October 09, 2007
At HRC Gala, Pelosi Shines, While ENDA's on Everyone's Mind
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid49642.asp

The 11th annual national dinner of the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C., on Saturday was expected to be a time of outright celebration, with the organization honoring Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for her instrumental role in passing both hate-crimes legislation and, it was hoped, an Employment Non-Discrimination Act that protected the entire gay, lesbian, and transgender community.

The 11th annual national dinner of the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C., on Saturday was expected to be a time of outright celebration, with the organization honoring Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for her instrumental role in passing both hate-crimes legislation and, it was hoped, an Employment Non-Discrimination Act that protected the entire gay, lesbian, and transgender community.

But by the time of the gala event, while a transgender-inclusive hate-crimes bill had indeed passed both houses of Congress and was headed for the president’s desk, passage of a trans-inclusive ENDA was still up in the air, with the LGBT community divided about it and the House leadership scratching its head.

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, began his speech that evening by saying, "All right, let’s talk about the elephant in the room -- and for a change, I don’t mean the Republicans. There are protesters outside this auditorium who feel great despair. There are people inside this auditorium who feel the same way. Let me just say I welcome their declarations..."

But as Solmonese addressed the sold-out crowd of more than 3,000 guests, some of the very people he was speaking to -- transgender members of the community -- turned their backs in defiance and perhaps even in disgust.

Meredith Bacon, a transgender woman, was one of them. "I find it difficult to respect somebody who has promised something to me face-to-face and then seems to be backing away from that promise as fast as he can," said Bacon, a professor of political science at University of Nebraska–Omaha, who also sits on the board of directors at the National Center for Transgender Equality.

Bacon admitted the situation is extremely complicated, noting that Solmonese is a personal friend and that HRC has done great things for the transgender community over the years. But Solmonese has declined to oppose legislation introduced by out congressman Barney Frank that would protect people from being fired on the basis of their sexual orientation while relegating protections for transgender people to a separate bill.

Frank introduced the separate bills two weeks ago, noting weak support for the original trans-inclusive bill that he had cosponsored with Rep. Tammy Baldwin. While over 300 queer organizations have opposed splitting the bill, some contend it is better to pass the sexual orientation bill now while the votes are there and then work toward passing the gender identity bill later.

But Bacon took issue with that strategy. “As a professor of political science who has been studying this for a long time, there’s no such thing as incremental civil rights,” she said. “If we have only a gay and lesbian bill and a second bill for trans people, there is absolutely no historical precedent for that kind of gradualism.” Asked if she had any guess for how long it would take to pass the trans bill separately, Bacon did not hesitate: “Fifteen years.”
Indeed, about 75 transgender people greeted attendees of the dinner outside the Washington Convention Center with signs that read, “United We Stand, ENDA For All.” Many of them wore stickers with a slash through the trademark HRC logo -- a bold yellow equal sign set upon a blue backdrop.

The protest’s organizer, Ethan St. Pierre, said it had been put together in about three days. “We realized how important this dinner is,” he said, adding that his group, the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition, has protested HRC offices for inclusion two other times in the past couple years.

Mara Keisling, executive director of NCTE, was also at the protest “in total solidarity” with the effort. In the course of a two-minute interview with her, two different people handed her donations for the NCTE, one in the form of a check, another a $20 bill.

She was careful to note that NCTE is a small organization with 3 1/2 full-time employees and a modest annual budget of about $300,000, and that expenses have gone “through the roof” in the past several weeks. Nonetheless, she said, “it’s been absolutely remarkable; we’ve had more spontaneous donations over the last week than we’ve had in the history of our organization.”

But no one that evening was more aware of the controversy than Joe Solmonese. “I make a solemn vow to you tonight that I will do everything to harness the power and the passion and energy in order to achieve a fully inclusive ENDA,” he told the crowd during his speech.
In a separate interview with The Advocate, Solmonese said that “every decision” he’s made has been driven by his desire to pass a trans-inclusive bill in the most expeditious way.
“They have been gut-wrenching decisions, but I believe that HRC is in a very unique place in this fight,” he said, referring to the organization’s powerful connections on Capitol Hill. “We have constituencies and responsibilities that a lot of other people don’t in terms of keeping that door open to our congressional allies.”

