News aggregator

Military.com, a premiere news site for those on active duty in the armed forces, is featuring a poll on whether “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” should be repealed. 

The question was asked in today's "The Muster", a daily Military.com poll.  As of this writing, the poll results show "Yes" (overturn DADT) at 47%, "No" at 44% and "Undecided" at 9%.

Given the audience, the poll is likely affected by a large selection bias that skews conservative. LGBT supporters should vote now - and often - to overturn DADT.

Antonio Agnone, a military veteran and lead organizer of HRC's 2007  "12,000 Flags for 12,000 Patriots" commemoration (pictured above), shared these insights about the poll:

More than anything, the poll on Military.com should serve to point us in the right direction. The audience is mostly active duty, reserve duty and retired military. The poll shows us that there has been a positive shift in the "boots on the ground" opinion but that there is a significant amount of education left to go. These are the same people Congress will turn to when asking if DADT should be eliminated.
 
I believe our efforts need to focus on educating the "maybe."

Use this link to vote: http://www.military.com/hp/poll?poll=undefined

Following two months of negotiations, New York’s State Senate Democrats have chosen Senator Malcolm Smith to lead the new majority that Democrats won last November. Chris Edelson, HRC's state legislative director, talks more about the New York election results in this guest post:  

Last November’s election results hit us hard on the issue of marriage equality.   One piece of good news, however, came from New York, where control of the Senate changed hands. 

That was good news because the marriage equality bill that passed the New York Assembly by an 85-61 margin in June 2007 had gone nowhere in the old Senate, which was controlled by a majority leader who was a committed opponent of equality and declared the marriage equality bill “dead on arrival”.  

We were thrilled by the election results in New York, and proud of the work we did on key campaigns, but we have anxiously followed negotiations over the past two months regarding leadership of the new majority.  Sen. Malcolm Smith (pictured), a supporter of marriage equality, emerged as the leading candidate to become the new Senate President and Majority Leader, but members of his party tried to force him to agree that, if he became leader, the Senate would not vote on a marriage equality bill this year.

We urged Sen. Smith to stand on principle, and we asked members in New York to urge Sen. Smith to reject the pressure and re-affirm his commitment to marriage equality  You took up the call, and thousands of you emailed Sen. Smith.  Sen. Smith heard your voice and stuck by his own convictions, saying that “civil rights should never be a bargaining chip.”

Sen. Smith was able to win the leadership fight while continuing to stand for equality.  He was sworn in yesterday as Senate President and Majority Leader. 

We’re proud of the work you did.  We’re proud of openly gay Assemblymember Danny O’Donnell for his leadership in winning passage of the bill in the Assembly and moving one step closer to marrying his partner John.  We’re proud of openly gay Senator Tom Duane for his leadership on marriage equality.   We’re proud of the work HRC did in helping to move New York toward equality in last November’s election, and we’re looking forward to working with you and with supporters of equality throughout the state to win marriage equality in New York in this coming legislative session.

It’s not going to be easy—it makes a huge difference to have a new Senate leader who supports equality, but we still have to make sure there are enough votes for a marriage bill to pass the Senate (and to pass the Assembly again). 

We will need your help in contacting your legislators and telling your stories, so that legislators understand why marriage equality is so important to New Yorkers.

Thank you for your work for equality and here’s to a new Senate leader in New York who stands for equality.

Today the Obama transition team announced that Lisa Hazirjian and her partner Michelle are one of the 16 American families that have been chosen to participate in the Delegation of Americans joining the Obamas and the Bidens on their historic train trip from Philadelphia to Washington, DC.  Lisa and Michelle will participate in all official Inaugural events as honored guests of the President-Elect and Vice President-Elect.

Lisa is a member of the Equality Ohio board and was a participant in HRC's 2008 Camp Equality election skills training in Columbus.

According to her bio at Equality Ohio:

Lisa’s record of involvement in progressive causes runs the gamut from combating mortgage redlining by analyzing Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, to holding HIV prevention workshops in migrant farmworker camps, to leading the campaign to establish same-sex partner benefits for graduate and professional students at her alma mater, to coordinating the Obama campaign’s LGBT outreach activities in the greater Cleveland area. While she remains passionate about many other issues, right now nothing surpasses her determination to see the passage of fully-inclusive employment non-discrimination legislation.

