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ENDA Bill sans Equality Passes E & L CommitteeThe House Education and Labor Committee passed a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act ( ENDA ) that protects only sexual orientation and not gender identity on Oct. 18. The full House is expected to take up the measure this week. The bill passed the committee with the support of 23 of 27 Democrats and 4 of 22 Republicans. The Democrats voting "no" did so because it did not include protection for transgender persons. They were Rush Holt ( New Jersey ) , Yvette Clarke ( New York ) , Linda Sanchez ( California ) and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich ( Ohio ) . Social conservatives on the committee offered four amendments to further weaken the bill, but they went nowhere. Earlier in the week, on Oct. 16, the only open lesbian in the House, Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., announced that the Democratic leadership would allow her to offer an amendment on the floor that would restore the gender identity provision. "I have never wavered from my conviction that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act must include protections base on sexual orientation and gender identity," Baldwin said in a statement released by her office. "We are greatly disappointed that the committee chose to move forward with a bill that is not endorsed by a single LGBT organization," said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. "It is historically unprecedented that Congress would pass a civil rights bill that the civil rights community€ ’·including those it is meant to protect€ ’·does not want." "This process has put members [ of Congress ] in the position where they think they might have to vote against the first piece of pro-gay rights legislation ever. That's the tragedy of this situation." said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, in an interview with CBS News on Logo. "We oppose this legislation; we hope it never comes up for a vote without transgender inclusion," he continued. "We are putting our allies in a situation; we should not be here. The answer is either yank the bill or pass an inclusive bill." "Two weeks ago, our community was told that gender identity would not be included in any version of ENDA. Congressional leadership expected our community to acquiesce," United ENDA said in a news release. The coalition of about 300 national, state, and local LGBT groups had come together as a result of that attempted fiat by the Democratic leadership. "It is because of our unprecedented efforts that new options, such as the proposed amendments by Rep. Baldwin are able to come before Congress." "Now our community must focus our full attention on the upcoming floor vote on ENDA and building support for Rep. Tammy Baldwin's amendment that would make this bill fully inclusive of the entire GLBT community," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign. National Stonewall Democrats Executive Director Jon Hoadley said, "We appreciate that Congressional leaders like Congresswoman Baldwin continue to share our commitment to pass an inclusive bill, and we expect Speaker Pelosi and the House leadership will actively support the Baldwin amendment." Foreman said the Senate is not going to pass the bill this year, and George Bush is not going to sign it. "We've put our community through this wrenching, divisive debate over the last three weeks for an absolutely nothing but a symbolic vote." http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=16427 October 24 Will ENDA be Vetoed?Of Course!
In its first statement on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act
which would protect gays and lesbians in the workforce the White House said Tuesday the bill is likely unconstitutional and that if it passes in Congress the president's senior aides would recommend vetoing it. "[The bill] is inconsistent with the right to the free exercise of religion
as codified by Congress in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)," the White House said in a statement. The House is expected to vote on ENDA, along with an amendment that would
extend protections to include gender identity on Wednesday. The White House raised what it called two examples of how ENDA would violate
the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. "For instance, schools that are owned by or directed toward a particular
religion are exempted by the bill; but those that emphasize religious principles broadly will find their religious liberties burdened by H.R. 3685. A second concern is H.R. 3685's authorization of Federal civil damage actions against State entities, which may violate States' immunity under the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution." The administration also said that ENDA was result in unnecessary litigation.
For instance, the bill establishes liability for acting on "perceived"
sexual orientation, or "association" with individuals of a particular sexual orientation. If passed, H.R. 3685 is virtually certain to encourage burdensome litigation beyond the cases that the bill is intended to reach." In addition the White House said that provisions of ENDA "give Federal
statutory significance to same-sex marriage rights under State law. These provisions conflict with the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as the legal union between one man and one woman. The Administration strongly opposes any attempt to weaken this law, which is vital to defending the sanctity of marriage." The threatened veto is the latest in a series of problems ENDA has
encountered. It originally included all members of the LGBT community, but the bill's
author, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass) removed gender identity fearing the legislation might not get out of committee. The move angered most LGBT rights groups, many of whom accused Frank of
selling out transsexuals. Nevertheless, the revised bill passed the House Education and Labor
Committee last week on a 27 - 21 vote. (story)<http://365gay.com/Newscon07/10/101807enda.htm>Several committee Democrats, including presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich refused to support the measure without the inclusion of protections for trans people. Following the vote Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) proposed an amendment that
would reinstate gender identity and secured the support of House leadership to introduce it Wednesday when ENDA reaches the floor. (story<http://365gay.com/Newscon07/10/101707enda.htm> ) Frank and Baldwin are the only two out members of Congress.
