Barney Frank Reintroduces Fully-Inclusive ENDA

Barney Frank today introduced a fully-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Pam Spaulding has posted a round-up of the reactions from LGBT groups.

The Washington Blade reports: "According to his office, more than 100 members of Congress have signed on to co-sponsor the measure. Among the sponsors are gay House members Frank, Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.). The lead Republican sponsor is Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.). In a recent interview with the Blade, Frank said he believes prospects for passing a trans-inclusive ENDA have improved significantly since 2007, when he and other House Democratic leaders said the measure would be defeated if a gender identity clause were kept in the bill. Over the strong objections of transgender activists and many gay advocacy groups, House Democratic leaders dropped the transgender provision from the bill in September 2007. The House went on to pass it the following month, but the measure died when the Senate took no action on it."

Report: HRC Made Deal to Delay Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

In a new report at The Daily Beast, Jason Bellini claims that Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) "let slip" to a number of gay leaders that the Human Rights Campaign told him that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is not the White House's priority.

According to Bellini, gay leaders in Washington made a deal with leaders in the House to not push for DADT until sometime next year. "Congressional sources" tell Bellini that HRC wants to focus on a federal hate crimes bill and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) first.

HRC denies there is any such deal.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Barney Frank Talks: The Inauguration, the Economy, and LGBT Issues

On the day before Obama's inauguration, we were able to visit Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) in his Capitol Hill apartment. Because I was having some problems with the video, I wasn't able to upload it until now.

The video is in three parts. Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

In the first clip, Corey Johnson talks to Frank about the present and past inaugurations. Says Frank of Obama and the Democrats: "I think people are very discouraged by the Bush administration and the cavalry has arrived to rescue us."

In the second, they discuss the economy. Says Frank: "There's never in my experience been a sharper divide between the political and economic opinions of the average citizen in this country and those of the small number of people at the top of the pyramid. And the people at the top of the pyramid better understand that the great bulk of Americans are no longer licensing them to go and do what they think is necessary to provide assistance to these top institutions."

In the third clip, Frank discusses LGBT issues and the bills related to them: Says Frank: "I believe by the end of this Congress, two years from now, we will have repealed 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell', we will have passed a fully-inclusive hate crimes bill, and we will very probably have passed a fully-inclusive ENDA, and we will also begin...starting the process of getting recognition of ... partner benefits for federal employees. That's probably as far as we're going to be able to go politically right now in the marriage area." He also talks about media exposure and his public persona.

Watch the clips, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: True Blood, Sarah Silverman, Bronx, Ed Koch, Caribou

American Airlines endorses ENDA.

Victory Fund endorses 100 candidates in 2008.

Gay families plentiful in the Bronx: "Same-sex couples in the Bronx are more likely to have children than those in any other New York City borough, according to a study released last month, and perhaps more than any county in the country."

Britney Spears takes the isle of Manhattan.

The Pope rejects French ambassador to Vatican because he's gay and married to a man.

Popular Chicago bartender-turned gay activist takes own life: "Ron Ziebarth, a North Side bartender with a dedicated following, was a champion fundraiser for Equality Illinois and a former chairman of the gay rights group's annual gala. Mr. Ziebarth, 52, died Tuesday, Sept. 23, said Colm Treacy, owner of two Andersonville bars where Mr. Ziebarth worked. He had suffered from bouts of depression for a few years, and he killed himself by hanging, Treacy said."

Sarah Silverman: Do the great schlep for Obama.

Report: Sarah Palin lip liner is a tattoo.

Jonas Brother merges with a Mustang.

Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ): Bailout defeat had nothing to do with Pelosi speech.

Pride Reinvention Festival giving Perth, Australia a gay identity crisis?

Homophobic attack in Dungannon, Northern Ireland: "The victim claims to have been lured to the old railway lines around 9pm on Tuesday, September 23 where four males beat him up. He required medical attention in the minor injuries unit for abrasions."

Washington D.C. police arrest suspect in anti-gay July attack.

Wisconsin man who stabbed his roommate because he believed the roommate was spreading gay rumors about him is ordered into a mental health facility in Wisconsin.

Washington State Bar Association comes out in favor of marriage equality: "The resolution was adopted unanimously by the group's 14-member Board of Governors despite considerable opposition from association members, board president Mark Johnson of Seattle said. 'We felt it was appropriate to take a position,' Johnson told the Tri-City Herald. 'There certainly will be people who will be distressed.'"

True Blood's Ryan Kwanten hangs ten.

Janet Jackson hospitalized with sudden illness.