Asked if HRC would ever oppose a sexual orientation–only bill, Solmonese said, “I don’t want to get put in a box on this. To me, this is an enormously complicated situation and, as Congressman Frank and the congressional leadership have pointed out, there’s kind of a bigger strategy.”

Asked if opposing a sexual orientation–only bill would compromise HRC’s relationships on the Hill, he answered, “Unquestionably. We would absolutely not be at the table, and I am committed to being at that table.”

But Professor Bacon didn’t buy that argument. “They need us as much as we need them,” she said, referring to Democratic congressional leaders. “We are an important part of their national constituency. In terms of moving the Democratic agenda, a united LGBT community is necessary.” But who else would the transgender community vote for -- Republicans? “We’ll still support Democrats but maybe not those particular Democrats,” said Bacon.
Despite the controversy surrounding the event, the only disruptions during the evening’s ceremony came when several antiwar protesters were ushered out of the auditorium during Solmonese’s speech, yelling, “Stop funding the war.”

House speaker Nancy Pelosi was welcomed to the stage with a standing ovation as the National Equality Award Recipient and keynote speaker of the night. Both a video biography of the speaker and the person who introduced her trumpeted her “unwavering commitment” to the AIDS epidemic. When Pelosi was first elected to represent San Francisco in 1987, she pledged to speak out for her constituency on AIDS during a time when nearly all public officials dared not discuss the disease.

Once onstage, Pelosi herself recounted the story of her very first words on the House floor when she was introduced as an incoming congresswoman. Though she had been coached by her colleagues to say nothing at all, she resolved to thank her family, the people who had voted for her, and to add just one thing. “I told my constituents when I came here, I would tell you that I came to fight against AIDS,” she recalled saying to a stunned audience.

After her remarks, her colleagues wondered why she chose to mention AIDS at her first introduction to the Congress. She told them, “I said that because I came to Congress to fight against AIDS,” she recalled to a room that erupted into cheers and applause.

Pelosi went on to note several pro-gay achievements of her current caucus: passing a trans-inclusive hate-crimes bill and the fact that the Federal Marriage Amendment is now entirely “off the table.”

As for the elephant in the room, “I give you my commitment as speaker of the House that I will fight for the most inclusive ENDA possible,” she said.

That harried fight will take place over the next two weeks or so. Though no one has uttered a firm date publicly, Pelosi’s office put out a press release saying they would delay action on ENDA until the end of October.

In the meantime, members of Congress are being asked to support an inclusive ENDA by their constituents, professional lobbyists, and the staff of other Congress members who favor the trans-inclusive version. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and NCTE are keeping track of changes in support.

The magic number needed is 217 votes -- the original inclusive bill had 171 cosponsors. Keisling declined to estimate where the vote count stood, since heavy lobbying took place on Friday and Monday is a holiday for many people.

HRC also deployed more than 100 members of their board of governors on Friday to lobby Congress members for the trans-inclusive bill. (Kerry Eleveld, The Advocate)

H.R.2015
Title: To prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Sponsor: Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4] (introduced 4/24/2007) Cosponsors (171)
Latest Major Action: 9/5/2007 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held.
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Jump to: Summary, Major Actions, All Actions, Titles, Cosponsors, Committees, Related Bill Details, Amendments

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SUMMARY AS OF:
4/24/2007--Introduced.

Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007 - Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity by covered entities (employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, or joint labor-management committees). Prohibits preferential treatment or quotas. Allows only disparate treatment claims.

Prohibits related retaliation.

Makes this Act inapplicable to: (1) religious organizations; and (2) the relationship between the United States and members of the armed forces. States that this Act does not repeal or modify any federal, state, territorial, or local law creating a special right or preference concerning employment for a veteran.


Provides for the construction of this Act with regard to: (1) enforcement by employers of rules and policies; (2) sexual harassment; (3) certain shared facilities such as showers or dressing facilities; (4) dress and grooming standards; and (5) certain matters relating to marriage.