Friday, Frank announced he would support the amendment and said he would
lobby for its passage. (story<http://365gay.com/Newscon07/10/101907frank.htm> ) ENDA, as currently worded, would make it illegal for employers to
discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in hiring, firing, promoting or paying an employee. There are, however, some notable exceptions. It does not cover small
businesses, churches and the uniformed members of the armed forces. The White House concerns suggest that ENDA could be used against faith-based
agencies and to seek domestic partner benefits from employers. The threatened veto is the second against LGBT legislation before Congress.
The other is the Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Act. That legislation has passed the House. The Senate version passed as an amendment to a military spending bill. The two versions are now in conference. October 22 !!Urgent Call to all Humans!!URGENT – IN LESS THAN 48 HOURS CONGRESS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADD PROTECTIONS FOR TRANSGENDER WORKERS IN THE FINAL ENDA.
TELL REP. McDermott TO SUPPORT THE BALDWIN AMENDMENT!
Congress will vote Wednesday on H.R. 3685, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Representative Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) plans to offer an amendment to ENDA to add protections based on gender identity. This amendment is crucial! This is our last chance to get gender identity back into the bill. We need your help right away to make sure your representative supports the amendment. We've called and emailed, but now we're sending faxes to show we mean business. Send an automatic fax to Rep. McDermott in support of the Baldwin amendment to ENDA, to make sure gender identity is included in the bill. Once you've taken action, please forward this message to your friends and family to help us get the word out. This is a historic vote. For the first time ever, the House of Representatives is poised to vote on employment protections for the GLBT community. Help us make sure every member of the GLBT community is included in those protections. Thank you for all that you do. Warmly, October 21 Day of RemembranceAs many of us are likely aware, Monday, November 20th is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. I believe this is the 9th anniversary of this event and I was wondering if anyone who reads my blog has attended one of these?
For those who have never heard of this event, it's a time to gather together and remember our transgender brothers and sisters who have been killed by acts of violence.
In the years I've been attending, there is normally a candlelight reading of the list of homicide victims, and often some indication as to the official classification of the crime.
Here is a partial list which I will update with 2007's victims as I find the time... As always, our gratitude goes to Gwen Smith for her herculean efforts!! Edna Brown You're in my prayersA dear friend and coworker of mine is in critical condition in at Swedish hospital, Seattle WA.
I don't ask much of folks but let's all take a moment and send positive energy her way, ok?
Beth, you're in all of our hearts and prayers at Groove dear. God's speed.
Always,
Dana
October 14 Gender, Humanity and Robin WilliamsIt’s funny, I was watching 'Bicentennial Man' starring Robin Williams this evening and I can’t even begin to explain the similarities of journey. I suppose if ever I had to endorse a movie as an example of what it might feel like to be gay, lesbian or transgendered to someone who has had a difficult time finding the empathy, then this just might be a very good one. I’m certain that they’ve no idea how appealing that notion was to me, after all a robot was completely malleable. If you’ve never seen this movie, I won’t spoil it here; go watch it ‘On Demand’ and watch it with transpositions towards gender identity. Let me know how you feel after you watch it; read on if you don’t care… In short, this film takes place in the future when robots are sold as household servants. Something unusual occurs and the Martin family discovers that they do not have a typical robot servant. Their robot, Andrew, begins to experience emotions and creative thought. The rest of the movie focuses on a journey of self discovery, enlightenment, honesty and an unstoppable desire to contribute to humanity. Perhaps one of the most powerful scenes for me is towards the end of the movie when Andrew Martin {the robot} is trying to get a bill passed in congress which would allow for Andrew, to be declared a member of the human race. His reasoning for this is simply to legitimize his marriage to a female human, sound familiur? In its first proposal to congress, Andrew is deemed ‘merely a machine and nothing more’ because Martin does not share one of mans’ most defining gifts; mortality. He disputes one of the representives on the floor because he in fact has a mechanical kidney that perhaps they are more similar than he would like to believe. After Andrew’s human spouse discloses that she would eventually want to die and bring order to the universe, Andrew realizes that continuing without her would be impossible. Andrew begins to make modifications to that very advanced body of his so that he too will be mortal. This is to say that at some unpredictable rate he will begin to decay and one day cease to function. After having achieved this, Andrew petitions congress again for consideration of the same bill, this time without the article that was lacking before. Here is some dialog that really reached me deeply…
Sometime later in his private residence, Andrew would finally die with his spouse by his side. Ironically a news flash comes on the TV just a moment or two after… World Congress Moderator: Ladies and Gentlemen: Ms. Marjorie Bota, President of the World Congress. Please think about this the next time a GLTB person simply asks for equality. Always, Dana October 01 Out and Equal ConferenceI just returned from the Out and Equal Conference in DC and wow, I'm exhausted!! I'll be writing more about the details of the workshops and other meetings I had while I was down there but for now I just need to get some sleep!!
