National
Protesters again demand ENDA passage
Job bias bill remains pending in committee
Local activists seeking an end to job discrimination against LGBT people protested last week outside the U.S. Capitol, urging Congress to take action on the issue.
Holding signs reading, “I can still be fired for being me” and “1 in 7 LGBTQ face job discrimination,” about one dozen protesters marched along Independence Avenue on May 20 to demand passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
The bill, pending in committee in both chambers of Congress, would bar job bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity in most private and public workforce settings.
Supporters have said for months they’re expecting imminent action on the bill, but it has yet to move out of committee in either the House or Senate.
Jay Carmona, a D.C. lesbian, led much of the protest by shouting chants into a bullhorn. She said the protest was held because lawmakers made several promises on ENDA and now Democrats are “silent” on those promises.
“This is something that is really, really important, especially in these tough economic times,” Carmona said. “We can’t afford longer unemployment lines because people are being fired just because of their gender expression or their sexuality.”
Brad Catoe, a gay D.C. resident, said he wants to see ENDA pass because it’s “important for everybody to be treated equally under the law.”
Catoe, whose partner, Brian Fricke, is a gay former Marine and board member of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said passage of ENDA and repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” are particularly important issues for him.
“Obviously, ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is important to me firstly because my partner was in the Marines, but I think that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is also very important to our entire community,” Catoe said. “They’re sort of connected in a lot of ways.”
Last week’s protest got the attention of some people working on Capitol Hill. A Democratic aide told the Blade the action alerted several officials in the Cannon House Building, including Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.).
Still, it was unclear when the House might take action. Federal lawmakers are taking a week off following the Memorial Day holiday.
Organizing the event was GetEqual, the group responsible for several recent protests and rallies in D.C. and elsewhere that have drawn attention to LGBT issues. Although previous GetEqual events have included arrests, nobody was detained during the May 20 protest.
Heather Cronk, managing director for GetEqual, said last week’s protest was intended to “give visibility” to LGBT people and their need for workplace protections.
“While other groups are lobbying and doing phone calls and doing e-mails, we also make sure that we’re feeling visible in that process,” she said.
Cronk, a lesbian who lives in Riverdale, Md., said passing ENDA is important because LGBT people “are one of the few groups left that are not protected by federal law.”
“We can continue working on a local and a statewide level, but folks in middle states who can be fired for who they are need protection at the federal level, so we’re standing up for those folks today,” Cronk said.
Much of the protest was directed at U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). At one point, protesters gathered just outside Pelosi’s office in the Cannon House Office Building and shouted, “Nancy Pelosi! We want ENDA!”
In an interview with The Hill newspaper last week, Pelosi said she’s supported passage of ENDA for decades and feels the pending bill is strongly positioned, but expressed some uncertainty about moving forward.
“When the opportunity is there, we want to bring that up, and I hope that will be soon,” she said. “We’ll see what people want to do. It’s not my own personal decision. We’ll just see where we go from here.”
Supporters of ENDA have expressed concern that opponents could use a legislative maneuver known as the motion to recommit to scuttle the bill when it comes to the floor. The maneuver could force a vote on stripping the gender identity provisions from the legislation.
Federal Government
US Census Bureau testing survey on LGBTQ households
Agency proposing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity
The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking public comment on a proposed test of sexual orientation and gender identity questions on the American Community Survey. The test would begin this summer and continue into next year.
The Census Bureau published the request as a Federal Register notice. In its press release the agency noted that the ACS is an ongoing survey that collects detailed housing and socioeconomic data. It allows the Census Bureau to provide timely and relevant housing and socioeconomic statistics, even for low levels of geography.
As part of the process for adding new questions to the ACS, the Census Bureau tests potential questions to evaluate the quality of the data collected.
The Census Bureau proposes testing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to meet the needs of other federal agencies that have expressed interest in or have identified legal uses for the information, such as enforcing civil rights and equal employment measures.
The test would follow the protocols of the actual ACS — with one person asked to respond to the survey on behalf of the entire household. These particular questions are asked about people 15 years of age or older. Households are invited to respond to the survey online, by paper questionnaire or by phone.
The current Federal Register notice gives the public a final opportunity to provide feedback before the Census Bureau submits its recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget for approval. The public may provide feedback through May 30 online.
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.
In a statement shared via the Human Rights Campaign, Shepard said, “This unexpected honor has been very humbling for me, Dennis, and our family. What makes us proud is knowing our President and our nation share our lifelong commitment to making this world a safer, more loving, more respectful, and more peaceful place for everyone.
“I am grateful to everyone whose love and support for our work through the years has sustained me.
“If I had the power to change one thing, I can only dream of the example that Matt’s life and purpose would have shown, had he lived. This honor reminds the world that his life, and every life, is precious.”
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.
“Judy Shepard has been a champion for equality and President Biden’s choice to honor her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a testament to what she’s done to be a force of good in the world,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement.
“A mother who turned unspeakable grief over the loss of her son into a decades-long fight against anti-LGBTQ+ hatred and violence, Judy continues to make a lasting impact in the lives of the LGBTQ+ community,” she said.
“It is because of her advocacy that the first federal hate crimes legislation became law and that countless life-saving trainings, resources and conversations about equality and acceptance are provided each year by the Matthew Shepard Foundation,” Robinson said. “We are honored that Judy is a member of the HRC family and know that her work to create a more inclusive and just world will only continue.”
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.”
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