Prohibits the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from collecting statistics from covered entities on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or compelling the collection by covered entities of such statistics.

Provides for enforcement, including giving the EEOC, the Librarian of Congress, the Attorney General, and U.S. courts the same enforcement powers as they have under specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, and other specified laws.

Allows actions and proceedings against state governments and, subject to limitation, the federal government.


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MAJOR ACTIONS:
***NONE***


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ALL ACTIONS:
4/24/2007:
Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
4/24/2007:
Referred to House Education and Labor
9/5/2007:
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
9/5/2007:
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
4/24/2007:
Referred to House House Administration
4/24/2007:
Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform
4/24/2007:
Referred to House Judiciary
5/4/2007:
Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.

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TITLE(S): (italics indicate a title for a portion of a bill)
***NONE***


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COSPONSORS(171), ALPHABETICAL [followed by Cosponsors withdrawn]: (Sort: by date)
Rep Abercrombie, Neil [HI-1] - 4/24/2007 Rep Ackerman, Gary L. [NY-5] - 4/24/2007
Rep Allen, Thomas H. [ME-1] - 4/24/2007 Rep Andrews, Robert E. [NJ-1] - 4/24/2007
Rep Arcuri, Michael A. [NY-24] - 6/22/2007 Rep Baca, Joe [CA-43] - 7/17/2007
Rep Baird, Brian [WA-3] - 7/30/2007 Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2] - 4/24/2007
Rep Bean, Melissa L. [IL-8] - 6/7/2007 Rep Berkley, Shelley [NV-1] - 5/23/2007
Rep Berman, Howard L. [CA-28] - 4/24/2007 Rep Biggert, Judy [IL-13] - 6/22/2007
Rep Bishop, Timothy H. [NY-1] - 4/26/2007 Rep Blumenauer, Earl [OR-3] - 5/9/2007
Rep Boswell, Leonard L. [IA-3] - 5/16/2007 Rep Boyda, Nancy E. [KS-2] - 9/19/2007
Rep Brady, Robert A. [PA-1] - 5/2/2007 Rep Braley, Bruce L. [IA-1] - 9/19/2007
Rep Capps, Lois [CA-23] - 4/24/2007 Rep Capuano, Michael E. [MA-8] - 4/24/2007
Rep Carnahan, Russ [MO-3] - 5/16/2007 Rep Carson, Julia [IN-7] - 5/8/2007
Rep Castor, Kathy [FL-11] - 6/22/2007 Rep Clarke, Yvette D. [NY-11] - 5/9/2007
Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy [MO-1] - 4/24/2007 Rep Cleaver, Emanuel [MO-5] - 4/24/2007
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] - 5/2/2007 Rep Cooper, Jim [TN-5] - 7/30/2007
Rep Costa, Jim [CA-20] - 9/5/2007 Rep Courtney, Joe [CT-2] - 6/26/2007
Rep Crowley, Joseph [NY-7] - 4/24/2007 Rep Cummings, Elijah E. [MD-7] - 4/24/2007
Rep Davis, Danny K. [IL-7] - 8/2/2007 Rep Davis, Susan A. [CA-53] - 4/24/2007
Rep DeFazio, Peter A. [OR-4] - 4/24/2007 Rep DeGette, Diana [CO-1] - 5/2/2007
