My brain is really tired so I'm giving this my best shot.
First, the follow up from the White House DADT protest yesterday. The protestors have been released and preliminary reports on how the transwomen and transmen were treated in the jail system are additional sadness related to this entire issue. Additional reasons for outrage. I encourage you to read Pam's House Blend for updates.
Pam has an interesting post up on the fallout of the Get Equal activists tactics on mainstream LGBT groups, mainly the Human Rights Campaign.
When the White House comes to the defense of HRC and Joe Solmonese in particular, it's pretty clear both parties feel under siege. In an article "HRC head gets praise, flak for Obama's gay-rights initiatives," by Lonnae O'Neal Parker, it's a surreal profile with great attention to detail to fawning, with a couple of dashes of criticism -- classic CYA journalism.
This debate is playing out throughout the LGBTiverse today. The end of my day was filled with dozens of tweets and scores of email messages as folks wrestle with the consequences of the White House protest and related action.
The reality is that the activists are back. Word has is that there will be no White House action on repealing DADT in 2010 in spite of all those promises. Imagine the shakeup in the queeroverse as the go-to-gays begin to lose control?
The second area for debate today has been ENDA. The House is working to pass inclusive legislation out of committee and for a full vote, but debate rages on over the unity of the LGBT community ... do we stand behind our WHOLE community and require an inclusive bill or descend into the madness of 2007 when a non-inclusive version passed. Uggg.
ENDA is about job discrimination. Keep that in mind. It isn't about bathrooms and the mental health of transpeople and the other litany of hateful distractions being lobbied our way.
ENDA is an economic development issue.
OK, I'm done for the evening. The only reason I'm looking forward to plowing through another 100 email messages is the sheer joy of knowing so many bright people are working on these issues each and every single day. They make it a pleasure to be an activist.
Frankel applauds Obama's directive for equal hospital access
for same-sex partners, commends Pa. sponsors of non-discrimination bill
HARRISBURG, April 19 ? State Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, applauded President Obama's recent directive to provide same-sex partners access to their loved ones in nearly all U.S. hospitals.
At Obama's direction, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will issue regulations binding on all hospitals that participate in Medicare or Medicaid. The new policy will give same-sex partners the same visitation rights that blood relatives enjoy.
Frankel said, "This is something for which I have long advocated at the state level and I commend President Obama for using his authority to provide this protection nationwide. One of the reasons I have long opposed tacking a discriminatory 'marriage amendment' onto the state or federal Constitution is that such an amendment could deny many Americans access to their loved ones at critical times in their lives.
"I am also pleased that the federal government appears to be moving forward on another way to guarantee equal treatment for LGBT Americans ? the U.S. House is expected to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the near future. I commend Senators Specter and Casey for co-sponsoring the Senate version, and Congressman Doyle and the other seven Pennsylvania members who are co-sponsoring it in the U.S. House. The federal legislation is similar to House Bill 300, which I have introduced in Harrisburg."
The President, in an extremely positive development for LGBT families, has directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure that hospitals participating in Medicaid or Medicare will allow patients to designate who may visit them as well as name their primary caretaker and decision maker. Countless tragedies have occurred because of denial of access or ability to decide on the health of a loved one because the hospital would only recognize the rights of a blood relative.
Now some of you may be shocked to learn that if Ledcat were transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, I could be denied access to her bedside -- denied input on her treatment -- because we are not legally married. Even with the paperwork, who needs the stress of stopping to find paperwork when you are in the midst of a medical crisis? What if you can't find it quickly enough? What if you have to stop to explain it or review it or defend it while your loved one is calling for you from another room? What if your partner's family isn't particularly fond of you and plays the blood relation trump card?
What if? What if? What if? This is a big fear for me. Ledcat and I have pretty good relationships with our mutual in-laws, but there's always the what if.
Pennsylvania law does not specifically provide for a partner to make decisions on behalf of an incapacitated same-sex partner, but, "an adult who has knowledge of the principal's preferences and values?" is among those listed. Contact must be attempted with at least five individuals before a partner would have authority. ? 5461.
An adult may appoint his or her partner to make health care decisions on his or her behalf. A valid health care power of attorney must identify the principal, appoint the health care agent and declare that the principal authorizes the health care agent to make health care decisions on behalf of the principal. ? 5453.
Citation: Health Care; Health Care Agents and Representatives: 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. ?? 5451 to 5465
Solutions? Pittsburgh Pride has one of them and a very concrete solution. It is an ACLU Seminar that shows you how to address this very issue. We attended last year and I think it was one of the best events I've ever attended. The problem is that setting up a domestic partnership legal agreement is expensive. Heck, getting a Pittsburgh recongized domestic partnership listing in the registry can be out of reach for working class folks. So the seminar is a great "how to" step, but we must press on for full equality.
