National
Frank retiring from Congress in 2012
Gay lawmaker not pursuing 17th term in U.S. House
Rep. Barney Frank (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The longest serving openly gay member of Congress won’t seek re-election to the U.S. House in 2012.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) announced his retirement during a press conference at Newton City Hall in Massachusetts on Monday. Had the lawmaker sought re-election, he would have been pursuing a 17th term in Congress.
MORE IN THE BLADE: REP. FRANK EMBRACES TITLE OF LGBT RIGHTS PIONEER
Frank later confirmed his intent to retire at the end of next year in a statement issued by his office in which he said he “will not be a candidate for reelection to the House of Representatives in 2012.”
“I began to think about retirement last year, as we were completing passage of the financial reform bill,” Frank said. “I have enjoyed — indeed been enormously honored — by the chance to represent others in Congress and the State Legislature, but there are other things I hope to do before my career ends. Specifically, I have for several years been thinking about writing, and while there are people who are able to combine serious writing with full-time jobs, my susceptibility to distraction when faced with a blank screen makes that impossible.
The Massachusetts Democrat is one of four openly gay members of Congress. The other three are Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and David Cicilline (D-R.I.) Baldwin is leaving her seat to pursue a run for U.S. Senate, but gay candidate Mark Pocan is seeking to replace her.
Frank, 71, served as a member of the Massachusetts State House in the 1970s and was first elected to Congress in 1980. He serves as the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee. When Democrats held control of the House during the 111th Congress, he led the way as chairman of the committee for the passage of major financial reform legislation known as Dodd-Frank.
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While announcing his plans to retire from Congress, Frank said during the news conference Monday he plans “to continue to be an advocate of public policy.” The lawmaker said he’d like to debate Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage.
“I did not think I had lived a good enough life to be rewarded by Newt Gingrich being the Republican nominee,” Frank said. “It still is unlikely, but I have hopes. Let me say, for example, I intend to continue to be an advocate of public policy. I look forward to debating, to take one important example, the Defense of Marriage Act with Mr. Gingrich. I think he is an ideal opponent for us, when we talk about just who it is, is threatening the sanctity of marriage.”
Gingrich, who helped pass DOMA into law in 1996 when he was House speaker, has been married three times and has confessed to committing adultery.
LGBT groups praised Frank for his years of service and his role as an LGBT advocate during his decades in Congress.
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, commended Frank upon news of his retirement and said the lawmaker “exemplified true leadership over his more than 30 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.”
“As the first openly gay Member of Congress, Barney defied stereotypes and kicked doors open for LGBT Americans,” Solmonese said. “Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act would never have happened without his leadership. But it goes beyond that. His service as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee during a time of great economic upheaval made a gay man one of the most powerful people in the country and he used that power for great good. America, Massachusetts and LGBT people are better off for Barney Frank’s service.”
Chuck Wolfe, CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, said the announcement may mean Frank’s political career may be coming to an end, but added the lawmaker’s “legacy will outlive us all.”
“His decision to come out as gay more than two decades ago gave LGBT Americans an authentic voice and a persistent champion in Washington,” Wolfe said. “He has used that voice loudly and often, speaking personally, humorously and effectively about the hopes and challenges of Americans who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. We will miss that voice very much.”
The Victory Fund has endorsed the re-election bids of openly gay U.S. House members Polis and Cicilline. The organization also backs the election to Congress of non-incumbent Pocan as well as Mark Takano in California and State Rep. Marko Liias in Washington State.
Jerame Davis, interim executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, said his organization is “saddened” by Frank’s retirement. The lawmaker helped found the organization in 1999.
“Not only is he full of searing ripostes and witty bon mots, he has been a tireless advocate for LGBT equality for decades,” Davis said. “He has been an original co-sponsor of almost every pro-LGBT piece of legislation introduced in the House and he strongly championed the Hate Crimes Act and the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, both of which are now law.”
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Praise for Frank also came from other lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Polis, who’s poised to become the most senior openly gay member of Congress upon Frank’s retirement, commended Frank for his work in Congress on LGBT issues and financial reform.
