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Lautenberg remembered as ‘champion for equality’

N.J. senator delivered stirring speech against marriage amendment

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Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey, United States Senate, Democratic Party, gay news, Washington Blade
Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey, United States Senate, Democratic Party, gay news, Washington Blade

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) died of complications from viral pneumonia on Monday. (Photo public domain)

The news of Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s death on Monday triggered an outpouring from those who celebrated his work on behalf of the LGBT community — particularly his efforts against anti-gay bullying.

Lautenberg, who served in the Senate starting in 1982 with a hiatus between 2001 and 2003, died at age 89 as a result of complications from viral pneumonia at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell. He was the last remaining veteran of World War II to serve in the Senate.

In a statement, Vice President Joseph Biden praised Lautenberg and called him one of his closest friends in the Senate.

“The son of working class immigrants, Frank served honorably in World War II, went to college on the G.I. bill and came back to build one of the most successful companies in America,” Biden said. “He’s the reason why people can’t smoke on airplanes, why domestic abusers can’t possess guns. He worked tirelessly against drunk driving, and co-wrote the new G.I. Bill because he knew first-hand what it could do.”

In terms of LGBT issues, Lautenberg was best known for being lead sponsor of the Tyler Clementi Act, which requires colleges and universities receiving federal student aid funding to enact LGBT-inclusive anti-harassment policies for students and employees. It also explicitly prohibits behavior often referred to as cyberbullying.

The legislation is named after Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi, who killed himself in 2010 by jumping off the George Washington Bridge after a fellow student secretly recorded him kissing another man.

In a statement to the Blade, the Clementi family said they were “very sad” to learn of Lautenberg’s passing and had a meeting with the senator recently to thank him for his work.

“We will never forget his compassion and advocacy after the passing of our son, Tyler,” the Clementi family said. “Last February, we had the chance to meet with the Senator and thank him in person for his personal outreach to our family and his sponsorship of the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act. It was a very special meeting with a very special person. He was an inspiring man who embodied the great characteristics of New Jersey and its people.”

Over the course of his Senate career, Lautenberg had long supported the LGBT community. In 1996, he voted for a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The New Jersey senator also voted against the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004 and 2006. In the 110th Congress, Lautenberg voted for hate crimes protection legislation and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal.

Although Lautenberg voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, he was among the 40 Senate Democrats this year to sign a friend-of-the-court brief before the Supreme Court arguing the anti-gay law is unconstitutional.

In 2012, after President Obama came out in favor of marriage equality, Lautenberg issued his own statement expressing similar support and said the right for gay couples to marry is protected under the U.S. Constitution.

“Marriage equality is one of the most significant civil rights battles of our time and is critical to guaranteeing equal protection under the law promised to every American in the Constitution,” Lautenberg said.

Rea Carey, executive director of the Natioal Gay & Lesbian Task Force, called Lautenberg a “great champion for equality.”

“He embraced LGBT employment protections on the federal level and the freedom to marry,” Carey said. “And, he was a champion of many social justice issues such as immigration reform, women’s reproductive health, and economic safety net services. His voice will be greatly missed on the Senate floor.”

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, recalled a speech that Lautenberg gave on the Senate floor in opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment.

“Nothing better sums up his undying legacy than his 2004 floor speech opposing a federal constitutional amendment banning marriage equality,” Griffin said. “‘When we see things that are shameful we should not be too spineless to respond.’ Sen. Lautenberg had spine, and he will be deeply missed.”

It’s not clear at this stage what the process is for appointing a successor to Lautenberg. The general consensus is Gov. Chris Christie will appoint a temporary replacement and a special election for a permanent U.S. senator will take place later in the year.

Among the Republican names floated as possibilities for replacements are Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, State Sen. Joe Kyrillos and State Sen. Thomas Keane Jr.

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Congress

House passes reconciliation with gender-affirming care funding ban

‘Big Beautiful Bill’ now heads to the Senate

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U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) (Washington Blade photo by Michael. Key)

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted 215-214 for passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” reconciliation package, which includes provisions that would prohibit the use of federal funds to support gender-affirming care.

But for an 11th hour revision of the bill late Wednesday night by conservative lawmakers, Medicaid and CHIP would have been restricted only from covering treatments and interventions administered to patients younger than 18.

