SF Politicos Recognize Boycott of Human Rights Campaign Dinner

San Francisco Supervisors Tom Ammiano and Bevan Dufty are among those local politicians supporting a boycott and protest of the Human Rights Campaign dinner in that city next month, over the organization's failure to support a trans-inclusive employment non-discrimination bill (ENDA) last year. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "The city's two LGBT Democratic clubs support the boycott, as does the San Francisco Labor Council. Assemblyman Mark Leno and state Sen. Carole Migden, both of San Francisco, also are not attending the event."

It's a scene that has played out in New York (pictured) and other cities.

The paper reports: "On Tuesday, San Francisco Supervisors Tom Ammiano and Bevan Dufty introduced a resolution at City Hall calling for a bill that includes transgender people and recognizing the boycott. 'The Human Rights Campaign should not be human rights cowards,' Ammiano said at a news conference at the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center. He said the organization seems uneasy with transgender issues. Dufty said he will skip the fundraising dinner for the first time in 23 years and instead will make dinner at his home for people protesting outside the event."

Matt Foreman, former executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, will be among those protesting outside the event. Said Foreman: "What is going on here is an emperor-has-no-clothes moment. We still don't have one single federal law that protects gay people, let alone transgender people."

HRC defend its actions in a statement from President Joe Solmonese: "HRC's position is that we could not oppose - and, in fact, should support - legislation to provide crucial civil rights protections that would be brought to the House floor for a vote, even though we did not and, certainly, would not have chosen that course...At a time when our community is threatened, once again, with a cynical election-year ploy that could hurt our families, we believe that it's time to set aside our differences and fight for what we all want."

The HRC dinner, which will benefit marriage equality (the organization has already made an initial pledge of $500,000 to the Equality for All marriage coalition), takes place on July 26th at the Westin St. Francis hotel.

Activists to boycott gay-rights group dinner [sf chronicle]

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Senator Edward Kennedy Steps into ENDA Battle

Despite vocal objections from Roberta Sklar of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, Senator Ted Kennedy has begun a push in the Senate to bring the trans-exclusive ENDA bill, which was approved by the House in early November, to the floor for a vote:

"Kennedy said Senate approval of the bill could pave the way for extending protections to transgender workers next year, when he hopes Democrats will increase their numbers in Congress and a Democratic president supporting gay rights will be in the White House. 'The fact is that the House of Representatives has taken action,' Kennedy said in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press. 'The best opportunity for progress is ... to follow along on the action of the House of Representatives, and then look down the road to a new day after we have a good Democratic Congress and a Democratic president.' Kennedy expects an 'uphill fight' in the narrowly divided Senate, where 60 votes rather than a simple majority would be needed to overcome expected GOP stalling tactics. Kennedy and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who supports the bill, are working on the timing for bringing the bill to the floor."

Said Keisling: "We've expressed to Senator Kennedy's office our disappointment and opposition to his idea to move forward. We're always working and talking with his office and we'll see what happens."

A Bush veto is expected if the bill does pass the Senate.

Kennedy Targets Job Bias Against Gays [ap]

You may have missed... HRC Defends Position on ENDA as Trans Groups Picket Outside [tr]
Advocate Reveals New Findings from HRC ENDA Poll [tr]
House Passes Employment Non-Discrimination Act 235-184 [tr]
Barney Frank to Speak on ENDA Controversy [tr]

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Posted by Andy in Barney Frank, Discrimination, ENDA, News, Ted Kennedy | Permalink | Comments (3)

02/25/2008

HRC Defends Position on ENDA as Trans Groups Picket Outside

Gay City News reports that a 50-strong group of transgender supporters picketed HRC's New York dinner on Saturday, while inside President Joe Solmonese defended the group's trans-exclusive position on ENDA.

Said Solmonese: "I understand and I hear every day that some members of our community are feeling forgotten or left behind. It is easy to understand why. We have to overlook our differences and we have got to see instead of our individual wants and immediate desires... a vision for the America that we all want to live in...I have to ask myself: When did we all become so impatient? When did we say to ourselves, okay that civil rights thing, I'll give it a year, maybe two, then I'm done. Let me be very clear: No, we are not done. We are in the grueling, blinding middle of this fight and the middle of this fight is the hardest part...Some of us may want to stand back or check out, but there is no standing back. There is no checking out. Because sometimes -- and I know this is frustrating -- the fight for our rights feels like hell, but as Winston Churchill so aptly put it, 'When you are going through hell the most important thing is to keep going.'"

Gay City News also notes that missing from the dinner were many elected officials who had attended in the past, many of whom cited "scheduling conflicts" as their reason for not attending. How many of those absences had to do with the ENDA position is unclear.