This is a step forward, but we must also remember that a Presidential memorandum may expire upon the end of his term. Its legal status is not 100% clear.
Another concrete step is to contact your state rep and explain why this needs to be addressed. Share your real story.
Our families, especially yours, deserve your action. We must continue to be vigilant. And we must keep up the pressure on both the state and federal levels.
Stay tuned for more details on what is happening in PA and be sure to show up at the ACLU Seminar.
If you'd like to get involved, phone banking is a great way to support Joe's campaign. The office is in East Liberty and you'll get everything you'll need.
We do calls weekdays from 10am to 8:30pm, Sat 11-6, and Sun 12-7.
Here's the official statement on the gay or LGBT endorsement for Joe Hoeffel from Philadelphia:
Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club Endorses Arlen Specter for U.S. Senate and Joe Hoeffel for Governor
Philadelphia, PA ?Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club, the premiere Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender political organization in Pennsylvania, overwhelmingly endorsed Arlen Specter for U.S. Senate and Joe Hoeffel for Governor at a their annual primary endorsement meeting held at the William Way LGBT Community Center yesterday.
A motion from the endorsement committee to endorse Senator Specter was approved 32-22 and a motion to endorse Joe Hoeffel was approved 32-19.
"Arlen Specter and Joe Hoeffelboth have long records advocating for the LGBT community and Liberty City is prepared to work hard to turnout voters for both candidates in the May 18th Primary Election,? said Liberty City Co-Chair Micah Mahjoubian.?Both men demonstrated a clear understanding of our issues, and the willingness to act, which resonated with our members."
In the other races, former Philadelphia City Controller Jonathan Saidel was unanimously endorsed for Lieutenant Governor.Manan Trivedi received the endorsement in the race for Pennsylvania?s 6th Congressional District.Incumbents Babette Josephs (whose district includes the William Way Community Center) and Mike O?Brien both received endorsements over open members of the LGBT community.Members of the organization spoke about the need to elect candidates from the community, but felt strongly about supporting incumbents that have been strong advocates for LGBT issues in Harrisburg.
Liberty City Co-Chair Adah Bush moderated the first half of the evening and was pleased with the process."Even in the middle of some passionate debate from both sides, the level of civility and discourse was great to see.I know that not all members supported every candidate that was endorsed, but that speaks strongly about the openness of the process and the diversity of opinions represented by this organization,? Bush said.
The club will now begin to implement an aggressive "get-out-the-vote" operation on behalf of all Liberty City endorsed candidates.
The complete slate of Liberty City endorsements are:
?U.S. Senate-Arlen Specter
?Governor-Joe Hoeffel
?Lt. Governor-Jonathan Saidel
?U.S. Congress (6)-Manan Trivedi
?State House (26)-Fern Kaufman
?State House (172)-Tim Kearney
?State House (175)-Mike O?Brien
?State House (180)-Jonathan Ramos
?State House (181)-Lewis Thomas
?State House (182)-Babette Josephs
?State House (186)-Kenyatta Johnson
?State House (188)-James Roebuck
?State House (190)-Vanessa Brown
?State House (194)-Josh Cohen
?State House (195)-Anthony Ingargiola
* * *
Liberty City is a progressive, membership based, political action committee serving the greater Philadelphia region that works within the Democratic Party to achieve and sustain economic and social equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons.
If you use the Google blog search on the federal legislation known as ENDA (Employment Non Discrimination Act), you'll see a fair amount of information, outrage and distortion of facts on all sides of the debate.
The truth is that there is a very real opportunity to pass federal legislation that would protect gay Americans in their jobs. It wouldn't matter if you live in Pittsburgh, Ross Township or Cranberry Township - you would be protected by the full force of federal law. This is big. Federal recognition of LGBT civil rights paves the way for greater economic opportunities for our entire community. It opens the door to more domestic partner benefits, more visibility in the workplace and more equality. Not full equality, but enough of it that its worth fighting to obtain.
Let me share with you information from trusted inside sources.
In the House of Representatives, the bill should move to a floor vote soon. Here's a link to a great spreadsheet that is kept updated on all things related to ENDA and the House. There are 221 Yes votes, 182 No votes and 27 unconfirmed votes. It is possible that an inclusive ENDA will pass in the House.
The Senate is a different matter. Here is that spreadsheet. Today, I was informed that there are 55 Yes votes and 9 possible Yes votes. That's very close and could make all the difference. That's an uphill battle.
Something to note. We are much closer to passing an inclusive ENDA now than ever before. The non-inclusive version (sometimes referred to as SPLENDA) wasn't acceptable and it didn't pass anyway.
Before I delve into what you can do to tip the scales towards equality, let me remind you of what our opponents will be pushing.
