National
Baldwin assigned to key Senate panels for LGBT issues
Committees have jurisdiction over ENDA, anti-bullying bills
Senator-elect Tammy Baldwin has been named to key Senate committees on LGBT issues (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Senator-elect Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin has landed seats on Senate committees that may address key issues that persist for the LGBT community in the coming Congress, including employment discrimination and school bullying.
In a notice published Wednesday, the Democratic Steering Committee announced it has selected Baldwin, who’ll be the first openly gay member of the U.S. Senate, to sit on four committees: the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee; the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee; the Senate Special Committee on Aging; and the Senate Budget Committee.
The Senate HELP Committee has jurisdiction over a key piece of pro-LGBT legislation — the Employment Non-Discrimination Act — as well as the measures that would address school bullying known as the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Non-Discrimination Act.
Meanwhile, the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee has jurisdiction over a pro-LGBT bill that Baldwin has long championed in the U.S. House — the Domestic Partnership Benefits & Obligations Act — which would extend health and pension benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees.
The notice states committee assignments for all Democratic caucus members, including Baldwin, were made during a Democratic Steering Committee meeting held on the same day. Additionally, the notice says these assignments are subject to approval by the full Democratic caucus and approval of an organizing resolution by the full Senate when the 113th Congress convenes in January.
Tico Almeida, president of Freedom to Work, congratulated Baldwin on her selection to the Senate HELP Committee and pledged to work with her on the effort to move ENDA to the Senate floor.
“She has been a tremendous champion for workplace fairness, and we are thrilled that she will bring her powerful voice to the upcoming debate about whether all LGBT Americans deserve a fair shot at the American dream,” Almeida said. “We are optimistic this committee will debate and mark-up ENDA in 2013, and we will push for Senate leaders to move the bill from committee to the floor of the Senate for a long-overdue vote of that full chamber.”
Shawn Gaylord, director of public policy for the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, said his organization has “long appreciated” Baldwin’s leadership and looks forward to working with her on legislation related to LGBT students when she begins work on the Senate HELP Committee.
“The Democrats on this committee already unanimously support the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Non-Discrimination Act and we anticipate maintaining that level of support in the 113th Congress,” Gaylord said. “Her dedication to creating safe schools for all young people is well-known, and as the first openly gay senator, she has a valuable voice and perspective to bring to this effort.”
Baldwin’s assignment to the Special Committee on Aging also has relevance to the LGBT community because that committee will work on reauthorization of the Older Americans Act. Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders, or SAGE, has been pushing for an LGBT-inclusive reauthorization of that law.
Aaron Tax, SAGE’s director of federal government relations, said his organization looks forward to working with Baldwin in work with the Senate HELP Committee and the Special Committee on Aging.
“Senator-elect Baldwin has been a tireless advocate for LGBT older adults,” Tax said. “We at SAGE could not think of a better person to sit on the Senate HELP Committee and the Special Committee on Aging. We look forward to once again working with her on the re-authorization of an LGBT-inclusive Older Americans Act.”
The committee assignments have yet to be announced for the six openly LGB members of the U.S. House: Jared Polis, David Cicilline, Sean Patrick Maloney, Mark Takano, Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Pocan. Drew Hammill, a spokesperson for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said assignments for new members will probably be announced next year, although the timing isn’t clear.
Baldwin’s transition team didn’t respond on short notice to request to comment on her committee assignments in time for this posting.
NOTE: This article has been updated to include a comment from Aaron Tax and a reference to the significance of Baldwin’s appointment to the Special Committee on Aging.
The White House
Judy Shepard to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Nancy Pelosi is also among this year’s honorees
Beloved LGBTQ advocate Judy Shepard is among the 19 honorees who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the U.S., the White House announced on Friday.
The mother of Matthew Shepard, who was killed in 1998 in the country’s most notorious anti-gay hate crime, she co-founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation with her husband Dennis to raise awareness about anti-LGBTQ violence.
The organization runs education, outreach, and advocacy programs, many focused on schools.
Shepard was instrumental in working with then-President Barack Obama for passage of the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, which was led in the House by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who will also be honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during the ceremony on Friday.
Also in 2009, Shepard published a memoir, “The Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed,” and was honored with the Black Tie Dinner Elizabeth Birch Equality Award.