“Barney Frank was a groundbreaking pioneer and one of the most insightful, knowledgeable and humorous people ever to grace the halls of Congress,” Polis said. “We will miss his leadership on a wide range of issues — from fighting to reign in Wall Street’s excesses and working to stabilize our economy to standing up for equal rights for LGBT Americans and curtailing runaway Pentagon spending. Congressman Frank championed the rights of all Americans, the economic security of all of our families, and a politics of inclusion and hope. It’s a great loss for the Congress but Barney leaves behind an enviable record of accomplishment. I will miss his presence every day.”
Frank took leadership roles in moving forward many pro-LGBT initiatives through Congress, but is perhaps best known for his work on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which he sponsors in the House. The legislation would protect LGBT people against job discrimination in most situations in the public and private workforce.
The lawmaker’s leadership on that bill proved controversial in 2007 when a version passed on the House floor by a vote of 235-184 at the expense of stripping out protections from the legislation for transgender people. Frank moved forward with the non-inclusive bill saying the votes weren’t present to pass ENDA with gender identity language.
But the decision riled transgender activists and many LGBT groups that dropped their support for that version of ENDA.
ENDA never saw a vote in the 111th Congress when Democrats held control of both the House and Senate as well as the White House. Some political observers said backers weren’t sure about defeating a motion to recommit on the House floor that opponents could use to derail the legislation.
Joe Racalto, who worked as a senior policy advisor for Frank and now serves as vice president for Freedom to Work, said Frank was a leader on LGBT issues, including ENDA, even though the legislation never became law. Freedom to Work is a new organization pushing for the passage of the workplace bill.
“Since 1980, Barney Frank has been the representative for LGBT Americans,” Racalto said. “I am both happy for Barney and sad to see him retire. Barney has served as a mentor and friend. Because of his tireless work, my life — as well as the lives of all LGBT Americans — are better. From hate crimes to ENDA to repeal of [‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’], Barney was often the leading voice for our civil rights in Congress. I cannot emphasize enough the impact he has made — It is because of his love for justice and civil rights that ENDA has a solid foundation not only in Congress, but overwhelming support among the American people.”
Frank isn’t the first openly gay person elected to Congress. That distinction goes to the late Rep. Gerry Studds (D-Mass.), who came out in 1983 after a male page revealed at the age of 17 he had a sexual relationship with the lawmaker. Frank made his sexual orientation public later in 1987 during his fourth term in office.
In 1989, Frank found himself in a scandal as a result having engaged in services four years earlier with a male escort named Stephen Gobie. Frank later hired Gobie as a driver despite and used his House privileges to waive 33 of Gobie’s parking tickets. After Frank discovered that Gobie was running a prostitution service out of his Capitol Hill apartment, the lawmaker fired him.
Gobie responded by coming out with his story to the media. In 1990, the House voted to reprimand Frank by a vote 408-18. These efforts in Congress were led by former Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) who was later involved in his own scandal by being caught allegedly soliciting sex with a male police officer in a bathroom at the Minneapolis airport. Craig has denied that he’s gay, although Frank later accused him of hypocrisy.
Pennsylvania
Malcolm Kenyatta could become the first LGBTQ statewide elected official in Pa.
State lawmaker a prominent Biden-Harris 2024 reelection campaign surrogate
Following his win in the Democratic primary contest on Wednesday, Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who is running for auditor general, is positioned to potentially become the first openly LGBTQ elected official serving the commonwealth.
In a statement celebrating his victory, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund President Annise Parker said, “Pennsylvanians trust Malcolm Kenyatta to be their watchdog as auditor general because that’s exactly what he’s been as a legislator.”
“LGBTQ+ Victory Fund is all in for Malcolm, because we know he has the experience to win this race and carry on his fight for students, seniors and workers as Pennsylvania’s auditor general,” she said.
Parker added, “LGBTQ+ Americans are severely underrepresented in public office and the numbers are even worse for Black LGBTQ+ representation. I look forward to doing everything I can to mobilize LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians and our allies to get out and vote for Malcolm this November so we can make history.”
In April 2023, Kenyatta was appointed by the White House to serve as director of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans.