(Not to mention Lisa attended Duke University, the alma mater of your Back Story blogger...GO DEVILS!)

Here's the official press release:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee announced that a group of everyday Americans has been invited by President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden to join them on the Whistle Stop Tour to Washington, D.C. the Saturday before the Inauguration.

These everyday Americans from all walks of life have made extraordinary contributions to the life of this country - the worker who became a champion for workers’ rights, the soldier who became an advocate for servicemen and women suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; those who have lost their jobs and struggle bravely to cope in economic turmoil, and those who work tirelessly to make real the dream of a better future for their children.

“Each one of these families has their own remarkable story to add to our American story, and we’re thrilled they’ve agreed to join us as we travel to Washington,“ said Josh Earnest, PIC Communications Director. 

The invited guests include the following:  Mark Dowell, Crestwood, KY; Matt Kuntz, Helena, MT; Jim and Alicia Girardeau, Kansas City, MO; Juliana Sanchez, Albuquerque, NM; Rosa Mendoza, Las Vegas, NV; Lisa Hazirjian, Cleveland, OH; Kirsten Meehan, Dover, NH; Roy Gross, Taylor, MI; Shandra Jackson, Arlington, TX; Quincy Lucas, Dover, DE; Patricia Stiles, Parker, CO; Gregg Weaver, Fairless Hills, PA; Tony Fischer, Cinncinati, OH; Lilly Ledbetter, Jacksonville, AL; Mike and Cheryl Fisher, Beech Grove, IN; and Randy Wehrman, LeClair, IA.

The PIC previously announced details of the Whistle Stop Tour.  In the tradition of past Presidents-elect, there will be a series of events open to the public as the First and Second families make their way to the nation’s capital.  The group of Americans traveling with the Obamas and Bidens will also appear on stage with them at the public events.

In keeping with the theme of the 2009 Inauguration, “Renewing America’s Promise,“ the President-elect and Vice President-elect will hold events in some of the cities instrumental to that promise: Philadelphia, where that promise was realized; Baltimore, where that promise was defended, then immortalized in our national anthem; and Washington, where Americans of all backgrounds will gather over four days, united in common purpose and resolved to renew that promise once more.

Saturday morning, January 17th, President-elect Obama and his family will hold an event in Philadelphia before boarding a train for Wilmington, Delaware, where they will be joined by Vice President-elect Biden and his family.  Together, the families will travel to Baltimore and hold another event, before finally arriving in Washington, D.C.

For the latest information on the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, please visit www.pic2009.org.

This morning, HRC President Joe Solmonese joined members of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights at a Capitol Hill press conference to urge the Senate to confirm the nomination of Eric Holder for Attorney General. Hearings on his nomination in the Senate Judiciary Committee are expected to begin January 15.

Holder has demonstrated his commitment to protecting citizens from victimization and he has worked vigorously throughout his career to reduce crime and increase neighborhood safety. He supports rigorous enforcement of existing laws, data collection and research about hate violence, and passing legislation that would give the federal government both the authority to prosecute these crimes and the power to assist local governments that are pursuing justice.

HRC supports a full examination of Eric Holder’s record is confident that the totality of his record will show that he is extraordinarily qualified for the position of Attorney General.

Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (pictured, first photo) and Maryland Senator Ben Cardin (at the podium, bottom photo) gave remarks at the event to express their support for the Holder nomination.

I was meaning to post this news yesterday - but it's honestly no less surprising today: Former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr (R) called for the end of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in a must-read LA Times editorial on Monday. DOMA is the anti-marriage equality bill he wrote in 1996. 

It's worth excerpting his article at length:

Contrary to the wishes of a number of my Republican colleagues, I crafted the legislation so it wasn't a hammer the federal government could use to force states to recognize only unions between a man and a woman. Congress deliberately chose not to establish a single, nationwide definition of marriage.

However, we did incorporate into DOMA's second part a definition of marriage that comported with the historic -- and, at the time, widely accepted -- view of the institution as being between a man and a woman only. But this definition was to be used solely to interpret provisions of federal law related to spouses.