Straight model sues Genre magazine over unauthorized use of image.

Former NYC Mayor Ed Koch campaigning for Barack Obama in South Florida: "Koch, who represented Manhattan's East Side on the City Council and in Congress before being elected to the first of three terms as mayor in 1977, told an admiring crowd that Obama is the best choice for president. His 15-minute speech at Temple Beth Torah/Tamarac Jewish Center was one of four stops Sunday to campaign for Obama. Koch also spoke at the Sunrise Civic Center, Temple Emeth in Delray Beach and Century Village in West Palm Beach."

Caribou wins Canada's Polaris Music Prize.

Guardian's Balaji Ravichandran: Public schism in India opening between the Health Ministry and the federal government of decriminalization of homosexuality.

University of Iowa boosts harassment training after anti-gay graffiti discovered in public men's room: "A male student last week reported to school officials he saw several weeks ago a message written on a chalk board in the third floor men's restroom in North Hall. The student said the message was an anti-gay slur against Beth Skinner, a doctoral student and teaching assistant in social work. School officials don't know how long the message was there, and it was gone when the male student reported it, Saunders said. Skinner, 36, said her first reaction was disbelief that such a slur would be written in the School of Social Work. 'We have a core set of values and ethics that guide our practice and this would not be one of them,' she said."

Congressman Barney Frank Talks to Towleroad at the DNC

Yesterday we met with Congressman Barney Frank in the halls of the Pepsi Center at the Democratic Naitonal Convention in Denver. Frank spoke to Towleroad's Corey Johnson about gays voting Republican, 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell', and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Here's part of what Frank had to say about that:

"If we pick up 15 or 20 Democrats, most of them will be supportive. But I am disappointed in the transgender community. They seem to think that if Nancy Pelosi and myself, George Miller and a few others waved a magic wand we could deliver it. Look, this past year in the legislatures of Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York, efforts to add transgender protections...were defeated. And I testified for it in Massachusetts and lobbied for it. And as a political problem out there, I wish there weren't, but pretending that something doesn't exist is never a good way to deal with it. I am afraid that too many people in the transgender community think that talking to me and Nancy Pelosi is the way to do it. I don't yet see enough grassroots lobbying on their part.

"I do think that the hearing that we had — and by the way, we had a hearing in the House over the objections of many of the transgender leadership. But I really doubt their political wisdom...Because they said it was part of our deal to separate it from ENDA and they wanted to not have anything separate. We did a good job in that hearing and we helped persuade some people. So we're making progress. We'd make even more progress if the transgender community was willing to do the hard political work. And not, frankly, think they can just talk a few leaders into handing this to them."

Previously
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin talks to Towleroad at the DNC [tr]
A Partisan Message from DNC Treasurer Andrew Tobias [tr]
EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Jared Polis, Democratic Congressional Candidate from Colorado [tr]
Notes from The Democratic National Convention [tr]
Inside the Pepsi Center [tr]
Towleroad Guide to the Tube #345 DNC Highlights Monday Night [tr]
Breaking: Four Arrested in Obama Assassination Plot [tr]

Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin talks to Towleroad at the DNC

Today, Towleroad's Corey Johnson spoke with Wisconsin Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Baldwin talked with us about her position on the platform committee and why this Convention's platform is historic as it relates to LGBT citizens.

Says Baldwin: "We have seen in the past three platforms — the year 2000, 2004, and 2008 — a steady and bold progression to really embrace all the issues of equality that we've identified. So this platform calls for the first time ever for a comprehensive strategy to fight AIDS and HIV in the United States. It calls for the first time ever of fighting discrimination against people on the basis of many characteristics including for the first time gender identity. I think this is very powerfully important as we try to pass inclusive legislation. It speaks to the importance of our families, and our families (i.e. same-sex couples) receiving equal benefits obligations, and responsibilities as we try to protect our families. And putting our same-sex couples on the same and equal footing with all American families. It calls for the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and replacement  with a policy that allows all qualified servicemen and women to serve openly regardless of their sexual orientation. It opposes DOMA and calls specifically for an end to using the issue of our families as a wedge issue to divide Americans...As you hear me list those, it is unprecedented compared to prior platforms with its specificity. Not just general equality language but getting down to the specifics of what legislation we must pass. It calls for passage of a comprehensive ENDA. It is a remarkable document. We should feel very proud of it as Democrats and also because it reflects the vision and the values of our nominee."

Much more in the interview on ENDA, her support of Clinton during the primary, and what's ahead for the next four years.