He has been an active surrogate in the Biden-Harris 2024 reelection campaign.
The White House
White House debuts action plan targeting pollutants in drinking water
Same-sex couples face higher risk from environmental hazards
Headlining an Earth Day event in Northern Virginia’s Prince William Forest on Monday, President Joe Biden announced the disbursement of $7 billion in new grants for solar projects and warned of his Republican opponent’s plans to roll back the progress his administration has made toward addressing the harms of climate change.
The administration has led more than 500 programs geared toward communities most impacted by health and safety hazards like pollution and extreme weather events.
In a statement to the Washington Blade on Wednesday, Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said, “President Biden is leading the most ambitious climate, conservation, and environmental justice agenda in history — and that means working toward a future where all people can breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live in a healthy community.”
“This Earth Week, the Biden-Harris Administration announced $7 billion in solar energy projects for over 900,000 households in disadvantaged communities while creating hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs, which are being made more accessible by the American Climate Corps,” she said. “President Biden is delivering on his promise to help protect all communities from the impacts of climate change — including the LGBTQI+ community — and that we leave no community behind as we build an equitable and inclusive clean energy economy for all.”
Recent milestones in the administration’s climate policies include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s issuance on April 10 of legally enforceable standard for detecting and treating drinking water contaminated with polyfluoroalkyl substances.
“This rule sets health safeguards and will require public water systems to monitor and reduce the levels of PFAS in our nation’s drinking water, and notify the public of any exceedances of those levels,” according to a White House fact sheet. “The rule sets drinking water limits for five individual PFAS, including the most frequently found PFOA and PFOS.”
The move is expected to protect 100 million Americans from exposure to the “forever chemicals,” which have been linked to severe health problems including cancers, liver and heart damage, and developmental impacts in children.
An interactive dashboard from the United States Geological Survey shows the concentrations of polyfluoroalkyl substances in tapwater are highest in urban areas with dense populations, including cities like New York and Los Angeles.
During Biden’s tenure, the federal government has launched more than 500 programs that are geared toward investing in the communities most impacted by climate change, whether the harms may arise from chemical pollutants, extreme weather events, or other causes.
New research by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law found that because LGBTQ Americans are likelier to live in coastal areas and densely populated cities, households with same-sex couples are likelier to experience the adverse effects of climate change.
The report notes that previous research, including a study that used “national Census data on same-sex households by census tract combined with data on hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from the National Air Toxics Assessment” to model “the relationship between same-sex households and risk of cancer and respiratory illness” found “that higher prevalence of same-sex households is associated with higher risks for these diseases.”
“Climate change action plans at federal, state, and local levels, including disaster preparedness, response, and recovery plans, must be inclusive and address the specific needs and vulnerabilities facing LGBT people,” the Williams Institute wrote.
With respect to polyfluoroalkyl substances, the EPA’s adoption of new standards follows other federal actions undertaken during the Biden-Harris administration to protect firefighters and healthcare workers, test for and clean up pollution, and phase out or reduce use of the chemicals in fire suppressants, food packaging, and federal procurement.
Maine
Maine governor signs transgender, abortion sanctuary bill into law
Bomb threats made against lawmakers before measure’s passage
BY ERIN REED | On Tuesday, Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed LD 227, a sanctuary bill that protects transgender and abortion providers and patients from out-of-state prosecution, into law.
With this action, Maine becomes the 16th state to explicitly protect trans and abortion care in state law from prosecution. This follows several bomb threats targeting state legislators after social media attacks from far-right anti-trans influencers such as Riley Gaines and Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok.
An earlier version of the bill failed in committee after similar attacks in January. Undeterred, Democrats reconvened and added additional protections to the bill before it was passed into law.
The law is extensive. It asserts that gender-affirming care and reproductive health care are “legal rights” in Maine. It states that criminal and civil actions against providers and patients are not enforceable if the provision or access to that care occurred within Maine’s borders, asserting jurisdiction over those matters.
It bars cooperation with out-of-state subpoenas and arrest warrants for gender-affirming care and abortion that happen within the state. It even protects doctors who provide gender-affirming care and abortion from certain adverse actions by medical boards, malpractice insurance, and other regulating entities, shielding those providers from attempts to economically harm them through out-of-state legislation designed to dissuade them from providing care.