The legislation would also drop requirements that some health insurers must cover gender-affirming care as an “essential health benefit” and force states that currently mandate such coverage to find it independently. Plans could still offer coverage for transgender care but without the EHB classification patients will likely pay higher out of pocket costs.

To offset the cost of extending tax cuts from 2017 that disproportionately benefited the wealthiest Americans, the reconciliation bill contains significant cuts to spending for federal programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The Human Rights Campaign criticized House Republicans in a press release and statement by the group’s president, Kelley Robinson:

“People in this country want policies and solutions that make life better and expand access to the American Dream. Instead, anti-equality lawmakers voted to give  handouts to billionaires built on the backs of hardworking people — with devastating consequences for the LGBTQ+ community.

“If the cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP or resources like Planned Parenthood clinics weren’t devastating enough, House Republicans added a last minute provision that expands its attacks on access to best practice health care to transgender adults.

“This cruel addition shows their priorities have never been about lowering costs or expanding health care access–but in targeting people simply for who they are. These lawmakers have abandoned their constituents, and as they head back to their districts, know this: they will hear from us.”

Senate Republicans are expected to pass the bill with the budget reconciliation process, which would allow them to bypass the filibuster and clear the spending package with a simple majority vote.

Changes are expected as the bill will be reviewed and amended by committees, particularly the Finance Committee, and then brought to the floor for debate — though modifications are expected to focus on Medicaid reductions and debate over state and local tax deductions.

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Congress

Gerry Connolly dies at 75 after battle with esophageal cancer

Va. congressman fought for LGBTQ rights

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U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) speaks at a Barack Obama rally on Oct. 19, 2012. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Democratic U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia died on Wednesday, according to a statement from his family.

The 75-year-old lawmaker, who served in Congress since 2009, announced last month that he will not seek reelection and would step down from his role as the top Democrat on the powerful U.S. House Oversight Committee because his esophageal cancer had returned.

“We were fortunate to share Gerry with Northern Virginia for nearly 40 years because that was his joy, his purpose, and his passion,” his family said in their statement. “His absence will leave a hole in our hearts, but we are proud that his life’s work will endure for future generations.”

“He looked out for the disadvantaged and voiceless. He always stood up for what is right and just,” they said.

Connolly was memorialized in statements from colleagues and friends including House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (La.), former President Joe Biden, and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).

Several highlighted Connolly’s fierce advocacy on behalf of federal workers, who are well represented in his northern Virginia congressional district.

The congressman also supported LGBTQ rights throughout his life and career.

When running for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 1994, he fought the removal of Washington Blade newspapers from libraries. When running in 2008 for the U.S. house seat vacated by Tom Davis, a Republican, Connolly campaigned against the amendment to Virginia’s constitution banning same-sex marriage and civil unions in the state.

In Congress, he supported the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality, the Biden-Harris administration’s rescission of the anti-trans military ban, and the designation within the State Department of a special LGBTQ rights envoy. The congressman also was an original cosponsor of the Equality Act and co-sponsored legislation to repeal parts of the Defense of Marriage Act.


 

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Congress

Marjorie Taylor Greene’s bill to criminalize gender affirming care advances

Judiciary Committee markup slated for Wednesday morning

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U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.)’s “Protect Children’s Innocence Act,” which would criminalize guideline-directed gender affirming health care for minors, will advance to markup in the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning.

Doctors and providers who administer medical treatments for gender dysphoria to patients younger than 18, including hormones and puberty blockers, would be subject to Class 3 felony charges punishable by up to 10 years in prison if the legislation is enacted.

LGBTQ advocates warn conservative lawmakers want to go after families who travel out of state to obtain medical care for their transgender kids that is banned or restricted in the places where they reside, using legislation like Greene’s to expand federal jurisdiction over these decisions. They also point to the medically inaccurate way in which the bill characterizes evidence-based interventions delineated in standards of care for trans and gender diverse youth as “mutilation” or “chemical castration.”

Days into his second term, President Donald Trump signed “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” an executive order declaring that the U.S. would not “fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit” medical treatments and interventions intended for this purpose.

Greene, who has introduced the bill in years past, noted the president’s endorsement of her bill during his address to the joint session of Congress in March when he said “I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body.”

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