Rep Delahunt, William D. [MA-10] - 4/24/2007 Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [CT-3] - 7/30/2007
Rep Dicks, Norman D. [WA-6] - 5/8/2007 Rep Dingell, John D. [MI-15] - 4/24/2007
Rep Doggett, Lloyd [TX-25] - 4/24/2007 Rep Doyle, Michael F. [PA-14] - 4/24/2007
Rep Ellison, Keith [MN-5] - 4/24/2007 Rep Emanuel, Rahm [IL-5] - 4/24/2007
Rep Engel, Eliot L. [NY-17] - 4/24/2007 Rep Eshoo, Anna G. [CA-14] - 7/11/2007
Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17] - 4/24/2007 Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] - 5/2/2007
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] - 4/24/2007 Rep Giffords, Gabrielle [AZ-8] - 6/7/2007
Rep Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [NY-20] - 6/26/2007 Rep Gonzalez, Charles A. [TX-20] - 4/24/2007
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] - 5/1/2007 Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. [IL-4] - 9/19/2007
Rep Hall, John J. [NY-19] - 8/1/2007 Rep Hare, Phil [IL-17] - 6/15/2007
Rep Harman, Jane [CA-36] - 6/28/2007 Rep Hastings, Alcee L. [FL-23] - 4/24/2007
Rep Higgins, Brian [NY-27] - 6/28/2007 Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22] - 4/24/2007
Rep Hinojosa, Ruben [TX-15] - 4/24/2007 Rep Hirono, Mazie K. [HI-2] - 4/24/2007
Rep Hodes, Paul W. [NH-2] - 5/1/2007 Rep Holden, Tim [PA-17] - 5/1/2007
Rep Holt, Rush D. [NJ-12] - 4/24/2007 Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15] - 4/24/2007
Rep Hooley, Darlene [OR-5] - 9/4/2007 Rep Inslee, Jay [WA-1] - 9/4/2007
Rep Israel, Steve [NY-2] - 5/16/2007 Rep Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. [IL-2] - 5/9/2007
Rep Jackson-Lee, Sheila [TX-18] - 4/24/2007 Rep Jefferson, William J. [LA-2] - 7/17/2007
Rep Johnson, Eddie Bernice [TX-30] - 4/24/2007 Rep Johnson, Henry C. "Hank," Jr. [GA-4] - 4/24/2007
Rep Jones, Stephanie Tubbs [OH-11] - 5/1/2007 Rep Kennedy, Patrick J. [RI-1] - 4/26/2007
Rep Kildee, Dale E. [MI-5] - 5/2/2007 Rep Kilpatrick, Carolyn C. [MI-13] - 4/24/2007
Rep Kirk, Mark Steven [IL-10] - 5/1/2007 Rep Klein, Ron [FL-22] - 5/23/2007
Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. [OH-10] - 9/5/2007 Rep Langevin, James R. [RI-2] - 4/24/2007
Rep Lantos, Tom [CA-12] - 5/24/2007 Rep Larsen, Rick [WA-2] - 9/26/2007
Rep Larson, John B. [CT-1] - 5/23/2007 Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] - 4/26/2007
Rep Levin, Sander M. [MI-12] - 4/24/2007 Rep Lewis, John [GA-5] - 7/11/2007
Rep Loebsack, David [IA-2] - 4/24/2007 Rep Lofgren, Zoe [CA-16] - 4/24/2007
Rep Lowey, Nita M. [NY-18] - 4/26/2007 Rep Lynch, Stephen F. [MA-9] - 4/26/2007
Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [NY-14] - 4/24/2007 Rep Markey, Edward J. [MA-7] - 4/24/2007
Rep Matheson, Jim [UT-2] - 4/24/2007 Rep Matsui, Doris O. [CA-5] - 5/9/2007
Rep McCarthy, Carolyn [NY-4] - 9/4/2007 Rep McCollum, Betty [MN-4] - 4/24/2007
Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] - 4/24/2007 Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] - 4/24/2007
