COLORADO: House Chooses Gay Speaker Mark Ferrandino

Joe.My.God. reports:

In yet another historic first for LGBT politics, Colorado’s House has chosen an openly gay man as its new speaker. 

Jubilant Democrats nominated Mark Ferrandino as speaker of the House on Thursday, the first time in Colorado history a gay lawmaker has presided over the chamber. The nomination, he said, was a victory not only for gays but also for every special-ed kid who was ever picked on and bullied. In his four years as a state legislator, the Denver lawmaker has earned a reputation as a budget wonk and a practical joker who wears his heart on his sleeve. Ferrandino struggled Thursday to hold back his tears. “I told myself I wasn’t going to cry, but as a kid growing up in New York who had a learning disability, who was in special education, who struggled a lot, a kid who was picked on, called names, to be where I am and have your support, that is awesome; it is humbling,” he said.

Ferrandino is the fourth currently presiding openly gay speaker of a state chamber.  Colorado now has eight openly gay state legislators, including Ferrandino. 

USA: House Approves Ban On Same-Sex Weddings On Military Bases

Queerty reports:

The U.S. House of Representatives just passed an amendment to the 2013 Defense Appropriations Bill that would bar same-sex couples from holding weddings or other commitment ceremonies on military bases and ban military chaplains from conducting any such unions.
The measure was the work of Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who claimed the Obama Administration was trying to circumvent DOMA by allowing gay couples to wed on-base.
“The Defense of Marriage Act means this: Marriage means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife. And the word ‘spouse’ only refers to a member of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife,” said King. “[It’s a] pretty simple statute being contravened by the President of the United States as exercised through the Secretary of Defense.”
The issue of same-sex ceremonies on military stations came to the fore when Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed. But after Slate reported on the union of Air Force Tech Sargent Erwynn Umali and his fiance, Will Behrens, at a joint military base in new Jersey,  King pulled out the big guns.
The news isn’t as bad as it seems, though. The measure actually bans the use of military funds for the purpose of same-sex marriages–something that isn’t actually happening anyway.
“This language put forth by Congressman King would do nothing new,” explains Aubrey Sarvis, director of the Service Members Legal Defense Network. “No funds can ever be spent in contravention of federal law. With this amendment, the Congressman is wasting Congress’ time and energy by restating current law in an attempt to infringe upon the rights of chaplains… and relegate gay and lesbian service members to second-class status.”

USA: House Of Representatives Give The Middle Finger To President Obama On Marriage Equality Endorsement

The Washington Blade reports: 

The U.S. House voted late Wednesday night in favor of a measure that aims to stop the Obama administration from taking any action in violation of the Defense of Marriage Act — even though the administration continues to enforce the law.

In a 245-171 vote, House lawmakers approved the amendment, introduced by freshman Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas), as part of Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations legislation. The amendment reads, “None of the funds made available under this Act, may be used in contravention of the Defense of Marriage Act.”

Ian Thompson, legislative representative for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the amendment in effect does nothing because although the Justice Department is no longer defending DOMA in court, the Obama administration is still enforcing it.

“The Huelskamp Amendment is a solution in search of a problem,” Thompson said. “While there are multiple legal challenges to DOMA working their way through the federal courts, it is still binding. This amendment serves absolutely no purpose other than to score political points at the expense of gay and lesbian couples.”

After the Obama administration declared DOMA unconstitutional, the Justice Department filed legal briefs against the anti-gay law and sent Justice Department attorneys to argue against the statute in court during oral arguments. However, the administration continues to enforce the statute, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage.

According to Roll Call newspaper, Huelskamp had initially planned an amendment that would barred the use of funds for arguing against DOMA in court — which, if passed into law, would have had real impact. Huelskamp ultimately didn’t press forward with that amendment.

Huelskamp reportedly said he introduced the amendment not only because the Justice Department stopped defending DOMA in court, but also because of Vice President Joe Biden’s endorsement of same-sex marriage Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“The most immediate reason was the comments of the vice president of the United States,” Huelskamp was quoted as saying. “Stating his position is fine, but you tie that together with the issues with the lawsuit in California in which, essentially, the attorney general walked away from DOMA and said, ‘I’m not going to defend that.’”

Although the amendment passed on largely a party-line basis, seven Republicans voted “no”: Reps. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.), Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.), Steven LaTourette (R-Ohio), Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), and Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.). 16 Democrats voted for the measure.

Drew Hammill, a spokesperson for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said House Republicans “voted to tie the hands of the Obama administration with respect to their efforts to end discrimination against America’s families.”

“House Republicans continue to plant their feet firmly on the wrong side of history,” Hammill said. “Republican leaders refuse to bring up a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act that includes critical domestic violence protections for the LGBT community, and Speaker Boehner continues his legal boondoggle to use taxpayer funds to defend the indefensible Defense of Marriage Act in court, including cases involving the families of our men and women of our U.S. Armed Forces.”

Hammill added, “These discriminatory actions only serve to advance fundamental unfairness in our society and are against the principles of liberty and equality that our country is built upon.”

Seven Republicans opposed the bill including Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL) and Rep. Mary Bono Mack, thou. 

NOH8: Ten House Reps Pose For Campaign 

House Of Reps Launch Bipartisan HIV/AIDS Caucus

The Advocate reports:

House members on both sides of the aisle have launched an HIV/AIDS caucus with a stated mission of protecting funding for programs in the United States and abroad.