The first part of DOMA, then, is a partial bow to principles of federalism, protecting the power of each state to determine its definition of marriage. The second part sets a legal definition of marriage only for purposes of federal law, but not for the states. That was the theory.

I've wrestled with this issue for the last several years and come to the conclusion that DOMA is not working out as planned. In testifying before Congress against a federal marriage amendment, and more recently while making my case to skeptical Libertarians as to why I was worthy of their support as their party's presidential nominee, I have concluded that DOMA is neither meeting the principles of federalism it was supposed to, nor is its impact limited to federal law.

In effect, DOMA's language reflects one-way federalism: It protects only those states that don't want to accept a same-sex marriage granted by another state. Moreover, the heterosexual definition of marriage for purposes of federal laws -- including, immigration, Social Security survivor rights and veteran's benefits -- has become a de facto club used to limit, if not thwart, the ability of a state to choose to recognize same-sex unions.

Even more so now than in 1996, I believe we need to reduce federal power over the lives of the citizenry and over the prerogatives of the states. It truly is time to get the federal government out of the marriage business. In law and policy, such decisions should be left to the people themselves.

Granted, Barr's stated love of federalism clearly trounches the idea of him suddenly finding some new fuzzy feelings for the gays, but him calling for the repeal of his own divisive law - one of the signature pieces of his career - is still a step in the right direction. We want DOMA overturned yesterday.

And remember when Barr spoke out against Don't Ask Don't Tell in the Wall Street Journal in June 2007?

PS, here's an interesting side note: My colleague Rachel Balick and I actually took a rather unexpected elevator ride with Barr here in the HRC headquarters a few weeks ago.  Imagine our shock when I stuck out my hand to stop the closing elevator doors and Barr walked on! He apparently got off on one of the upper floors we rent out in our building - one that houses a progressive consulting group. 

Maybe someone there has finally talked some sense into that man....

***UPDATE: Join the Impact is asking the LGBT community to sign an open letter to President-elect Obama and to participate in a nationwide protest against DOMA this Saturday, January 10. To determine if there's an organized DOMA protest in your state, click here.

Special thanks to HRC Religion Council member Rev. Susan Russell of All Saints Church in Pasadena, CA (pictured below) for this guest post on the California Supreme Court ruling that congregations who "leave" the Episopal Church cannot take their church property with them:

Tuesday's unanimous California Supreme Court decision is a landmark ruling that states - once and for all - the reality that individuals may choose to leave the Episcopal Church but they cannot choose to take the property that belongs to the diocese with them.

The truth is, in spite of all the efforts to spin the story otherwise, the current departures from the Episcopal Church amount to a splinter ... not a schism. A relatively small but vocal minority of Episcopalians have chosen to leave over the inclusion of gay and lesbian people more fully in the life and work of the church but the vast majority of Episcopalians remain committed to moving ahead with our mission and ministry, in spite of their differences on this and many other issues.

In the 1970's here in the Diocese of Los Angeles, four congregations attempted to "leave the Episcopal Church" over the ordination of women.

There were law suits and property challenges and - at the end of the day - two of them left and two of them ended up staying.

Now in 2009 we have four congregations seeking to "leave the Episcopal Church" ostensibly over the ministry of gay and lesbian folk in the church. Truth be told, the fight going on has less to do with theology than it does with power.

While we believe it grieves the heart of God whenever there is a split in the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ, at the end of the day what matters more than those who choose to leave the Episcopal Church because they're disagreed with are those who will COME to the Episcopal Church because of our policies of welcome, inclusion and our message of love and tolerance.

Yesterday's Supreme Court decision regarding the long-standing property dispute here in the Diocese of Los Angeles caused me go back and revisit my experience of the history of that dispute in this blog post entitled "Story Time."

As the confirmation process begins for President-elect Obama’s nominees, HRC is actively supporting the nomination of Eric Holder as Attorney General.  Tomorrow, HRC will join members of the civil rights community and Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) at a Capitol Hill press conference to urge the Senate to confirm Holder.