Rep McNerney, Jerry [CA-11] - 7/11/2007 Rep McNulty, Michael R. [NY-21] - 4/26/2007
Rep Meehan, Martin T. [MA-5] - 4/24/2007 Rep Meek, Kendrick B. [FL-17] - 9/26/2007
Rep Meeks, Gregory W. [NY-6] - 6/13/2007 Rep Michaud, Michael H. [ME-2] - 4/24/2007
Rep Miller, Brad [NC-13] - 7/17/2007 Rep Miller, George [CA-7] - 5/23/2007
Rep Mitchell, Harry E. [AZ-5] - 7/19/2007 Rep Moore, Dennis [KS-3] - 4/24/2007
Rep Moore, Gwen [WI-4] - 7/11/2007 Rep Moran, James P. [VA-8] - 4/24/2007
Rep Murphy, Christopher S. [CT-5] - 4/26/2007 Rep Murphy, Patrick J. [PA-8] - 5/16/2007
Rep Nadler, Jerrold [NY-8] - 4/24/2007 Rep Napolitano, Grace F. [CA-38] - 5/1/2007
Rep Neal, Richard E. [MA-2] - 4/24/2007 Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [DC] - 4/24/2007
Rep Olver, John W. [MA-1] - 4/24/2007 Rep Pallone, Frank, Jr. [NJ-6] - 4/24/2007
Rep Pascrell, Bill, Jr. [NJ-8] - 4/24/2007 Rep Pastor, Ed [AZ-4] - 4/24/2007
Rep Payne, Donald M. [NJ-10] - 4/26/2007 Rep Perlmutter, Ed [CO-7] - 6/28/2007
Rep Price, David E. [NC-4] - 9/5/2007 Rep Pryce, Deborah [OH-15] - 4/24/2007
Rep Rangel, Charles B. [NY-15] - 4/24/2007 Rep Reyes, Silvestre [TX-16] - 6/22/2007
Rep Rodriguez, Ciro D. [TX-23] - 6/28/2007 Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] - 4/24/2007
Rep Rothman, Steven R. [NJ-9] - 5/1/2007 Rep Roybal-Allard, Lucille [CA-34] - 7/19/2007
Rep Ryan, Tim [OH-17] - 8/1/2007 Rep Salazar, John T. [CO-3] - 7/17/2007
Rep Sanchez, Linda T. [CA-39] - 4/24/2007 Rep Sarbanes, John P. [MD-3] - 7/11/2007
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [IL-9] - 5/1/2007 Rep Schiff, Adam B. [CA-29] - 4/24/2007
Rep Scott, Robert C. "Bobby" [VA-3] - 5/8/2007 Rep Serrano, Jose E. [NY-16] - 6/7/2007
Rep Sestak, Joe [PA-7] - 5/1/2007 Rep Shays, Christopher [CT-4] - 4/24/2007
Rep Shea-Porter, Carol [NH-1] - 5/2/2007 Rep Sherman, Brad [CA-27] - 5/8/2007
Rep Sires, Albio [NJ-13] - 4/24/2007 Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [NY-28] - 5/23/2007
Rep Smith, Adam [WA-9] - 6/7/2007 Rep Solis, Hilda L. [CA-32] - 6/13/2007
Rep Stark, Fortney Pete [CA-13] - 6/26/2007 Rep Sutton, Betty [OH-13] - 5/8/2007
Rep Tauscher, Ellen O. [CA-10] - 5/9/2007 Rep Thompson, Mike [CA-1] - 6/7/2007
Rep Tierney, John F. [MA-6] - 5/16/2007 Rep Towns, Edolphus [NY-10] - 9/19/2007
Rep Udall, Mark [CO-2] - 4/26/2007 Rep Udall, Tom [NM-3] - 6/26/2007
Rep Van Hollen, Chris [MD-8] - 4/24/2007 Rep Velazquez, Nydia M. [NY-12] - 5/1/2007
Rep Walz, Timothy J. [MN-1] - 6/28/2007 Rep Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [FL-20] - 5/9/2007
Rep Waters, Maxine [CA-35] - 5/16/2007 Rep Watson, Diane E. [CA-33] - 7/17/2007
Rep Watt, Melvin L. [NC-12] - 7/19/2007 Rep Waxman, Henry A. [CA-30] - 4/24/2007
Rep Weiner, Anthony D. [NY-9] - 5/1/2007 Rep Welch, Peter [VT] - 6/15/2007
Rep Wexler, Robert [FL-19] - 4/24/2007 Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] - 5/16/2007
Rep Wu, David [OR-1] - 4/24/2007 Rep Wynn, Albert Russell [MD-4] - 4/24/2007
Rep Yarmuth, John A. [KY-3] - 6/13/2007



