Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

ENDA the Good Bill

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Some Background…

Back on September 28th, Rep Barney Frank (D-MA) posted a diary at The Bilerico Project.  In it he made this surprise announcement that blindsided the community

…under the current political situation, we do not have sufficient support in the House to include in [ENDA] explicit protection for people who are transgender. The question facing us…is whether we should pass up the chance to adopt a very good bill [e.g. GLB-only] because it has one major gap [no protections for T’s]. I believe that it would be a grave error to let this opportunity to pass a sexual orientation nondiscrimination bill go forward, not simply because it is one of the most important advances we’ll have made in securing civil rights for Americans in decades, but because moving forward on this bill now will also better serve the ultimate goal of including people who are transgender than simply accepting total defeat today.

In other words, he said that because the votes* were there to pass a GLB-only but not a LGBT-version of ENDA, we should dump the T’s and go for it.  Although he got some support for that plan from a few places, most of the LGBT & Ally community responded strongly, immediately and unitedly in rejecting Frank’s plan.  To date, almost 300 LGBT & Ally organizations have signed a letter stating that under no circumstances should ENDA legislation move forward unless all elements of the LGBT community were included.  Included as signers are National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays , National Black Just Coalition, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders and Gay Lesbian & Straight Education Network.  Human Rights Campaign continues to be an enigmatic wildcard. 

*Interestingly, his stripped-down GLB-only version of ENDA only has 9 co-sponsors.  The original, T-inclusive bill has 171 co-sponsors.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who has been working closely with Frank on the legislation, challenges his plan, saying

“We must bring the strongest possible bill to the floor of the House for a vote. If our adversaries wish to erode protections in the bill, we must be prepared to face that challenge and make our case. However, I believe it is a mistake to concede defeat on any issue, before our opponents even raise it.”

I emboldened that last bit of text for the following reasons:

1.  I agree!

2.  Since there is little to no chance of any ENDA bill making it through the Senate, and certainly zero chance of Bush signing it, no actual LGB people will be harmed by starting the dialogue now on a fully inclusive ENDA.  To do as Frank suggests would be needlessly divisive to the LGBT community.  And frankly, we won’t stand for it.  Frank is pushing a bill that does not have the support of what he thinks is it’s constituency.  And p.s., he removed more than T-folk in his stripped-down version of the bill.  Read more here. 

As of Friday, October 12th, this is where things stood

At a late afternoon meeting on October 12 in [Speaker] Pelosi’s office, representatives of the Democratic leadership informed key LGBT advocates that it planned to move forward with a vote on a revised version of the [non-T ENDA] covering sexual orientation but not gender identity and expression.

But in what was intended as a concession to leading LGBT organizations who have waged an uphill struggle for more than two weeks to salvage the fully inclusive version of the bill introduced earlier this year, Pelosi pledged to allow a floor vote on that original formulation once advocates indicate they have the votes to secure passage.

Take Action…

This means that all of us – LGBT & Allies – need to do some direct advocacy with our reps now.  Links to Take Action websites can be found here.  Alternately, you can find who your Rep. is here and contact them directly (this is the most effective option!).  Ask them to co-sponsor the good ENDA, HR 2015.  I’m calling all the Reps from my state.  What the heck.  Sure as shootin, the powerful anti-LGBT organizations are working overtime to see that any form of ENDA fails.

Below is a list of Members of the House of Representatives, how they voted on the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 (“The Matthew Shepard Act, HR 1592), and whether or not they are Co-sponsors of H.R. 2015.  Since The Matthew Shepard Act is inclusive of LGB and T people, I thought it was an interesting index of a legislator’s openness to protect the most vulnerable among us.  Namely, Transgender people.  PhoenixRising is using the list to approach his/her Rep in this creative way: “Howsabout getting on the sponsor list for 2015, since the whackos who are against your vote on the hate crimes bill are already after you, and your support on ENDA will shore up support among the other 78% of your district.”

Codes used are:  YES = a ‘yes’ vote on HR 1592 or a bill co-sponsor for HR 2015; NV = not voting; NO = a ‘no’ vote on HR 1592; R- = The legislator is a Republican.