The caucus is led by Republican representative Trent Franks of Arizona and Democratic representatives Barbara Lee of California and Jim McDermott of Washington. Three additional GOP members joined the caucus Thursday.

“It makes a huge difference to have Republicans on board, and I’m really excited about that,” McDermott told The Huffington Post. ”As a physician, I traveled in Africa in ‘87 to ‘88, and I saw the disease firsthand, and what it was doing. But when I came to Congress [in 1989], no one was talking about this, and it was a gay man’s disease as far as anyone was concerned. I started a task force in Congress to address it in 1992, but it was tough to get people interested, and until today we didn’t have anyone on the other side.” (Read the HuffPo reporthere.)

House Reps to Introduce ENDA Today

The Advocate reports:

Rep. Barney Frank and colleagues will introduce the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the House on Wednesday — a bill that Frank described in a statement as a “difficult but winnable fight.” 
 
The prospects of the bill, which would cover sexual orientation and gender identity in federal employment antidiscrimination laws – are bleak in the current Republican-controlled House, though Frank said that the bill is an “important vehicle” for “a serious lobbying effort.” 
 
Rep. Frank will be joined by Reps. Jared Polis and George Miller in introducing the legislation Wednesday.
 
The press release from Frank’s office: 

WASHINGTON — On Wednesday morning, March 30th, Congressman Barney Frank and other prominent Members of the House of Representatives will make an important announcement about the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

The legislation would extend federal employment laws, which currently prevent job discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender, national origin, age, and disability, to also cover sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill applies both to the public and private sectors.

On the night before the event, Frank said that “passing an inclusive ENDA is a difficult but winnable fight – winnable if supported by a serious lobbying effort. The bill we are about to introduce provides an important vehicle for that effort.”

Although some states have passed laws to prevent such discrimination, it is legal in 29 states to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, and legal in 38 states to discriminate on the basis of gender identity. According to research by the Williams Institute, there is an ongoing pattern of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity nationwide.

House Committee OKs End to Antigay Aid

The Advocate reports:

The House Financial Services Committee passed an amendment Tuesday that would discourage giving aid to countries that persecute their citizens because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
According to a statement from Rep. Barney Frank (pictured), who introduced the amendment to the committee, the bill passed with nearly unanimous support. The amendment will be added to a House Financial Services Committee bill that outlines budget priorities for issues under the committee’s jurisdiction. According to Frank’s office, the Financial Services Committee’s overwhelming support for his amendment may lead to support in the Budget Committee and the full House.
The text of the amendment reads: “The Committee urges Treasury to advocate that governments receiving assistance from the multilateral development institutions do not engage in gross violations of human rights, for example, the denial of freedom of religion, including the right to choose one’s own religion, and physical persecution based on sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Frank cited Uganda, a beneficiary of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries program, as an example of a country that openly abuses its LGBT citizens.

“The United States has a fairly influential voice in the development area,” Frank said Tuesday. “And we should not be supportive of providing multilateral bank development funds going to the governments of countries which engage in the physical persecution of people because of their religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or gender identity.”

It was about time. But I’m afraid it won’t have a significant influence in the US Foreign Policy with the Middle East (i.e. Saudi Arabia, UAE). At least, not at any time soon.

Barney Frank Announces Reelection Bid

The Advocate reports:

Massachusetts representative Barney Frank will not challenge Republican senator Scott Brown in the 2012 election.
“I will be running for reelection to the House of Representatives in 2012,” Frank said in a statement. “While I would have preferred to put off a discussion about the next election until a later date, I have been asked on a number of occasions about my plans. In addition, I have become convinced that making my decision to run for reelection known is important for maximizing the impact I can have on the range of issues to which I am committed.”
Party leaders considered supporting Frank in a campaign against Brown in 2010, but may have determined that his running for reelection in 2012 is a safer bet, because, according to TheHill.com, “his eventual challenger won’t have the benefit of the GOP headwinds that helped many Republican candidates in 2010.”

Frank: If DADT Doesn’t Pass, Obama Has No Moral Right To Defend It In Court

GOP Lawmaker: God will Deal with Climate Change

This what Christopher Hitchens means when says that bigotry & religion will kill us all eventually. 

Pougnet Loses to Bono Mack: The Gayest Race Ever!

The Advocate reports:

• Steve Pougnet, the mayor of Palm Springs, lost his first congressional bid in California’s 45th district to Republican incumbent Mary Bono Mack after a hard-hitting campaign. Pougnet, who would have been the fifth openly gay representative in the next Congress, received about 40% of the vote to Bono Mack’s 52%, according to the most recent numbers. Bono Mack declared victory in a statement released about 3:30 a.m. Pacific time.”It is an honor to once again earn the confidence and support of such an overwhelming number of voters in California’s 45th Congressional District,” Bono Mack said. “I will fight tirelessly in Congress to rebuild our nation’s economy and revive the American dream for future generations.” During the campaign Pougnet criticized Bono Mack’s vote against the House “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal amendment. She was endorsed by gay conservative group GOProud.Pougnet has declined to comment on the race until more results are in,  The Desert Sunreports. 
  

Funny connexion: Mary Bono Mack is the widow of Sonny Bono, former husband of Living Legend Cher, who were back in the 60’s the popular duo of Sonny & Cher, who also had a transgender child, born as a girl named Chastity, now named Chaz. I don’t care if Mary Bono is a Republican, this race was for California’s 45th district seat for the House of Representatives (Palm Springs), this race was the gayest one on this midterm elections. I think she won because of  it. Loved it!