National
Harkin promises to move ENDA this year
Action on legislation would build off Senate hearing
Senate HELP Committee Chair Tom Harkin has pledged to move ENDA this year (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The lead Democrat on the committee responsible for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act pledged Tuesday morning that the legislation would move before the end of the year.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said during a Center for American Progress event on pensions that he intends to move ENDA before the year’s end.
“I’ve been on ENDA for years — the Employment Non-Discrimination Act — and as chairman of the HELP Committee, I intend to move it this year,” Harkin said. “We’re going to move ENDA this year, so I just want you to know that, OK?”
A Harkin aide later clarified that his remarks meant a committee vote and the lawmaker was not making predictions about a floor vote because that would be outside of his jurisdiction in the Senate.
In June, Harkin held a hearing on ENDA in which for first time in history an openly transgender person, Kylar Broadus, testified on workplace discrimination issues before the Senate.
Tico Almeida, president of the LGBT group Freedom to Work, said he welcomes Harkin’s commitment to ENDA and expects not only a committee vote on the legislation, but a full vote on the Senate floor.
“Mr. Harkin is a champion for all American workers, and we’re confident that the Chairman and his staff will guide ENDA through a successful HELP Committee mark-up giving ENDA a clear path to the Senate floor,” Almeida said. “We urge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to keep his promise from more than three years ago to bring ENDA to the Senate floor for a vote, and it would be helpful for the White House to proactively and publicly call for that full Senate vote on ENDA to take place in 2013.”
Adam Jentleson, a Reid spokesperson, said the Senate majority leader backs ENDA and “looks forward to working with” Harkin to set up a floor vote on the bill.
“Sen. Reid supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and looks forward to working with Sen. Harkin and others to schedule a vote on the Senate floor after the bill is reported by the committee,” Jentleson said.
Harkin makes the comments amid hopes that President Obama will call on Congress to pass ENDA during his upcoming State of the Union address or unveil a plan to issue an executive order barring anti-LGBT job bias for federal contractors.
The White House has repeatedly said it prefers a legislative approach as opposed to administrative action. However, the Washington Post reported on Sunday that Obama is thinking about reversing that decision if Congress doesn’t act.
Almeida emphasized the importance of issuing the executive order regardless of whether the Senate plans to take action.
“But today’s great news that Chairman Harkin will make a strong ENDA push in the Senate does not provide a valid excuse for delaying the president’s LGBT executive order any longer,” Almeida said. “The time is now right for the president to build on his impressive LGBT record by signing that order granting workplace protections in almost 25 percent of American jobs.”
Watch the video here (courtesy Center for American Progress)
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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