Snubbed by NYC Pols, HRC Answers Its Critics [gay city news]

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Posted by Andy in ENDA, New York, Transgender | Permalink | Comments (30)

02/18/2008

Trans Groups Urging Williams and Menzel to Cancel HRC Appearance?

Ugly Betty's Vanessa Williams and Wicked's Idina Menzel are scheduled to appear at a Human Rights Campaign dinner on February 23rd at the New York Hilton, but transgender groups unhappy over the group's position on ENDA are reportedly trying to derail the appearances.

Via the New York Post: "Both are scheduled to appear at the Human Rights Campaign dinner Feb. 23 at the New York Hilton. The problem is that many homosexual organizations are upset with HRC because the group supported an effort to pass a gay-rights bill that left out the transgender community, which includes pre-op and post-op transsexuals. The pro-transgender activists promise a picket line of demonstrators at the event, and Menzel and Williams are being urged to cancel their appearances."

Williams, who stars opposite Rebecca Romijn's transgender character on Ugly Betty, is scheduled to receive HRC's 'Ally for Equality' award, and Menzel is scheduled to perform at the gala event.

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Posted by Andy in ENDA, Idina Menzel, Transgender, Vanessa Williams | Permalink | Comments (23)

11/09/2007

News: Ellen DeGeneres, Volcano, Tim Hardaway, Catapult Bashing

NYT lead editorial on ENDA: "Winning a majority in the House required a painful decision by the bill’s sponsors to jettison language extending the prohibition against employment discrimination to transgender individuals. As a result, some gay rights groups opposed the final bill. We sympathize with the groups’ sense of injustice, but disagree heartily as to strategy. Transgender people should be protected from discrimination, and we hope they soon will be. It would have been regrettable, however, had the sponsors refused to compromise, and as a result, lost the chance to extend basic civil rights to the millions of Americans who would be covered by the current bill."

Magma surge the size of Los Angeles builds under Yellowstone: "The remains of the Yellowstone supervolcano in the US is huffing and puffing and rising by up to 7 centimetres a year, say researchers... But the researchers, led by Wu-Lung Chang of the University of Utah in the US, caution that the movement does not mean an explosion is imminent. Calderas – the massive craters that are left behind when a volcano collapses – all over the world go up and down over decades."

Father of Italy's gay movement, Massimo Consoli, dies at 61 after battle with cancer: "Consoli was a prolific writer, theorist, and self-trained historian with 40 books to his credit, mostly on homosexual subjects, as well as an indefatigable archivist of materials on homosexuality. He was also a tireless and talented lifelong organizer who pioneered the first modern Italian gay organizations."

Catholic church in Italy bans transgender parliamentarian Vladimir Luxuria from being a bridesmaid at her relative's wedding.

Page Six slams Ellen DeGeneres for being a scab: "The TV chat host crossed picket lines to tape her show Tuesday, the day after the union went on strike. 'There's a writers' strike going on, and here in Los Angeles, it's a huge story,' she told her studio audience, defending her strikebreaking. (The episode will air today.) 'I want to say I love my writers. I love them. In honor of them today, I'm not going to do a monologue. I support them and hope that they get everything they're asking for. And I hope it works out soon. In the meantime, people have traveled across the country. They've made plans. They're here. I want to do everything I can to make your trip enjoyable and give you a show.' It's a decision DeGeneres may come to regret."

Personal assistant to famous NYC realtor and punk rock pioneer Linda Stein arrested for her boss' murder: "Formal charges were pending against Natavia Lowery, 26, said police spokesman Paul Browne. She "made statements implicating herself" in the killing, he said."

Britney Spears buys a shiny new Mercedes to continue breaking the law in.

Gay and lesbian film festival Tim Hardaway still working on his gayhab: "I know a lot more now and I'm willing to talk to people and I want to make sure they understand that my words were terrible and I didn't mean them."

Homophobic thugs in England ambush motorist using stones and a catapult! "He said a group used a catapult to fire stones at him and his car before hurling homo-phobic insults at him too. Police say the man immediately phoned for help and officers from the Tandridge neighbourhood team arrived within minutes to sweep the area in search of the suspects. Police believe they were men, but because they were hiding officers were unable to issue a description or confirm an exact number of suspects."

Navy doctor guilty on all counts in case involving secretly taping midshipmen having sex...

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Posted by Andy in Britney Spears, Catholic Church, Crime, ENDA, Film, Gay Rights, Great Britain, Italy, Nature, New York, News, Tim Hardaway | Permalink | Comments (25)

Advocate Reveals New Findings from HRC ENDA Poll

Additional results of a poll of 514 LGBT people taken by Knowledge Networks, Inc., of Menlo Park and sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign were revealed today by The Advocate.

