On 1/7/11, GregfromBoston <greg.vincent@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Here's a nice easy one.
>
> 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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--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
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* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
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