Get POTUS to drop his challenge to DOMA unconstitutionality.
On Jan 7, 11:43 am, Tommy News <tommysn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> LGBT Groups Scale Back Goals In 2011, Search For Smaller Victories
> With New Congress
>
> WASHINGTON -- Facing an emboldened Republican House unlikely to
> consider significant gay rights legislation in 2011, the nation's
> leading LGBT advocacy organizations are aiming to push for measures
> that advance pro-equality causes but are a far cry from historic bills
> like the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
>
> A new analysis by the Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest
> LGBT advocacy group, argues that the 112th Congress will have 53 more
> lawmakers unlikely to vote on behalf of advancing gay rights than in
> the previous session; the Senate will have five more, bringing the
> total of such members in the new Congress to 265:
>
> "There will be some opportunities that will be presented to us," said
> Allison Herwitt, legislative director at HRC. "I think that going into
> the 112th Congress, generally, we'll be looking at, what are the
> bigger bills that will be moving that we can put pieces of
> pro-equality -- either amendments or provisions -- into those larger
> moving bills?"
>
> She said the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education
> Act might provide opportunities to include measures addressing
> bullying and harassment. The Older Americans Act could allow advocates
> to push for provisions that benefit older LGBT Americans. A piece of
> free-standing legislation, the Tax Equity for Health Plan
> Beneficiaries Act, would equalize tax treatment for employer-provided
> health coverage for domestic partners and other non-spouse,
> non-dependent beneficiaries.
>
> HRC will still work on larger pieces of legislation, like the
> Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Defense of Marriage Act,
> pushing to introduce the bills, educating lawmakers and holding
> hearings on the issues.
>
> R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans,
> also acknowledges that major measures are unlikely to go anywhere but
> said there are opportunities to marry the fiscal concerns of the
> Republican Party with pro-equality legislation. Like Herwitt, he
> pointed to inequalities in the tax code.
>
> Currently under federal law, employers who offer health benefits for
> the domestic partners of their employees face unequal treatment: both
> the employers and employees are taxed at a higher rate and
> essentially, employers are rewarded for discriminating.
>
> We have drafted a tax reform bill that would address a 'donut hole' --
> people call it different things -- there is currently a problem with
> the way the federal tax code is written that is punitive to employers,
> and employees who may have a same-sex partner," said Cooper, noting it
> would be LCR's first piece of legislation this Congress. "We figure,
> with the current appetite in Congress for tax reform, and the current
> appetite for economic growth and limiting the federal budget and
> balancing the budget, this may be an opportunity for a successful
> piece of legislation that could be introduced and sponsored by
> Republicans, with bipartisan support from Democrats."
>
> He is less pessimistic that Republicans will try to take away LGBT
> rights, pointing to 11 of LCR's endorsed candidates -- including five
> new members -- who will be in the 112th Congress. He also noted that
> on Dec. 15, the Republican Study Committee, run by the socially
> conservative Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), convened a meeting with
> conservative and Republican auxiliary organizations -- including the
> Heritage Foundation, National Rifle Association, and LCR -- and made
> clear the party will be focused on fiscal issues.
>
> "What Chairman Jordan shared with us is that all the priorities for
> this Congress are fiscal-related," said Cooper. "One could interpret
> it as there have been lessons learned either at a pragmatic or
> principled level by certain Republicans on social issues, that they're
> not good for the party; they are divisive. And frankly, in many
> respects, from a true definition of conservatism, social issues don't
> have a role in the government."
>
> The three priorities identified by Jordan, according to Cooper, were:
> 1) a rescission package that would eliminate previously approved
> spending; 2) balancing the federal budget; and 3) federal welfare
> reform.
>
> Herwitt is less optimistic. She said that LGBT advocates will have to
> look closely at budget numbers Republicans put out and where they
> decide to cut spending. Will they go after funding for HIV/AIDS
> programs? Hate crimes enforcement?
>
> Additionally, as the 2012 elections heat up, she said Republicans
> might bring social issues to the table again.
>
> "I think they're going to have to give some red meat to their base,
> and I assume it's either going to be anti-gay, anti-choice, or
> anti-immigrant, or all of the above," said Herwitt. "So I just think
> that when you have someone like Jeb Hensarling, who is chairman of the
> House Republican Conference, he's extremely connected and close to a
> lot the right-wing religious groups, so there's going to be pressure
> on the leadership to deliver on some of these issues."
>
> One branch of government that could hold major victories (or upsets)
> for the LGBT community: the judicial system. There currently are two
> major cases making their way through the courts, one challenging the
> constitutionality of DOMA, the other the constitutionality of
> California's same-sex marriage ban. Either could end up at the Supreme
> Court.
>
> There will also be action at the state level, with Maryland, New York
> and Rhode Island looking to advance marriage equality bills, and
> states like Tennessee, Arizona and Florida likely considering
> legislation to restrict adoption rights for same-sex parents.
>
> More:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/05/lgbt-groups-goals-2011-victo...
> --
> Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> Have a great day,
> Tommy
--
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