WHEN:  Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. ET
 
WHERE: 226 Dirksen Senate Office Building

WHO:  Sens. Whitehouse and Cardin along with leaders representing the civil rights community

The Human Rights Campaign announced its support for Eric Holder as a signee of a December 18 letter sent by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Read a copy of the letter here (PDF).

After graduating from Columbia Law School, Eric Holder joined the Department of Justice’s Attorney General's Honors Program.  In 1988 he was appointed Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  In 1993 President Clinton nominated Mr. Holder for the position of United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, and he was confirmed later that year.  In this role he worked vigorously to reduce crime and increase neighborhood safety. 

Notably, Holder used his positions to emphasize hate crimes enforcement to ensure that bias-motivated crimes would receive adequate resources, attention, and punishment.  Hate crimes continued to be a priority for Mr. Holder after his 1997 appointment by President Clinton to Deputy Attorney General.  His dedication to the issue of addressing hate-motivated violence is exemplified in his 1999 testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.  Read the text of his remarks at: http://www.hrc.org/11605.htm

After mounting pressure from local residents and community activists, District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty has agreed to meet with Gays and Lesbians Against Violence (GLOV) on January 16 to discuss increasing incidents of violence against LGBT people in the Washington, DC area.

Here's their press release:

JANUARY 1, 2009 — Mayor Fenty took a significant step forward in showing DC's GLBT community that he is serious about the issue of violent crime by recently granting a meeting with GLOV. The meeting is scheduled for January 16, 2009 and Police Chief Lanier will also attend.

"Mayor Fenty has shown great foresight by inviting Chief Lanier to the meeting," said Chris Farris, Co-Chair of GLOV.  "We know that our police play a crucial role in solving the problem and we look forward to hearing how he and the MPD are working to end the violence plaguing our community as well as how he plans to see that justice is served on behalf of the victims."

GLOV has already met with police officials, prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's office, members of the D.C. Council, and members of other community groups in an effort to better understand the problem and advocate for solutions. "The problem of bias crimes is complex and we believe the Mayor understands that it must be addressed on multiple levels," said Todd Metrokin, GLOV Co-Chair.  "We applaud his leadership on this issue and are looking forward to seeing progress."

The Metropolitan Police Department is still offering a $50,000 reward for the murderer of Durval Martins, a gay man I was acquainted with who was killed on December 16.   

Today, the newly-elected members of the U.S. House and Senate will be sworn-in on Capitol Hill at12 noon as the 111th Congress begins.

The Human Rights Campaign PAC endorsed 212 Members that were elected to the U.S. House and 16 Members elected in the U.S. Senate in the 2008 election cycle. 

For a full list of 2008 election results, visit: http://www.hrc.org/equality08/returns.htm

The 111th Congress includes freshmen Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), elected from Boulder’s 2nd Congressional district, who joins Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) as the only openly gay and lesbian Members of Congress.  In addition, Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO) roundly defeated Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), the ringleader of the campaign to write discrimination into the U.S. Constitution.  

In Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Mark Schauer defeated right-winger Rep. Tim Walberg, who garnered a zero percent on the HRC scorecard.  In the 9th Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Gary Peters, who supports  marriage equality, defeated Rep. Joe Knollenberg.

In the U.S. Senate, Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), who supported the passage of her state’s 2007 civil unions law, has come out in support of passing a fully inclusive workplace protections bill and inclusive hate crimes legislation.  Sen. Shaheen is joined by Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) and his cousin Tom Udall (D-NM), both who have supported fully inclusive workplace and hate crimes protections previously as Members in the U.S. House.

In 2008, HRC engaged in "Year to Win," the largest electoral campaign in the history of the organization, launching an aggressive $7 million election effort to mobilize and motivate millions of LGBT and allied voters.  HRC raised $767,634 for fair-minded U.S. Senate candidates.  In addition, HRC raised $275,250 for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in the 2008 election cycle.  HRC PAC also contributed $112,312 to U.S. Senate candidates.  For U.S. House candidates, HRC PAC contributed $915,500 and raised $100,304.  In addition, HRC raised $116,000 for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the 2008 election cycle.