The poll concerned the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which was passed on Wednesday by the House in a 235-184 vote.

According to the magazine, the first question asked participants "which of the following three statements was closest to reflecting their views":

A. National gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organizations should oppose this proposal because it excludes transgender people.

B. National gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organizations should support this proposal because it helps gay, lesbian, and bisexual workers and is a step toward transgender employment rights.

C. National gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organizations should adopt a neutral stance for this proposal because while it helps gay, lesbians, and bisexual workers, it also excludes transgender people.

Check out the results after the jump...

The Advocate reports: "Of those surveyed, 67.7% agreed with statement B, while 15.8% agreed with statement A, 12.8% agreed with statement C, and 3.6% did not answer."

The results of a second survey question — "This proposal would make it illegal to fire gay, lesbian, or bisexual workers because of their sexual orientation. This proposal does NOT include people who are transgender. Would you favor or oppose this proposal?" — were also revealed.

For those results, visit The Advocate here.

(image: bay area reporter)

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Posted by Andy in ENDA, News | Permalink | Comments (47)

11/07/2007

House Passes Employment Non-Discrimination Act 235-184

House passes ENDA 235-184. 35 Republicans joined the Democrats.

Above, Barney Frank's remarks on ENDA — on the left, his comments at the beginning of debate, at right his tearful comments at the end, after a motion was made to send the bill back to committee, in order to kill it. The motion to recommit was made on the basis of marriage: "Motion to recommit "to modify, limit, restrict, or in any way overturn any State or Federal definition of marriage as between one man and one woman, including the use of this Act as a legal predicate in litigation on the issue of marriage."

The motion to recommit failed 222-198.

Tammy Baldwin withdrew her amendment adding transgender protections at the end of debate. Baldwin released a statement following the vote.

Here are a few clips of the debate this afternoon:

Below, Representative John Lewis speaks in favor of the bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's statement in support of the bill.

Below, Representative Barbara Lee speaks in support of the Baldwin amendment that would add protections for transgender people. Representative Kathy Castor speaks in favor of the bill.

Jeremy at Good As You has a whole line-up of audio recordings of the debate that went on this afternoon.

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Posted by Andy in Barney Frank, ENDA, Nancy Pelosi, News, Tammy Baldwin | Permalink | Comments (56)

News: George Clooney, Dogs, ENDA, Gay Muslims, Rudy Giuliani

ENDA: Michelangelo Signorile asks some tough questions of HRC's Joe Solmonese about the decision to go from opposing a non-transgender ENDA to fully backing it. (AUDIO)

Lance Bass and new man Ben Thigpen spend their bread at Butter.

George Clooney and Fabio get their claws out at West Hollywood restaurant: "I thought you were a nice guy. Stop being a diva!"

All I can say is, thank goodness there aren't many cliffs in Wisconsin.

Judge sees evidence that Rita Cosby "crossed the line" in evidence gathering for her Anna nicole book which alleges a gay relationship between Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead: "A federal judge in the Southern District of New York issued an order today in the wake of Stern's allegation that Cosby 'sought to tamper with two witnesses by offering to pay them thousands of dollars for their testimony.' The judge allowed Stern to probe the allegation, concluding he has 'presented substantial -- indeed troubling -- evidence that Cosby has sought to improperly influence witnesses...' In a statement to TMZ, Rita Cosby said 'I am pleased that the Court will get to the bottom of these unfounded allegations. I trust that when all the facts come out that a very different picture will be shown.'"

Gyllenhaal and Witherspoon in nocturnal paparazzi ambush.

Sydney summer Gay Day going green.

According to Mother Jones, Towleroad is blocked at the Denver International Airport: "Your request to URL "http://www.towleroad.com/" has been blocked by the URL Filter Database. The URL is listed under categories (Provocative Attire, Politics / Opinion), which are not allowed by your administrator at this time. The following reputation level was assigned to it: Neutral."

Democrats take back the state Senate in Virginia.

World's tallest dog meets world's smallest.

The NYT visits gay Muslims who have gained asylum in NYC: "Even as they reveled in newfound freedom compared with the Muslim world, they remained closeted, worried about being ostracized at the mosque or at their local falafel stand. 'They’re afraid of the rest of the community here,' said Ayman, a stocky 31-year-old from Jordan, who won asylum in the United States last year on the basis of his sexuality. 'It’s such a big wrong in the Koran that it is impossible to be accepted.' For gay Muslims, change may come via a nascent body of scholarship in minority Muslim communities where the reassessment of sacred texts used to damn homosexuality is gaining momentum."

