See there's no need for Hate Crimes legislation. It doesn't matter that the murderers said they pretended to be gay and admitted Matthew's sexual orientation was their motive. It doesn't matter that he was beaten and strung out on a fence for 18 hours. Virginia Foxx says the hate crime aspect ain't so because it was a robbery gone bad.
Ahem.
No wonder Arlen abandoned the hatefest ship. Now I'm really glad because defeating the wingnut Pat Toomey becomes even more important in light of this idiocy.
PS: The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act by the United States House of Representatives. The legislation passed the House of Representatives with a 249 to 175 vote. 231 Democrats voted in favor of the legislation with 17 voting against. 18 Republicans voted for the legislation with 158 voting against.
There's so much LGBTQ analysis of this news that my head is spinning. People are celebrating, people are leery, people don't know what's going to happen.
Specter switched parties. If Al Franken is seated, it gives the Democrats a filibuster proof majority (60). Good stuff can happen. Good stuff for LGBTQ persons might happen.
Specter isn't going to necessarily be a champion of LGBTQ legislation. Here's his record per the HRC. He rates a 67 on the HRC Congressional Scorecard. In 2004, his rating was 50. His vote played a part in getting the Federal Marriage Amendment to the floor. His stance on the Employee Free Choice Act is deplorable (he's opposed and reiterated that yesterday in his announcement).
So it is a mixed bag at best. Still, those of us in this region of Pennsylvania aren't unfamiliar with the need to work with socially conservative Democrats to advance the gay agenda. Specter's helps with the balance of power, but it signifies a need to redouble the LGBTQ influence in the Democrat party. I think this is going to be a real challenge for the Steel City Stonewall Democrats and the Liberty City Stonewall Democrats -- keeping open channels with the mainstream party, but holding true to full equality.
I attended a Democratic event this weekend, sponsored by the Vice-President of Steel City. Those in attendance were Patrick Dowd, Kevin McCarthy, Hugh McGough, Joe Williams and Barbara Ernsberger. Check out the Steel City slate of endorsed Democrats.
The story that struck me the most? Joe Williams' story about his meeting for the ACDC endorsement. Rather than question him on issues or his record, they asked him how to improve relations with the African-American community. Clearly racism is alive and well in the ACDC, even if it is embedded in a cloak of concern about diversity.
Joe Williams has been at every Steel City event I've attended in recent memory. He has earned our support.
The other story is the tale of Barbara Ernsberger who is running for the Commonwealth Court. She's an attorney that has taken on multiple corporations in court. She had to seek the endorsement before a group of lawyers she's opposed in court. I may be naive, but that seems highly unfair. I'm sure it is part of the local Democratic Machine, but it seems there should be some modicum of impartiality. Anyone who challenges Wal-Mart has a lot of cred in my opinion.
So what happens after the primary when the ACDC puts pressure on Steel City to fall in line with the party endorsement? True, Luke did announce the impending formation of the LGBT Advisory Council. Does that warrant an endorsement? IMHO, it depends on the composition of the council. I know of one incredibly qualified and respected by County leaders person who was not invited. So I guess I'll just wait and see if its business as usual in terms of Mayoral advisors or a real change we can believe in. Steel City may feel otherwise, but I'm curious how much power the membership has over the endorsement for the General Election.
Getting back to Specter, I think the debate over meaning for the LGBTQ community reflects the general debate in the Democrat Party here in SW Pennsylvania. The answer is always going to be personal contact with real, live LGBTQ persons and families. Understanding our issues in the context of our lives is critical to achieve action. This news simply adds another person to that list.
What is the Hate Crimes Resolution? Click here for a summary.
From Equal Rights Washington ( h/t Pam's House Blend) comes this explanation
The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (H.R. 1913) expands the coverage of existing hate crime laws to include not only victims of crime based on race, color, religion, and national origin, but also bias-motivated crimes based on the victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. H.R. 1913 also provides for federal involvement in prosecuting hate crimes in states where current law or local actions are inadequate.
Hate crimes cut across all of our communities and the LLEHCPA (H.R. 1913) is needed to ensure that all people have the right to be safe and free from physical harm and intimidation. Call your representative toll-free at 866-346-4611, Monday-Wednesday, April 27-April 29, and urge support of H.R. 1913 to fight hate crimes and provide safety and security for all people.