Here is the list of 2009 freshman U.S. Senators endorsed by HRC:
–Mark Begich (D-Alaska)
–Mark Udall (D-Colorado)
–Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire)
–Tom Udall (D-New Mexico)
–Kay Hagan (D-North Carolina)
–Al Franken (D-Minnesota)

2009 freshman U.S. House Members endorsed by HRC:
Adler, John H (New Jersey Democrat, District 3)
Boccieri, John A (Ohio Democrat, District 16)
Connolly, Gerry (Virginia Democrat, District 11)
Dahlkemper, Kathleen (Pennsylvania Democrat, District 3)
Driehaus, Steven Leo (Ohio Democrat, District 1)
Fudge, Marcia L (Ohio Democrat, District 11)
Grayson, Alan Mark (Florida Democrat, District 8)
Halvorson, Deborah "Debbie" (Illinois Democrat, District 11)
Heinrich, Martin (New Mexico Democrat, District 1)
Kilroy, Mary Jo (Ohio Democrat, District 15)
Kirkpatrick, Ann (Arizona Democrat, District 1)
Kosmas, Suzanne (Florida Democrat, District 24)
Lujan, Ben R (New Mexico Democrat, District 3)
Maffei, Dan (New York Democrat, District 25)
Markey, Betsy (Colorado Democrat, District 4)
Massa, Eric (New York Democrat, District 29)
McMahon, Michael E (New York Democrat, District 13)
Peters, Gary (Michigan Democrat, District 9)
Pingree, Chellie (Maine Democrat, District 1)
Polis, Jared (Colorado Democrat, District 2)
Schauer, Mark (Michigan Democrat, District 7)
Schrader, Kurt (Oregon Democrat, District 5)
Teague, Harry (New Mexico Democrat, District 2)
Titus, Dina (Nevada Democrat, District 3)
Tonko, Paul (New York Democrat, District 21

TAKE ACTION: HRC is encouraging all of its members and supporters to contact their new Members of Congress and the U.S. Senators to support pro-equality legislation in the 111th Congress.  You can call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to speak to your representative or senator based on your zip code.

HRC’s 2009 legislative agenda includes:

• Fully inclusive hate crimes legislation;

• Fully inclusive employment non-discrimination act;

• Family Matters: Protections and Benefits for Lesbian and Gay Couples and their Children (www.hrc.org/familymatters).

• HIV/AIDS:  As health care reform is likely to take center stage early in 2009, HRC will work to insure that the critical needs of people of HIV/AIDS are part of those health proposals, including the The Early Treatment for HIV Act (“ETHA”) and The Responsible Education About Life Act.

• Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell:  HRC will continue to build support for the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (“MREA”), which would repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and replace it with a policy of nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation.

• Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA):  would address the pervasive problem of bullying of LGBT students by amending the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education/No Child Left Behind Act).

Earlier today, the Washington Post reported in a front-page story that Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine has been chosen as the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). According to Post reporter Michael D. Shear, the Obama transition team will formally announce Kaine's selection sometime this week. Kaine, who helped turn Virginia from a red state to a blue state in the presidential election, will succeed former Vermont Governor Howard Dean as leader of the Democratic Party.

Kaine was a driving force in expanding the number and influence of progressives in the Virginia legislature and, as a fierce supporter of Obama, will bring those same skills to the DNC: 

For Obama, Kaine will be a true loyalist who carries out the new president's political agenda amid upcoming battles over the economy, foreign policy, health care and the environment. Kaine became one of the first governors to endorse Obama after the two men forged a close relationship during the Virginian's 2005 gubernatorial race.

During the 2007 elections, HRC dispatched staff and volunteers to Virginia to help elect more fair-minded candidates to the legislature. That year, HRC was called the Democrats' "secret women number one" by the Raising Kane blog and worked with the Virginia Democratic Party to help fair-minded candidates recapture the state senate and increase their numbers in the lower house.

HRC field staff and volunteers with Virginia Governor Tim Kaine following an October 2007 campaign rally in McLean, Virginia.

DEVELOPING: Minnesota election officials are soon expected to declare Al Franken the winner of a long-contested battle for U.S. Senate. The announcement is expected on the heels of the Minnesota Supreme Court ruling today to deny a challenge by the incumbent, Sen. Norm Coleman (R), to have additional absentee ballots counted to make up his 225-vote deficit against Franken.

