wireless calls to the 9-8-8 Lifeline while balancing the privacy needs of individuals in crisis. 

Georouting refers to technical solutions that enable calls to be directed based on the location of the caller without transmitting the callerā€™s precise location information.Ā These solutions would permit wireless calls to the 9-8-8 Lifeline to be directed to nearby crisis centers based on factors such as the cell tower that originated the call rather than the area code of the wireless device used to place the call.”

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline offers LGBTQ-affirming counseling, which is accessible by pressing three.

A 2023 survey by the Trevor Project, which included more than 28,000 LGBTQ participants aged 13-24, found that 41 percent had seriously considered suicide within the past year and 56 percent wanted ā€” but were unable to get ā€” mental health care within the last year.

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