Names highlighted in PINK and BLUE are Republicans and Democrats, respectively, who voted YES on HR 1592 but have not yet co-sponsored HR 2015.

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Comments

  1. Niki Tsongas has been a firm supporter of LGBT issues, and has the general support of the LGBT crowd in the current election.  It goes way back.  Paul Tsongas was a firm supported of gay rights in his day, even submitting the first ENDA bill way back in the 1980s.  According to reports Niki was an active supporter along side him, even back then.

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    Marty Meehan, who just retired from the MA-05 seat that Tsongas is seeking, was a co-sponsor of HR 2015.

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    I have not heard what side of the untied/split ENDA debate Tsongas is on.  We need her to put her commitment to real progress for LGBT people to hard work the moment she takes the seat, and become a co-sponsor of HR 2015.  I call on Mrs. Tsongas to be a vocal and active supporter for a united ENDA.  It is a stance in the tradition of the MA-05 seat, in the tradition of her husband’s legacy, and most importantly, in the tradition of her own personal actions.

  2. HRC members are reportedly telling reps that their HRC equality score will go up if they support the BAD version of ENDA – and continue to confuse reps on the issue.

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    It is so important that all of us speak up and say we support the 300 major organizations that suport ONE ENDA.

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    Do note let HRC or Barney Frank speak for you!

          • …juvenile Photoshopped image.

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            Let me put it this way.  You aren’t getting yourselves any allies by pulling these sorts of stunts.  Indeed, you are showing yourselves to be little more than Perez Hilton.

          • I thought it was pretty outrageous and showed how ridiculous and juvenile the “all rights, right now” crowd is.

            • it is patently ridiculous to imply that one person (the QueerToday poster) speaks for anyone other than his/herself.  maybe this is a difficult concept to grasp for a group of people who share the username ‘they’?

              • Due to our vague multitudeness, it is hard for us to grasp anything, and yet we somehow have complete control over the machinations of all of society.  We don’t always know what we are doing, but we’re always the ones doing it.

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                Sure, this was just one angry, unhinged poster, but his anger is not unique, nor is his unreasonableness.  It is the same viciousness that is usually reserved for “bigots”, but here it gets released on a friend, Barney Frank.  We are hoping that people will repudiate this sort of viciousness and help the poster find some inner calm, both for Barney’s and the usual recipients’ sake.

              • It’s one thing for a member to call Barney a douchebag in private, or even in a comment.  It’s another for them to post a front page diary. 

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                Not one member of Queer Today called him on it and Mark Synder’s response to complaints about the tone was “Barney may not be our enemy, but he is the divider. Our community is largely united on this issue, minus Barney. It is he who is attempting to divide us for support for his strategy.”

                • i don’t see how – i am not a queertoday poster.  as i’ve said, i don’t agree with that post, and further i don’t think any LGBT-A people should be judged by it except it’s author.  you are saying that the silence of other queertoday posters is damning.  well perhaps.  but who cares?  why tie up the conversation with one stupid post that a few others let stand?  we have bigger fish to fry.  which reminds me….i called all the in-state offices of my state’s congressional delegation yesterday.  i’m gonna hop off the ‘net for a few minutes now and call the DC offices of the ones who are not yet co-sponsors of HR 2015.

                • I did too.

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                  I still thinking you’re backing the wrong horse. I realize Queer Today self-appointed, but if we don’t call them on their BS, who will?

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                  They’re now ragging on MassEquality, for example:

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                  http://queertoday.bl…

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                  The sad truth is that MassEquality’s strategy for strength and success relied upon its monolithic focus, big budget, slick and patriotic marketing, and a willingness to fight for marriage equality on the backs of other organizations more rooted in the spirit of liberation for all.

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                  Whatever.

                • queertoday is irrelevant to me.  i wish you could understand that.  why do you expect me to take the time to unreservedly refute a stupid comment made on a queer blog?  really, there are much more important ways to spend my time.

    • that a subset of society is deliberately targeted and fired for no reason in particular?  if so, i’d sure love to see your evidence.

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