The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza has more details at The Fix:

The Court -- in an opinion issued this afternoon and signed by Chief Justice Alan Page ( a member of the Purple People Eaters) -- said that Coleman's attempt to include these rejected absentees did not meet the criteria for counting ballots laid out in a previous ruling, specifically that both sides had to agree for any additional ballots to be counted.

"Because the parties and the respective counties have not agreed as to any of these additional ballots, the merits of this dispute (and any other disputes with respect to absentee ballots) are the proper subject of an election contest," wrote Page.

This ruling comes just hours before the state Canvassing Board is expected to officially declare Franken the winner, twin developments that are likely to add to the momentum the Democrat has been building for the last week or so.

The Minnesota Supreme Court's ruling brings Franken closer to finally winning the seat, although Coleman has the right to bring additional legal challenges:

That challenge is likely to have three main prongs: that the 654 absentee ballots have been wrongly excluded, that roughly 150 ballots have been double-counted, and that 130 ballots that disappeared from a church between election night Nov. 4 and the manual recount should not be included in the final tally.

Democrats insist that even if all three of those challenges are resolved in Coleman's favor, he still does not have the votes to make up his current deficit.

The Human Rights Campaign was proud to endorse Al Franken for U.S. Senate.  As a comedian, writer and radio talk show host, Al Franken has always been outspoken, and his support of LGBT issues has been no exception. Franken backs pro-equality positions for key legislation such as increased HIV/AIDS funding, fair employment laws, and the repeal of the military’s discriminatory policy. Franken also opposes the Federal Marriage Amendment, which Coleman backed in 2004 and 2006.

...and we're BACK!

Happy New Year!!

We're in for quite a ride this year.  After eight long years under President Bush, we are literally in the last days of an administration that aggresively opposed legislation and stood in the way of policies that would advance LGBT equality.  And now, with the January 20 inauguration day soon approaching, we're looking forward to working with the Obama administration to make sure they carry out their promises of LGBT inclusion they made during the campaign.  Of course, we know that real change and progress does not come overnight - or without a fight.  We've got a lot of work ahead of us and we'll need to call upon our members more than ever to ensure that the new administration takes concrete action on our issues. 

If you're not a member of the Human Rights Campaign, now is the time to join us in our fight!

HRC has launched a new membership drive that we're calling "The New Way Forward." Our goal is to add 2,009 new members before Barack Obama takes his oath of office on January 20.

In a recent email message to our supporters, HRC President Joe Solmonese outlined a few key reasons why becoming a member of the Human Rights Campaign is so important at this crucial moment in our movement:

• First and foremost, we will continue laying the groundwork for full marriage equality, including a repeal of Proposition 8. HRC is taking aggressive action against the lies and fabrications that have held back the tide of equality. We can, and we will, show America that honoring love and commitment is the moral thing to do.

• We will fight so that Judy Shepard doesn't have to spend one more year without her son Matthew's life being honored with a hate crimes law that protects ALL of us.

• We will continue building public support for a fully-inclusive workplace protection, so that LGBT people will no longer suffer discrimination or lose their jobs because of who they are.

• We will fight for the freedom to serve openly in the military; for adoption and foster parenting rights; and for transgender equality as a critical piece of our national civil rights vision.

• In weeks to come, you will hear more about HRC's grassroots, online and other campaigns to channel the anger caused by Prop. 8 and pursue our vision of justice – in the states, workplaces, faith communities, college campuses and beyond.

Not all these things will happen in 2009, but this is a moment we must not let slip by. This is the time to join our movement.

We can't do this without you. HRC is only as strong as the members who support and sustain us. JOIN TODAY.

New York Times columnist Frank Rich weighs in on Obama using his political capital to put Rick Warren front and center at his inauguration - and he's not happy with Obama's "tone-deaf invitation": 

Unlike such family-values ayatollahs as James Dobson and Tony Perkins, Warren is not obsessed with homosexuality and abortion. He was vociferously attacked by the Phyllis Schlafly gang when he invited Obama to speak about AIDS at his Saddleback Church two years ago.