You can see the findings section of the bill here:
The bill also explicitly enshrines the World Professional Association of Transgender Health’s Standards of Care, which have been the target of right-wing disinformation campaigns, into state law for the coverage of trans healthcare:
The bill is said to be necessary due to attempts to prosecute doctors and seek information from patients across state lines. In recent months, attorneys general in other states have attempted to obtain health care data on trans patients who traveled to obtain care. According to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, attorneys general in Tennessee, Indiana, Missouri, and Texas attempted to obtain detailed medical records “to terrorize transgender teens in their states … opening the door to criminalizing women’s private reproductive health care choices.”
The most blatant of these attempts was from the attorney general of Texas, who, according to the Senate Finance Committee, “sent demands to at least two non-Texas entities.” One of these entities was Seattle Children’s Hospital, which received a letter threatening administrators with arrest unless they sent data on Texas patients traveling to Seattle to obtain gender-affirming care.
Seattle Children’s Hospital settled that case out of court this week, agreeing to withdraw its Texas business registration in return for Texas dropping its investigation. This likely will have no impact on Seattle Children’s Hospital, which has stated it did not treat any youth via telemedicine or in person in Texas; the hospital will be able to continue treating Texas youth who travel outside of Texas to obtain their care. That settlement was likely compelling due to a nearly identical law in Washington that barred out-of-state investigations on trans care obtained solely in the state of Washington.
The bill has faced a rocky road to passage. A similar bill was debated in January, but after coming under intense attack from anti-trans activists who misleadingly called it a “transgender trafficking bill,” the bill was voluntarily withdrawn by its sponsor.
When LD 227 was introduced, it faced even more attacks from Gaines and Libs of TikTok. These attacks were followed by bomb threats that forced the evacuation of the legislature, promising “death to pedophiles” and stating that a bomb would detonate within a few hours in the capitol building.
Despite these threats, legislators strengthened both the abortion and gender-affirming care provisions and pressed forward, passing the bill into law. Provisions found in the new bill include protecting people who “aid and assist” gender-affirming care and abortion, protections against court orders from other states for care obtained in Maine, and even protections against adverse actions by health insurance and malpractice insurance providers, which have been recent targets of out-of-state legislation aimed at financially discouraging doctors from providing gender-affirming care and abortion care even in states where it is legal.
See a few of the extensive health insurance and malpractice provisions here:
Speaking about the bill, Gia Drew, executive director of Equality Maine, said in a statement, “We are thrilled to see LD 227, the shield bill, be signed into law by Gov. Mills. Thanks to our pro equality and pro reproductive choice elected officials who refused to back down in the face of disinformation. This bill couldn’t come into effect at a better time, as more than 40 percent of states across the country have either banned or attempted to block access to reproductive care, which includes abortions, as well as transgender healthcare for minors. Thanks to our coalition partners who worked tirelessly to phone bank, lobby, and get this bill over the finish line to protect community health.”
Destie Hohman Sprague of the Maine Women’s Lobby celebrated the passage of the bill despite threats of violence, saying in a statement, “A gender-just Maine ensures that all Mainers have access to quality health care that supports their mental and physical wellbeing and bodily autonomy, including comprehensive reproductive and gender-affirming care. We celebrate the passage of LD 227, which helps us meet that goal. Still, the patterns of violence and disinformation ahead of the vote reflected the growing connections between misogyny, extremism, and anti-democratic threats and actions. We must continue to advocate for policies that protect bodily autonomy, and push back against extremist rhetoric that threatens our states’ rights and our citizens’ freedoms.”
The decision to pass the legislation comes as the Biden administration released updated HIPAA protections that protect “reproductive health care” from out-of-state prosecutions and investigations.
Although the definition of “reproductive health care” is broad in the new HIPAA regulations, it is uncertain whether they will include gender-affirming care. For at least 16 states, though, gender-affirming care is now explicitly protected by state law and shielded from out-of-state legislation, providing trans people and those seeking abortions with protections as the fight increasingly crosses state lines.
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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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