1. The bathroom argument. We heard this at the Steel City Stonewall Endorsement when a candidate for State House said he might support HB 300 except for some concerns. The fact that he didn't trouble himself to get educated by Frankel's team before coming to the endorsement suggests he thinks we are fools. That we believe there might be legitimate reasons to think cross-dressing men are going to invade women's bathrooms and dressing rooms across the nation en masse as soon as these bills would be signed. If someone can come to a gay endorsement meeting and not "get" this hysterical nonsense for the hysterical nonsense that it is, we have a lot of educating to do. Since he won the endorsement, we better do it soon.
And we need to be prepared for this tired, but effective tactic to be bandied about, especially when they want us to throw our transsisters and brothers under the bus to get a diluted SPLENDA passed so some of us get more equal.
2. Religious Liberty. ENDA does not mean faith communities have to make the slightest change to their institutions and practices, unless they receive federal funding. No anti-gay Baptist ministry is going to be forced to hire gay choir directors. This is another attempt to derail the conversation by pitting LGBT rights against religious rights. That's untrue. This is about ending discrimination against a class of people, not a restriction on another group's liberty. But it works. It scares people.
These people are bearing false witness. There is simply no evidence to back up these allegations. The HRC Corporate Equality Index shows 305 corporations that have adopted some measure of inclusion in their business practices and they seem to be doing fine.
So, how can you step up?
In the Senate, we are good. Both Casey and Specter are co-sponsoring the legislation. So a simple thank you call or email to them will do nicely.
In the House, well you aren't going to be surprised. Unconfirmed votes are Jason Altmire and Kathy Dahlkemper. However, both of these individuals voted FOR Hate Crimes protections so there is reason to believe they can be moved. It certainly is worth a few minutes of your time to try.
Jason represents portions of six counties. He's going to get intense pressure from the right wing, especially with the election coming up. It is important that you who live in his district get your message about economic development on his desk. This is about your ability to put food on the table for your family.
The Aliquippa Office is the best place to direct your calls: 724-378-0928. You can email him at this link.
Kathy Dahlkemper represents 7 counties in the Northwestern portion of the Commonwealth. Hello, Erie. She has a toll free number 1-877-528-4948 and an email form at this link.
This doesn't have to be hard. Simply write down your bullet points. When you make the call/send the email, provide your contact information so they know you live in the district. Then make your case. Adding a personal touch is important. That could be identifying yourself as a person of faith or referencing a family member who has lost a job or been denied a job because of their identity as LGBT. Anything that helps unpack those awfu, but powerful, untruths will help.
If the bathroom tactic makes you roll your eyes, please find someone living in these districts to make these calls.
It is the second thing people ask me after making the requisite joke about her hair/makeup. Frankly, I'm amazed (read: disappointed) at how catty us feminists can be when it comes to the appearances of women who are Republican.
But I digress.
I don't care if Jane Orie is a lesbian. Stop foisting the unappealing zealots into our tribe. Stop with the family values folks who get caught at gay clubs. Stop with the self-loathing ex-gays. Stop with the .... wait a minute. It is actually okay if these people are gay, even if they are struggling to accept or identify.
But when well-intentioned liberals whisper "Well, you know she's an unmarried woman of a certain age so she must be a lesbian" it doesn't make it OKAY because she's a conservative Republican. It is still offensive. It feeds right into the furor that being gay is something you keep secret, not to mention that horrible state of affairs of being a woman without a man (and a ring).
Don't get me wrong. I am a fan of exposing hypocrisy. Jane Orie does not have a gay-positive voting record, but to expose something you need more than innuendo and impending spinsterhood for God's sake. And sure as people like to search for themselves in "the Google" and end up here, plenty of folks are going to search for dirt on Jane anyway and end up at this slap-in-your-face post. Good. Welcome.
Here's what I wonder. In the race for Supreme Court, how many Western Pennsylvania Democrats supported Joan Orie Melvin rather than an Eastern Pennsylvania liberal? I wonder if Mr. Potter might explore that a little bit ...how "invested" were Jack Wagner, Dan Onorato, Luke Ravenstahl, Wayne Fontana, Jay Costa, etc. in the Jack Panella campaign. I guess I need to look into that a little bit. Did our Dems do right by us in that race? Could we have been spared the three Orie circus and focus on issues like redistricting and gay divorces and so forth?
Seriously. Enough with the woman bashing. Her actions speak for themselves. We don't need to go there.
Quite a disturing tale from Mississippi .... you remember Constance McMillen who just wanted to take her girlfriend to the prom. Then came outrage, banishment, the ACLU, court cases, media frenzy ... and a fake prom. Yes, the senior class held a "private prom" and sent Constance, her date and five special needs children to an alternative prom. Basically, they pulled a fast one on her.