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COMMITTEE(S):
Committee/Subcommittee: Activity:
House Education and Labor Referral, In Committee
Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Referral, Hearings
House Administration Referral, In Committee
House Oversight and Government Reform Referral, In Committee
House Judiciary Referral, In Committee
Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Referral

Tell your Representative to keep ENDA transgender inclusive!
Make sure that PFLAG's voice is heard in Washington!

Over the past several days, PFLAGers proved that we will leave no member of our family behind. Your calls have made a difference. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has temporarily delayed action on the non-transgender-inclusive version of H.R. 2015, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). In the next two weeks the GLBT community needs to demonstrate that we are firm in our support for all members of our community.

House members need to hear from you!

Every call or in-district visit that you make puts us one step closer to our goal of full inclusion. Click the Take Action button and enter your zip code. You will be directed to a page with your representative’s phone number as well as a phone script to help with your calls.

In the next two weeks, please take the time to schedule a visit or drop-in on your representative’s home district office. You may find your Representative’s district office address by visiting www.capwiz.com/pflag and PFLAG talking points by visiting http://www.pflag.org/ENDA.enda.0.html.

Moving equality forward means moving equality forward for all of us – not just a select few. Don’t let our PFLAG family be divided. Please make the call TODAY!

ARAMAC ACTION ALERT: Call Your Representative and Urge Them to Vote "YES WITHOUT AMENDMENT"
House Foreign Affairs Committee to Vote on H. Res. 106 Next Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Armenian Genocide Resolution Scheduled for Vote in House Foreign Affairs Committee
The House Foreign Affairs Committee has scheduled H. Res. 106 for a vote in committee next Wednesday, October 10, 2007.
Now is the time to contact your Member of Congress and urge a “YES” vote without Amendment on H. Res. 106. If your Representative serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, contact him/her and urge them to vote “YES WITHOUT AMENDMENT” on H. Res. 106. Currently, the House Foreign Affairs Committee consists of 50 Members, 23 of whom are co-sponsors to H. Res. 106.
It is imperative that Armenian-Americans call, write and/or email their Representative who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Leave no doubt that the Turkish community and the Turkish Lobby will be ramping up their efforts to block this bill. It is up to every Armenian-American individually and us as a community to ensure passage of this critical bill this month.
Now is the time! Together, we can make history. Urge your Representative to vote “YES WITHOUT AMENDMENT” on this important human rights bill

Kerry Challenges Congress to Pass ENDA legislation


Introduces ENDA Bill that extends existing civil rights protection already afforded to other persons

Thursday, June 24, 1999


Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Sen. John Kerry today gave the following statement on the introduction of the "Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 1999":

"Once again, this ENDA legislation gives us the opportunity to send a strong message that all Americans matter, and that no one should suffer discrimination in the workplace.

"We hear a lot from Congress today how we are a country of laws, not men. Let them make good on those words and pass this legislation that ensures that every American civil rights protection.

"I've heard from people in Massachusetts, who have been fired from their jobs for no other reason than they were gay or perceived to be gay. This is wrong. In Massachusetts, the state provides them with legal recourse. It is long overdue for our nation to come together to ease the fear of prejudice in the work place and provide every American with this same protection."

ENDA would extend federal employment protections currently based on race, religion, gender, national origin, age and disability to sexual orientation. The bill would prohibit employers, employment agencies and labor unions from using an individual's sexual orientation as the basis for employment decisions, such as hiring, firing, promotion or compensation.

In 1985 Kerry authored the first federal gay civil right bill. He is an original co-sponsor of ENDA and has sponsored anti-discrimination bills every year that he has been in Congress.



Contact: Massachusetts media email [email protected]. All other press inquiries email [email protected].

How Far Will Democrats Go On Gay Rights?
Tom Curry
MSNBC
POSTED: 10:28 am PDT October 5, 2007
UPDATED: 6:43 am PDT October 8, 2007
http://www.nbc11. com/msnbcnews/ 14278223/ detail.html
WASHINGTON - The gay rights movement has come a long way since 1970 when Vice President Spiro Agnew attacked a liberal Republican critic of the Nixon Administration.
Agnew called Sen. Charles Goodell of New York "the Christine Jorgensen of the Republican Party."
Pundits found Agnew's sneering reference to the well-known 1950s transsexual clever, even if a bit harsh.
Today members of Congress aren't making such people the butt of jokes; they're debating whether they should have protection under federal law.
Many Americans know and work with a gay or lesbian person, but how many have a nodding acquaintance with a transgender person?
That distinction may explain why the House of Representatives is likely to vote within the next few weeks for job protections for gays and lesbians, but not for people who are transsexuals or adopt the appearance andmannerisms of the other sex.
The House Democratic leadership is giving activists from gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) groups a few weeks to try to round up the votes to include transgender people in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).
The bill would make it illegal for an employer to fire, refuse to hire, or offer less pay to a person "because of such individual's actual or perceived sexual orientation. "
Activists "have two weeks to try to get the votes" to include transgender people in ENDA, said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chief sponsor of the bill.