I'll take the two of spades: Eva Mendes plays with some hot cards.

Pat Robertson endorses Rudy Giuliani. Talking Points Memo: "...the Robertson endorsement Rudy Giuliani bagged today is perhaps the ultimate fusion of right-wing religious extremism and war on terror mania. Giuliani's claim to the presidency is based on his service as mayor during and immediately after 9/11. What stops him from being a shoe-in for the nomination is his track record supporting abortion rights and gay rights. But, Robertson is on record saying that 9/11 was America's punishment for its sinful gay-loving, abortion permitting culture. As Robertson says on his website, the attacks happened because God withdrew his protection from America. He agreed with the late Jerry Falwell that America "deserved" 9/11."

Clinton lead slips 10% following debate debacle.

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Posted by Andy in Denver, Election 2008, ENDA, George Clooney, Howard K. Stern, Lance Bass, Larry Birkhead, New York, News, Pat Robertson, Rita Cosby, Rudy Giuliani, Sydney, Virginia | Permalink | Comments (32)

11/06/2007

Update: ENDA Floor Vote Coming Tomorrow

The House will vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and several amendments tomorrow, Gay City News is reporting:

"...the House Rules Committee voted early in the evening on November 5 to advance the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to the floor for a vote, and to permit consideration of three amendments, including Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin's proposal to restore transgender protections to the bill. The Baldwin amendment will get ten minutes for debate. The floor vote had been been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday..."

UPDATE: Human Right Campaign endorses watered-down bill, presses for transgender amendment...

UPDATE 2: Leadership Council on Civil Rights (with HRC) letter to the House.

Previously
ENDA Goes Before House Rules Committee; Headed to Floor [tr]

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Posted by Andy in Barney Frank, ENDA, News, Tammy Baldwin | Permalink | Comments (10)

11/05/2007

ENDA Goes Before House Rules Committee; Headed to Floor

Gay City News reports that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is currently before the House Rules Committee and is headed to the floor at some point this week. The version of the bill before the committee does not include protections for transgender individuals:

"According to Steve Adamske, a spokesman for out gay Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank, ENDA's lead sponsor, the Committee will take up the measure in the form it was scaled back to in late September, at Frank's recommendation, to include only sexual orientation - and not gender identity and expression - as a protected class."

Rep. Tammy Baldwin's amendment, which would add protections for transgender individuals back into the bill, may be heard on the floor as well, however, the exact process by which that would occur is reportedly being considered by the Rules Committee.

Baldwin declined to add her name in support of the watered-down ENDA (she was a co-sponsor of the original bill), and several Democrats may defect in their support of it due to the lack of transgender inclusion. However, Gay City News notes, the fact that is in committee is a signal that leadership feels it has the votes to pass the bill.

ENDA Heading to Floor This Week [gay city news]

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Posted by Andy in Barney Frank, ENDA, News, Tammy Baldwin, Transgender | Permalink | Comments (21)

10/25/2007

What's Happening with ENDA?

The ENDA vote that was scheduled to take place this week has been postponed and has not yet been rescheduled.

Gay City News has an update on the bill's status: "At a late Friday afternoon meeting in the speaker's office on October 12, a large group of LGBT advocates were told the votes were not there to ensure passage of a trans-inclusive ENDA and the House would proceed with consideration of Frank's revised bill. That measure won approval last week in the Education and Labor Committee and was slated for a floor vote on October 24. By Tuesday, however, that target had slipped by a day and on the 24th it became clear that no vote would take place this week. Rumors circulated on Capitol Hill that, in the face of growing numbers of Democrats unhappy with the prospects of voting either way on the bill as now written - to leave the trans community behind or to defeat the first gay rights vote ever held - leadership was weighing the option of pulling the bill altogether for the time being to regroup. However, a spokesperson for Maryland Democrat Steny Hoyer, the House majority leader and Pelosi's number two, said his office is hoping to schedule the vote for next week, but that a date would not be firmed up until the end of this week. That spokesperson said no consideration had been given to pulling the measure.

And the clip above is Rep. Anthony Weiner's (D-Queens/Brooklyn) speech to the House on the need to pass a trans-inclusive ENDA. He spoke Tuesday night.

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Posted by Andy in Discrimination, ENDA, News | Permalink | Comments (13)

10/17/2007

Tammy Baldwin Announces Gender Identity ENDA Amendment

Representative Tammy Baldwin has announced a move to restore gender identity protections to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Today she announced that she has secured an agreement from the Democratic leadership to add an amendment to H.R. 3685.

