Politics
FEC streamlines political donation process for gay couples
Commission unanimously votes to allow same-sex couples to donate from joint bank account


The FEC adopted policy to ease the political donation process for married gay couples (Image public domain altered).
The U.S. agency charged with regulating campaign finance law unanimously approved Thursday a pair of opinions that brings its policy into alignment with the Supreme Court decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act.
The Federal Election Commission approved by two separate votes of 5-0 the advisory opinions, which will allow married same-sex couples to make joint political donations from an individual bank account.
The two advisory opinions were drafted by lawyers for the FEC in response to queries from both Democrats and Republicans seeking to simplify the process for married same-sex couples to make political contributions.
One request came from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which sought clarification of the process for which married gay couples on July 1 in the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling on Section 3 of DOMA.
The other request came from the U.S. Senate candidate Dan Winslow, who sought to include a contribution from a married gay couple in Massachusetts who are members of the Log Cabin Republicans to help pay debts after his loss following the Republican primary.
In April, Winslow made a similar request with the FEC, but was denied the ability to take the donation on the basis of Section 3 of DOMA, which prohibited federal recognition of same-sex marriage.
But in both opinions from this month, FEC concluded that with Section 3 of DOMA out of the picture, married gay couples are free to donate from one account. The committee votes on Thursday means the FEC has formally adopted the opinions.
Guy Cecil, who’s gay and executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said he’s “pleased” FEC adopted a policy to treat gay couples equally in the electoral process.
“While this victory was a long time coming, it’s proof that with hard work our grassroots supporters can achieve victories outside of the ballot box, as well as on election day, that make our country a more fair and just place to live,” Cecil said.
Gregory Angelo, executive director of the National Log Cabin Republicans, had similar praise for the FEC in the aftermath of the commission’s adoption of the opinions as he noted “it was a decision that we were anticipating.”
“But that doesn’t diminish its importance, nor does it diminish the tremendous elation that we have personally as an organization for being able to step forward and not only bring this case before the FEC, but to highlight before the public in general that in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act, there are still important legal questions that remain,” Angelo said. “But after today’s ruling by the FEC, it seems there is one less than there was yesterday.”
Seymour Reisman, a matrimonial attorney and partner at the Garden City, N.Y.-based law firm Reisman Peirez Reisman & Capobianco, predicted the decision will encourage gay couples to take part in the political process.
“As gay couples become even more active in donating to campaigns, they will not only impact House and Senate races in their home states, but this will encourage them to become involved in local and state campaigns in parts of the country that do not yet recognize their right to marry,” Reisman said.
Congress
Congress passes ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ with massive cuts to health insurance coverage
Roughly 1.8 million LGBTQ Americans rely on Medicaid

The “Big, Beautiful Bill” heads to President Donald Trump’s desk following the vote by the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday, which saw two nays from GOP members and unified opposition from the entire Democratic caucus.
To partially offset the cost of tax breaks that disproportionately favor the wealthy, the bill contains massive cuts to Medicaid and social safety net programs like food assistance for the poor while adding a projected $3.3 billion to the deficit.
Policy wise, the signature legislation of Trump’s second term rolls back clean energy tax credits passed under the Biden-Harris administration while beefing up funding for defense and border security.
Roughly 13 percent of LGBTQ adults in the U.S., about 1.8 million people, rely on Medicaid as their primary health insurer, compared to seven percent of non-LGBTQ adults, according to the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute think tank on sexual orientation and gender identities.
In total, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the cuts will cause more than 10 million Americans to lose their coverage under Medicaid and anywhere from three to five million to lose their care under Affordable Care Act marketplace plans.
A number of Republicans in the House and Senate opposed the bill reasoning that they might face political consequences for taking away access to healthcare for, particularly, low-income Americans who rely on Medicaid. Poorer voters flocked to Trump in last year’s presidential election, exit polls show.
A provision that would have blocked the use of federal funds to reimburse medical care for transgender youth was blocked by the Senate Parliamentarian and ultimately struck from the legislation — reportedly after the first trans member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) and the first lesbian U.S. senator, Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), shored up unified opposition to the proposal among Congressional Democrats.
Congress
Ritchie Torres says he is unlikely to run for NY governor
One poll showed gay Democratic congressman nearly tied with Kathy Hochul