Here's a pic of me and Donna Rose of the HRC
This may be just the turn that we need to make after hearing about the exclusion of the transgender portion of the ENDA act.
A vote to mark up a revised version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that had been expected on Tuesday has been put off as pressure by LGBT groups mounts on Democrats to reinstate the measure's original language. Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office confirmed late Monday that the bill will not be considered until later in the month. "In this defining and morally transformative moment, our community has come together in an unprecedented way and said once and for all that we will leave no part of our community behind," said Matt Foreman the executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "We appreciate that a decision has been made to slow down this process, and we look forward to working with Congress over the upcoming weeks to educate them as to why this substitute bill strategy is seriously flawed, convince them to abandon this strategy, and instead advance a fully inclusive ENDA later this month." The act, referred to as ENDA, was reworked late last week, stripping out protections for the transgendered. But the changes also reduced the protections afforded gay and lesbian workers too, Lambda Legal said earlier on Monday. (story <http://365gay.com/Newscon07/10/100107endup.htm>) "Leaving out protections for transgender people is unacceptable, and passing a bill riddled with loopholes will make it harder to achieve equality on the job," said Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director at Lambda Legal. "You can't be fired for being a lesbian or a gay man, but you can be fired if your boss thinks you fit their stereotype of one." This is a huge loophole through which employers sued for sexual orientation discrimination can claim that their conduct was actually based on gender expression, a type of discrimination that the new bill does not prohibit, said Lambda. The new version of ENDA also states without qualification that refusal by employers to extend health insurance benefits to the domestic partners of their employees that are provided only to married couples cannot be considered sexual orientation discrimination. The old version provided that states and local governments could require that employees be provided domestic partner health insurance when such benefits are provided to spouses. In the previous version of ENDA the religious exemptions had some limitations. The new version has a blanket exemption under which, for example, hospitals or universities run by faith-based groups can fire or refuse to hire people they think might be gay or lesbian. Last week, nine national LGBT organizations denounced the removal of transgender protections from the bill. (story <http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/09/092707enda.htm>) In a short statement Monday Pelosi's office attempted to put a positive spin on the delay. "After discussions with congressional leaders and organizations supporting passage of ENDA, we have agreed to schedule mark-up of the bill in the Committee on Education and Labor later this month, followed by a vote in the full House," said the statement attributed to Pelosi, Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, and openly gay Congressmembers Barney Frank, and Tammy Baldwin. "This schedule will allow proponents of the legislation to continue their discussions with Members in the interest of passing the broadest possible bill," the statement said. Several LGBT groups hailed the delay saying it would help them lobby for changes. "The step taken today by the committee to delay action on the substitute bill is a clear demonstration of the strength of grassroots organizing as exemplified by our members and thousands of advocates across the country," said Jon Hoadley, the Executive Director of National Stonewall Democrats. "Our work isn't over until Congress passes, and the President signs, an Employment Non-Discrimination Act that protects all working Americans from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity," said Hoadley. On Monday Stonewall Democrats launched NoSubstitutes.org, an online organizing effort to mobilize people to save the the original version of ENDA. |
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