Defining 'gender identity'
Frank's original ENDA, introduced last April, also said employers could not discriminate against workers on the basis of "gender identity" which his bill defined as "the gender-related identity, appearance, or mannerisms or other gender-related characteristics of an individual, with or without regard to the individual's designated sex at birth."
The new version of Frank's bill drops gender identity as a protected status.
A House veteran of 26 years, Frank comes to this conclusion: "The problem is we don't have the votes" to give ENDA job coverage to transgenders.
But the fact that the House is even considering this idea shows how much has changed in the last few decades.
With the 2008 elections in sight, the transgender issue could give House Democrats in conservative- leaning districts something to vote against even as they vote for ENDA for gays and lesbians.

The view from Dover, Ohio
One Democratic freshman in a Republican-leaning district, Rep. Zack Space of Ohio, said he supports the idea of banning workplace discrimination against gays and lesbians.
But legal protections for transgender people, he said, is a "more foreign" idea, and he is "not comfortable making a commitment on that."
But even without transgender people included in it, would ENDA be politically unpalatable in Space's Ohio district? "It may be, or it may not be," Space said. "My vote on that issue is not based on the fallout politically. "
President Bush carried Space's district in 2004 with 57 percent of the vote.
Also in 2004, Ohio voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot initiative amending the state constitution to make "only a union between one man and one woman" legally valid.
But marriage, Space said "is an entirely different matter" than employment policies.
ENDA "is not an insuperable problem for most of the Democratic freshman," said Frank. "Several (Democratic) freshmen told me they'd vote for it."
A Republican co-sponsor of ENDA, Rep. Chris Shays, R-Conn., estimates that 20 of the 202 House Republicans would vote for ENDA, if it did not have transgender people included in it, while "practically none" would vote for it if transgender people were included.
The passage of ENDA, even if it led to a veto by Bush, would "set down a maker for a future president," Frank said.
Eventually the House will pass ENDA protection for transgender people, but not this year, Frank said.

The power of the GLBT lobby
"The Democratic leadership believes in nondiscrimination on account of sexual orientation, " said congressional scholar Prof. John Pitney, who teaches politics at Claremont McKenna College.
"It also recognizes the power of the GLBT constituency, " he said. "The leading gay political organization, the Human Rights Campaign has half a million members nationwide. Its PAC gave more than a million dollars in 2006, 91 percent to Democratic candidates."
ENDA, he said, "may hurt Democrats in socially conservative districts."
But have the cases of former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., who quit last year after his sexually provocative text messages to a male House page were published, and Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, caught in a bathroom sex sting, eroded Republicans' ability to use gay rights against Democrats?
"Though the Foley and Craig incidents may limit the GOP's ability to highlight gay issues, conservative and religious activists will still criticize lawmakers who support such a measure," said Pitney, who added that "congressional Democrats are testing the limits of how far they can go before triggering a backlash."
"What we have to combat now is the fear of Democrats of being tied too closely to the GLBT community," said Jeremy Bishop, Executive Director of Pride At Work, a GLBT advocacy group within the AFL-CIO.
He urged Democratic leaders to "not waffle because of fears of a backlash." Bishop's group supports including transgender people in ENDA.
Asked about the Democrats' push for ENDA, House Republican Whip Roy Blunt said he was surprised that "they're so aggressively defining themselves."
He said, "It is helpful to us that they're defining the difference between the two parties.... On this issue and other issues, they're helping create an understanding of what the two parties are for and I think at the end of the day that's good for us."