To think that Fulton not only displayed rank homophobia, it raised the bar of evil by sending learning-disabled students to the fake prom, clearly labeling them "others." I challenge any of these "Christians" in Fulton to cite where in the bible Jesus teaches that the physically or mentally challenged deserve to be outcasts.
This social hellhole isn't even worthy of a boycott, since no gay person or ally would want to drive through this evil place to begin with. For Constance, one can only hope for a scholarship to get the hell out of there to attend college in an environment where she can thrive. Leave the evil behind, gain strength, knowledge and, should you want to challenge the hate, return to reclaim your space with others ready to fight homophobia in the darkest of places.
Fulton, Mississippi has earned its stripes as the cruelest town in America, by treating one of its young residents as a pariah for no good reason that the God they claim to worship can imagine. I do hope there is no adultery or fornication going on in Fulton. The bible had a lot to say about that.
There's a lot of LGBT news circulating, including DOJ action on Don't Ask, Don't Tell, but somehow this latest twist in a story involving a 18 year old lesbian has caught the attention of people everywhere.
It should. One of the reasons we struggle so hard to win our equal rights -- hate crimes protections, anti-discrimination protections, domestic partner benefits, marriage equality -- is to protect our children. We want queer youth to grow up into a world where they don't worry about their jobs, healthcare and access to swimming pools. We want them to fall in love, get married, have children and grow old together. We want to protect them, nuture them and benefit ourselves from the amazing new world they create.
There are the other kids, too. The ones who went to Bigot Prom 2010. These kids didn't organize a prom on their own. They were led there by adults. I'm betting more than a few of the kids caught up in this bigotry actually grasp the truth behind the situation and I hope they get out of Fulton, Mississippi to see the big world.
Pam has a poll up to see if Constance herself should stay in Fulton. Her "peers" have started an anti-Constance Facebook page.
Sigh. This is one of the reasons I believe LGBT parents in Pittsburgh need to get more involved in advocacy and political. These children matter to all of us, but that's a particular interest group who need to be drawn more actively into advocacy.
On a related note, PA Representative Phyllis Mundy has introduced legislation to protect children in foster care. The bill has been introduced. Again. This time, it does not include sexual orientation as a reason to protect children.
Mundy has introduced legislation in previous sessions in response to testimony she heard from former foster children eight years ago as a member of the Joint State Government Commission's Task Force on Services to Children and Youth. In its report, "Children and Youth Services Delivery System in Pennsylvania," the task force made recommendations to the General Assembly for preventing the abuse and neglect of the state's foster children.
"It is critical that we establish this act to assure that clear and concise information is made available on the basic protections for children in foster care in Pennsylvania," said Joan L. Benso, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children. "The lives of 31,000 vulnerable children will be positively impacted by this legislation and we support it wholeheartedly."
Mundy noted that the bill is not a reflection on the many wonderful foster families who provide loving care and support to vulnerable, at risk-children. Rather, she remarked that it is an acknowledgment that more can be done to prevent abuses that do occur despite the best intentions.
All good stuff. I worked in the foster care system for three years and there are clearly reasons to take this step. But other news is more disturbing.
But this time, she?s made some adjustments that may make the bill more popular, by omitting a section that would have protected children against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Because many children are in foster care because of their sexual orientation, she says the clause would be relevant in the bill of rights. However, since she?s had trouble passing it with that inclusion, she says she?d ?rather pass an imperfect bill than no bill at all.?
I wrote about this before. Constance isn't in foster care and her family is standing behind her. Who is standing behind the LGBT children in foster care? The faith based foster care agencies like Catholic Charities which closed up shop rather than acknowledge gay marriages? Imagine how they treat LGBT kids in their care. Maybe that's not the best example.
According to my contacts at the ACLU, the prom situation has happened in Pittsburgh. It has always been resolved with a letter from the ACLU, at least when someone called the ACLU.
Think of all the kids who would love to take their same sex dates to their proms. Think of how many aren't able to turn to their parents for support (or their foster parents). Or their grandmas or their friends.
You can support these kids (and Constance) by following the links. Sign the petitions. Etc.
The PA House Bill has 42 co-sponsors including Dan Frankel and Chelsa Wagner. In 2008, the earlier version has 24 sponsors.
Maybe a weaker bill is better than nothing, but the bill won't be strengthened if the LGBT community and our allies fail to speak out to protect children here in PA.
Let Representative Mundy know you support including sexual orientation in the legislation.
If your rep is on this list, please drop them a line thanking them and explaining why it is important to reintroduce sexual orientation into the legislation. You can find your legislator here and get the contact information.
This is a good example of seizing a moment to educate and bond. Those relationships can lead to further dialogue on other issues.