Other awardees who will be honored by the White House this year are: Actor Michelle Yeoh, entrepreneur and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Jesuit Catholic priest Gregory Boyle, Assistant House Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), former Labor and Education Secretary and former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), journalist and former daytime talkshow host Phil Donahue, World War II veteran and civil rights activist Medgar Evers (posthumous), former Vice President Al Gore, civil rights activist and lawyer Clarence B. Jones, former Secretary of State and U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), former U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) (posthumous), Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, educator and activist Opal Lee, astronaut and former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center Ellen Ochoa, astronomer Jane Rigby, United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero, and Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe (posthumous).
National
United Methodist Church removes 40-year ban on gay clergy
Delegates also voted for other LGBTQ-inclusive measures
The United Methodist Church on Wednesday removed a ban on gay clergy that was in place for more than 40 years, voting to also allow LGBTQ weddings and end prohibitions on the use of United Methodist funds to “promote acceptance of homosexuality.”
Overturning the policy forbidding the church from ordaining “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” effectively formalized a practice that had caused an estimated quarter of U.S. congregations to leave the church.
The New York Times notes additional votes “affirming L.G.B.T.Q. inclusion in the church are expected before the meeting adjourns on Friday.” Wednesday’s measures were passed overwhelmingly and without debate. Delegates met in Charlotte, N.C.
According to the church’s General Council on Finance and Administration, there were 5,424,175 members in the U.S. in 2022 with an estimated global membership approaching 10 million.
The Times notes that other matters of business last week included a “regionalization” plan, which gave autonomy to different regions such that they can establish their own rules on matters including issues of sexuality — about which international factions are likelier to have more conservative views.
Rev. Kipp Nelson of St. Johns’s on the Lake Methodist Church in Miami shared a statement praising the new developments:
“It is a glorious day in the United Methodist Church. As a worldwide denomination, we have now publicly proclaimed the boundless love of God and finally slung open the doors of our church so that all people, no matter their identities or orientations, may pursue the calling of their hearts.
“Truly, all are loved and belong here among us. I am honored to serve as a pastor in the United Methodist Church for such a time as this, for our future is bright and filled with hope. Praise be, praise be.”
Federal Government
Republican state AGs challenge Biden administration’s revised Title IX policies
New rules protect LGBTQ students from discrimination
Four Republicans state attorneys general have sued the Biden-Harris administration over the U.S. Department of Education’s new Title IX policies that were finalized April 19 and carry anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ students in public schools.
The lawsuit filed on Tuesday, which is led by the attorneys general of Kentucky and Tennessee, follows a pair of legal challenges from nine Republican states on Monday — all contesting the administration’s interpretation that sex-based discrimination under the statute also covers that which is based on the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The administration also rolled back Trump-era rules governing how schools must respond to allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault, which were widely perceived as biased in favor of the interests of those who are accused.
“The U.S. Department of Education has no authority to let boys into girls’ locker rooms,” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement. “In the decades since its adoption, Title IX has been universally understood to protect the privacy and safety of women in private spaces like locker rooms and bathrooms.”
“Florida is suing the Biden administration over its unlawful Title IX changes,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote on social media. “Biden is abusing his constitutional authority to push an ideological agenda that harms women and girls and conflicts with the truth.”
After announcing the finalization of the department’s new rules, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told reporters, “These regulations make it crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights.”
The new rule does not provide guidance on whether schools must allow transgender students to play on sports teams corresponding with their gender identity to comply with Title IX, a question that is addressed in a separate rule proposed by the agency in April.
LGBTQ and civil rights advocacy groups praised the changes. Lambda Legal issued a statement arguing the new rule “protects LGBTQ+ students from discrimination and other abuse,” adding that it “appropriately underscores that Title IX’s civil rights protections clearly cover LGBTQ+ students, as well as survivors and pregnant and parenting students across race and gender identity.”
Judy Shepard to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Blade Summer Kickoff Party returns to Rehoboth
Andy Cohen coming to D.C.
Want to dance for a good cause?
Calendar: May 3-9
HHS reverses Trump-era anti-LGBTQ rule
4th Circuit rules gender identity is a protected characteristic
Pride season has begun
PHOTOS: Capital Pride Pageant
