National
Health care reform expected to include LGBT provisions
WASHINGTON — A recently reported decision by congressional leaders to forgo a formal conference committee for health care reform legislation shouldn’t impact the chances of LGBT-specific and HIV/AIDS language making it into the final bill, according to advocates of the provisions.
House and Senate leaders are hammering out the differences in health care legislation that each chamber passed last month aimed at providing coverage to 36 million uninsured Americans. Lawmakers are seeking to produce a single bill and send it to President Obama’s desk for him to sign before his State of the Union address, which the Associated Press reported could take place in early February.
Media sources reported this week that congressional leaders have opted out of having a formal conference committee for health care legislation. Instead, House and Senate leaders will hold negotiations based on the Senate bill.
The Associated Press reported this strategy would allow Democratic leaders to exclude Republicans from the negotiations and prevent them from delaying the legislation or forcing politically troubling votes in either the House or the Senate.
Although negotiations will be based on the Senate legislation — which lacks most of the LGBT and HIV/AIDS provisions — those supporting the provisions said the lack of a conference committee shouldn’t be problematic.
Ed Shelleby, spokesperson for Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), who’s sponsoring a standalone bill similar to the House bill’s tax penalty elimination provision for domestic partners, said whatever form the negotiations take “will not likely have too much an [effect] on the likelihood of the domestic partnership provision ending up in the final bill.”
“We still expect significant portions of the House version that aren’t in the Senate version to end up in the final package and Congressman McDermott is working to make this very important domestic partnership provision one of them,” Shelleby said.
Others also said the lack of a conference committee doesn’t mean the LGBT provisions are lost. A senior Democratic aide, who spoke to DC Agenda on the condition of anonymity, said, “with respect to the LGBT provisions, I don’t think there’s anything that can be said here yet.”
The House legislation contains several provisions the Senate bill lacks that would directly address LGBT and HIV/AIDS issues. These provisions would:
- enable the Department of Health & Human Services to collect health data on disparate populations, including the LGBT community, and to open public health programs and grants focused on health disparities to cover the LGBT population;
- bar health insurers from discriminating against people because of “personal characteristics,” including sexual orientation and gender identity;
- eliminate taxes on employer provided health coverage for employees who receive coverage for a same-sex partner under an employer’s plan;
- and permit state Medicaid programs to cover low-income people with HIV before they develop AIDS.
The House and Senate bills share a provision aimed at helping people with HIV/AIDS. Both bills have language allowing the cost of drugs that people with AIDS receive from AIDS Drug Assistance Programs to count toward out-of-pocket costs to qualify them for Medicare Part D catastrophic benefits.
Trevor Thomas, a Human Rights Campaign spokesperson, said his organization would continue to advocate for the LGBT provisions during negotiations in whatever shape they take.
“Negotiations between House and Senate leadership to complete health care reform will undoubtedly be complex and difficult on a range of issues,” he said. “We will continue to strongly push the congressional leadership to ensure that critical protections for LGBT people included in the House-passed bill are part of the final measure.”
National
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
Designer/activist wins for work on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
It was a historic night at the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday as Queen Jean won the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, making her the first out transgender person to win a Tony.
“This experience has been monumental. We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,” she said. “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm. So I just want to say, thank you all so much for this incredible honor. The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
She won the award for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and was also nominated for best costume design of a play for “Liberation.”
In addition to her stage work, Queen Jean is the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people in New York City.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
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