United ENDA writes: "Clearly, our preferred strategy is to pass the original ENDA (H.R. 2015) out of committee. However, if we are faced with a non-inclusive bill following the committee vote, we will work with Congresswoman Baldwin to repair ENDA to include protections on the basis of gender identity. 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."

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Posted by Andy in ENDA, News, Tammy Baldwin | Permalink | Comments (14)

10/12/2007

Barney Frank and Activists Dig in Their Heels Over ENDA

Above, highlights from Barney Frank's press conference yesterday on ENDA.

The conflict between the Democratic legislature's will to pass a bill that excludes transgender people and the desire of the vast majority of LGBT groups to pass an inclusive bill has spilled into the mainstream media over the past 24 hours.

The AP reports: "The debate over including transgender people has sharply divided gay rights activists, many of whom are trying to kill a stripped-down bill without protections for transgender workers that Frank and Democratic leaders hope will win House passage this year."

Both Frank and the executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Matt Foreman have acknowledged that it's strange for the two groups to be on opposing sides of a progressive issue.

Said Foreman: "We're not going to be split off this way. We're driven by principle. No civil rights movement has ever left a part of its community behind - and we're not about to be the first. I never thought in a million years we would be on the opposite side of Barney Frank and it is painful."

Frank countered, "Politically, the notion that you don't do anything until you can do everything is self-defeating. These things take awhile. The transgender issue is of relatively recent vintage. Fighting your friends can sometimes be difficult."

Gay Rights Backers Split on Bias Bill [ap]

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Posted by Andy in Barney Frank, Democratic Party, Discrimination, ENDA, Matt Foreman, News | Permalink | Comments (58)

10/11/2007

Barney Frank: Foes of Non-Inclusive ENDA "Can't Handle the Truth"

At a press conference earlier today, Rep. Barney Frank restated his position on an Employment Non-Discrimination Bill that does not include transgender people, The Advocate reports: "In remarks at a press conference on Capitol Hill this morning, Frank said that a sexual orientation-only ENDA could pass in the House with a margin of 15 or 20 votes, but that a transgender-inclusive bill wouldn't even garner an up-or-down vote on the floor of the chamber due to the lack of political support."

Frank called the anger over the sexual-orientation-only bill "counterproductive" and said that opponents "can’t handle the truth unfortunately." Said Frank: "Should we kill the whole bill? I have a very profound difference with people who say we should…I do not think you deny people protection if you can. A sexual orientation-only bill would be very helpful."

While he applauded efforts by the LGBT community lobbying for a trans-inclusive bill, he expressed dismay that such efforts had come so late in the process, according to The Advocate: "Frank asserted that pulling the sexual orientation-only bill would send a bad message to the country and would only hurt the LGBT rights movement. 'The headline will be, 'Pelosi pulls gay rights bill from agenda,' that they didn't have enough votes to pass it. I don't understand how that helps us.'"

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Posted by Andy in Barney Frank, Democratic Party, ENDA, News | Permalink | Comments (41)

10/05/2007

Barney Frank to Speak on ENDA Controversy

Representative Barney Frank will appear on Michelangelo Signorile's Sirius radio show at 5:15 pm EST today to talk about the controversy surrounding the ENDA legislation. Jon Davidson of Lambda Legal will be on before Frank, starting at 3:30 EST. You can get a free three-day pass to Sirius here.

A week ago, Frank announced that transgender-inclusion in the LGBT anti-discrimination legislation would be cut because the bill would not have enough votes to pass with transgender people included.

This, understandably, set off a firestorm in the LGBT community.

On Monday, the House voted to postpone action on ENDA pending further assessment of reaction from the LGBT community.

I've tried to gather some of the pieces I've run across regarding the controversy:

Lambda Legal's Open Letter to Barney Frank [PDF]
Barney Frank on Lambda Legal's analysis [bilerico project]
Lambda Legal Responds to Rep Barney Frank [bilerico project]

Sole transgender HRC board member Donna Rose on her resignation over HRC's position:
Donna Rose statement [out for democracy]

United ENDA Forms [ngltf]
HRC Launches Full-Scale Nationwide Call to Action in Support of Inclusive ENDA [hrc]
The difficult discussions people don't want to have [pam's house blend]
Gabriel Rotello: If ENDA Doesn't Protect the Transgendered, It Doesn't Protect Me [huffington post]
John Aravosis: The Transgender Fiasco [americablog]
Waymon Hudson: Accept No Substitutes: Stripped Down Version of ENDA is Dangerous and Wrong [bilerico project]
Libby Post: The Party Never Really Started [pageoneq]

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Posted by Andy in Barney Frank, Discrimination, ENDA, News, Transgender | Permalink | Comments (49)