Office of the Press Secretary __________________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 28, 2009
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT ON H.R. 1913, THE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT OF 2009
This week, the House of Representatives is expected to consider H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. I urge members on both sides of the aisle to act on this important civil rights issue by passing this legislation to protect all of our citizens from violent acts of intolerance ? legislation that will enhance civil rights protections, while also protecting our freedom of speech and association. I also urge the Senate to work with my Administration to finalize this bill and to take swift action.
From: Dardanell, Megan [mailto:Megan.Dardanell@alleghenycounty.us] Sent: Monday, April 27, 2009 3:57 PM To: Sue Kerr Cc: Executive Subject: On behalf of Dan Onorato - Ordinance 4201-08
April 27, 2009
Ms. Kerr:
Thank you for contacting our office. CountyExecutive asked that I respond on his behalf. I sincerely apologize for my delayed response.
The CountyExecutive believes that we must always stand united in our belief that discrimination is wrong because it damages us as a society. In AlleghenyCounty, we must not tolerate discrimination on the basis of gender, race, mental or physical disability, religion, ethnicity, national origin, age, educational status ? or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. Together, we will continue to improve the quality of life for our residents.
The CountyExecutive is strongly supportive of passing inclusive non-discrimination legislation here in AlleghenyCounty, as well as at the state level. He encourages our elected officials to do so without delay. All citizens, including members of the LGBT community, need to know that they are fully protected in employment, housing and public accommodations everywhere in the Commonwealth in order to make AlleghenyCounty and Pennsylvania stronger and more economically competitive.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts regarding this important issue.
Sincerely,
Megan Dardanell
Office of the CountyExecutive
All jesting aside, this is a very important moment. The support of the Chief Executive is critical to the success of the County and State legislation. He is clearly a leader and clearly has the ear of many Democrats whose support is wavering.
It has been a big week. The Mayor's office went public on the LGBT Advisory Council and now this. While we should enjoy these steps forward, let us keep in mind that we should continue to press our advantage and address other critical issues. It is important the County extend domestic partner benefits to their employees, especially with any future merger talks in progress. We've already allowed employees of the City's 911 Response Center to lose these benefits; we cannot allow that to happen again. We must also continue to push for the appointment of openly LGBTQ individuals to boards, authorities and commissions as well as the hiring of openly LGBTQ staffers in their offices. There are miles to go before we sleep, so to speak.
Still, I admit I am pleasantly surprised and grateful to the folks I know have been working on this matter in other ways. Good show.
Received an update from the folks at Steel City Stonewall with information on where your energy can be most helpful with regard to passing HB 300 through the State House. What they really need are people in the highlighted districts to set up actual meetings with your legislators to essentially put a human face on the LGBTQ community. They will even send someone with you as a back up in case you need support.
If you want to set up a meeting, go to www.steel-city.org for more information and contacts. And, hey, if you can't fit a meeting into your schedule it will still help if you make a phone call.
WYEP-FM (91.3) and Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures are joining forces with American Shorts @ WYEP.
The American Shorts Reading Series is Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures' annual summer series. It features readings, independent films and performances by local musicians.
This year, the programming will be presented at the WYEP Community Broadcast Center on the South Side. WYEP will take over the music programming for the series, and Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures will continue to program the readings and films.
The series gets under way June 12 with a collaboration with Persad Center to mark Pittsburgh Pride Week. The program will explore faith and sexuality in the gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender-and-questioning (GLBTQ) communities.
On July 23, "Iran Unveiled" will feature two Iranian writers: Pittsburgh author Anahita Firouz and Moniro Ravanipour, who is a resident writer at City of Asylum/Las Vegas.
Details for events in August and September will be announced later.
American Shorts @ WYEP programs will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for the June, July and September events, and $20 for the August date. For tickets, call 412-622-8866 or go to www.pittsburghlectures.org.
I'll admit I'm not familiar with this series, but it sounds intriguing and affordable. Kudos to Persad for bringing a unique twist to PrideWeek.
Last night, Laura and I trunbled up to Mt. Washington to attend the 1st Lesbian Health and Spa Night, sponsored by the GLCC and Adagio Health and funded by the Birmingham Foundation and the Lambda Foundation.
The event consisted of a health area with screenings, breast exams and vouchers for mammograms. I overheard one woman comment that she didn't have health insurance so hadn't had an exam recently. That alone made this event worthwhile. There seemed to always be a line for this which tells you something about the need.