Gay Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres of New York is unlikely to challenge New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in the state’s next gubernatorial race, he said during an appearance Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“I’m unlikely to run for governor,” he said. ““I feel like the assault that we’ve seen on the social safety net in the Bronx is so unprecedented. It’s so overwhelming that I’m going to keep my focus on Washington, D.C.”
Torres and Hochul were nearly tied in a poll this spring of likely Democratic voters in New York City, fueling speculation that the congressman might run. A Siena College poll, however, found Hochul leading with a wider margin.
Back in D.C., the congressman and his colleagues are unified in their opposition to President Donald Trump’s signature legislation, the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which heads back to the House after passing the Senate by one vote this week.
To pay for tax cuts that disproportionately advantage the ultra-wealthy and large corporations, the president and Congressional Republicans have proposed massive cuts to Medicaid and other social programs.
A provision in the Senate version of the bill that would have blocked the use of federal funds to reimburse medical care for transgender youth was blocked by the Senate Parliamentarian and ultimately struck from the legislation, reportedly after pressure from transgender U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) and lesbian U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.).
Torres on “Morning Joe” said, “The so-called Big Beautiful Bill represents a betrayal of the working people of America and nowhere more so than in the Bronx,” adding, “It’s going to destabilize every health care provider, every hospital.”
Congress
House Democrats oppose Bessent’s removal of SOGI from discrimination complaint forms
Congressional Equality Caucus sharply criticized move

A letter issued last week by a group of House Democrats objects to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s removal of sexual orientation and gender identity as bases for sex discrimination complaints in several Equal Employment Opportunity forms.
Bessent, who is gay, is the highest ranking openly LGBTQ official in American history and the second out Cabinet member next to Pete Buttigieg, who served as transportation secretary during the Biden-Harris administration.
The signatories to the letter include a few out members of Congress, Congressional Equality Caucus chair and co-chairs Mark Takano (Calif.), Ritchie Torres (N.Y.), and Becca Balint (Vt.), along with U.S. Reps. Nikema Williams (Ga.), Hank Johnson (Ga.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill.), Delia Ramirez (Ill.), Joyce Beatty (Ohio), Lloyd Doggett (Texas), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), and Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas).
The letter explains the “critical role” played by the EEO given the strictures and limits on how federal employees can find recourse for unlawful workplace discrimination — namely, without the ability to file complaints directly with the Employment Opportunity Commission or otherwise engage with the agency unless the complainant “appeal[s] an agency’s decision following the agency’s investigation or request[s] a hearing before an administrative judge.”
“Your attempt to remove ‘gender identity’ and ‘sexual orientation’ as bases for sex discrimination complaints in numerous Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) forms will create unnecessary hurdles to employees filing EEO complaints and undermine enforcement of federal employee’s nondiscrimination protections,” the members wrote in their letter.
They further explain the legal basis behind LGBTQ inclusive nondiscrimination protections for federal employees in the EEOC’s decisions in Macy v. Holder (2012) and Baldwin v. Foxx (2015) and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020).
“It appears that these changes may be an attempt by the department to dissuade employees from reporting gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination,” the lawmakers wrote. “Without forms clearly enumerating gender identity and sexual orientation as forms of sex discrimination, the average employee who experiences these forms of discrimination may see these forms and not realize that the discrimination they experienced was unlawful and something that they can report and seek recourse for.”
“A more alarming view would be that the department no longer plans to fulfill its legal obligations to investigate complaints of gender identity and sexual orientation and ensure its
employees are working in an environment free from these forms of discrimination,” they added.
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