The spa area featured multiple chair massages, two facials, paraffin hand wax treatment and the opportunity to get a henna tattoo. I had one of each, including the tattoo. It is a dog paw on my arm.
It was a nice evening from the back door of the Presbyterian Church. Kudos to Adagio Health and the GLCC for investing in a worthwhile project. I hope to attend a follow up event next year.
I received the following response from the Mayor's Deputy Chief of Staff.
From: Baginski, Kristen [mailto:Kristen.Baginski@city.pittsburgh.pa.us] Sent: Friday, April 24, 2009 9:45 AM To: sue@sitnscoop.com Subject:
We are contacting those who expressed interest in the Committee and when we have received confirmation from them with regards to their participation the names will be released.
-----Original Message----- From: Sue Kerr [mailto:sue@sitnscoop.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 8:21 AM To: Doven, Joanna; info@lukeformayor.com Subject:
This message is to ask when the Mayor plans to announce the launch of his LGBT Advisory Committee and release the names of his appointees.
As I've reported, the Mayor's office ignores me or pats me on my head and sends me on my way.
Kristen Baginski and Joanna Doven won't return my calls or respond to my email messages about the LGBT Advisory Council. I haven't tried Yarone because I'm not a campaign contributor or a City contractor. I'm not a member of the mainstream media or the alternative media. No power, no money and no leverage.
I'm just a constituent with a question.
From: Sue Kerr [mailto:sue@sitnscoop.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 8:21 AM To: 'Doven, Joanna'; 'info@lukeformayor.com' Subject:
This message is to ask when the Mayor plans to announce the launch of his LGBT Advisory Committee and release the names of his appointees.
You can read the nice write up from Marty Levine here.
If you read my summary of the recent Valley New Dispatch article, you won't be surprised that there really isn't any more news on the legislation. It is sitting in committee with about 100 million amendments to protect religious bigots and is under assault from the highly organized right wing.
The left wing is struggling. There have been no recent missives with targeted calls to action. There was a meeting this past Sunday, but no communication about the meeting has been shared (I think that's where Marty got his information). I have no idea which legislators are wavering so I can't tell you if you need to ramp up the momentum in your district. I am trying to get that information.
My call? This legislation stands no chance in hell of passing without the public support of the County ordinance by Dan Onorato. The two bills are inextricably intertwined, especially in terms of the public support of the SW block of Democrats. Without high profile public support, such as what Onorato could bring to the local franchise of the party, it won't go anywhere. That's painfully evident in that the primary sponsor and champion of the statewide bill is a local Democrat (Frankel). The contrast of Frankel to other local elected Democrats illustrates that there is work to be done right in our own backyard.
That's a shame for those in our community who are not protected by local ordinances. Clearly, a statewide protection is in the best interests of everyone, including heterosexuals. Equally clear to me is that we need to be better oganized. But we haven't done the heavy lifting here in SW Pennsylvania to generate the groundswell of support necessary for forward movement. We need more champions at the County level and that's not going to happen if information is not shared with the general community. No, inviting people to a meeting in the middle of a Sunday does not count. Sorry. It may be useful, but in an era with tremendous technological options, it is not enough. There's no use of twitter on this issue. There's very little use of Facebook.
I'm clearly not on board with a statewide agenda because I think it is diverting attention and energy away from a more practical focus on the local level. That's a very unpopulat position to take, but my experiences with the organizers have convinced me that we simply don't have the infrastructure to make it happen. Frankel is smart to keep the statewide bill in committee and avoid an unfavorable floor vote b/c it does give our community a chance to tout the progress of being voted out of committee in the first place.
I'm in an unusual position of being in the middle of an oddly liberal area of the Northside. Our reps on the City, County and State level are a smidge left of center so that they are all pretty much on board with this issue. I don't have to convince Tonya Payne or Amanda Green that gay people are people, too. We're good.
I've still think Onorato and Ravenstahl are both going to use PrideFest to grandstand, costing us more than six more weeks of the rightwing chipping away at LGBTQ legislative support in this region.
So my call to action is for you to call the Mayor's office (412-255-2626) and the County Chief Executive's office (412-350-6500) and ask them when they will go public (Mayor on LGBT Advisory Council and Onorato on endorsing the County ordinance) in support of the LGBTQ community.