There’s no reason why Obama shouldn’t return the favor by inviting him to Washington. But there’s a difference between including Warren among the cacophony of voices weighing in on policy and anointing him as the inaugural’s de facto pope. You can’t blame V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop and an early Obama booster, for feeling as if he’d been slapped in the face. “I’m all for Rick Warren being at the table,” he told The Times, but “we’re talking about putting someone up front and center at what will be the most-watched inauguration in history, and asking his blessing on the nation. And the God that he’s praying to is not the God that I know.”

Warren, whose ego is no less than Obama’s, likes to advertise his “commitment to model civility in America.” But as Rachel Maddow of MSNBC reminded her audience, “comparing gay relationships to child abuse” is a “strange model of civility.” Less strange but equally hard to take is Warren’s defensive insistence that some of his best friends are the gays: His boasts of having “eaten dinner in gay homes” and loving Melissa Etheridge records will not protect any gay families’ civil rights.

Equally lame is the argument mounted by an Obama spokeswoman, Linda Douglass, who talks of how Warren has fought for “people who have H.I.V./AIDS.” Shouldn’t that be the default position of any religious leader? Fighting AIDS is not a get-out-of-homophobia-free card. 

...When Obama defends Warren’s words by calling them an example of the “wide range of viewpoints” in a “diverse and noisy and opinionated” America, he is being too cute by half. He knows full well that a “viewpoint” defaming any minority group by linking it to sexual crimes like pedophilia is unacceptable.

...By the historical standards of presidential hubris, Obama’s disingenuous defense of his tone-deaf invitation to Warren is nonetheless a relatively tiny infraction. It’s no Bay of Pigs. But it does add an asterisk to the joyous inaugural of our first black president. It’s bizarre that Obama, of all people, would allow himself to be on the wrong side of this history.

Obama now has even more pressure to live up to his campaign promises to include LGBT people in his vision of change and hope that propelled him to our nation's highest office.  He can start by taking quick and decisive action on the priorities outlined in HRC's Blueprint for Positive Change.

The LGBT community has worked and waited a long time to have a president who truly takes our concerns seriously - and acts on them. His poor choice of Rick Warren certainly stung - but hopefully the loud backlash will press upon Obama the need for him to expend some of that political capital we helped him accrue on our behalf as well. We need real policies put in place that will make LGBT lives better. It's been a long eight years.  And that's real change that can't come soon enough. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

HRC Back Story will be taking a break from daily posting starting Christmas Eve through the first week of January.  During this period, we'll keep our eyes open for any breaking news - and will be sure to keep you updated here on the blog on any developments affecting the LGBT community. 

In the meantime, your Back Story bloggers (Rachel Balick and Yours Truly) wish you a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year! 

And here's a tip: Send an HRC eCard to all your friends and family!

Dear Friends,

As 2008 draws to a close, America is preparing for the change of our lifetime. Like many LGBT Americans, I have dreamed of and worked for this day to come. In 2009, an ally will occupy the White House. Divisive, anti-gay politics are leaving our executive branch. Our Congress will have more allies than ever. And our next Supreme Court justices will respect our fundamental rights. Through our work, our belief, our unyielding commitment to a better future for ourselves and our families, LGBT people helped to make this happen. All of you who attended Camp Equality training, who volunteered in phone banks, who donated your hard-earned money to a pro-equality candidate, and, most importantly, told your friends and family why our rights matter and how their votes can harm or protect them, to all of you I say thank you. 2008 was OUR year to win.

On the same day that America elected a fair-minded president who is a longstanding ally of civil rights and a professor of constitutional law, voters in California, Arizona, and Florida wrote discrimination into their constitutions. In California, Proposition 8 stripped citizens of the rights that the state's highest court had finally recognized last May. On November 5, as our nation celebrated a historic election, our community's grief turned into anger, and anger turned to action.

LGBT people and allies took to the streets and to the airwaves... we were everywhere. Showing the neighbors who had slighted us who we really are—not just families and friends and coworkers worthy of equal rights, but strong, resilient people who will fight for those rights.

My question to you is, will we?

It's the end of 2008, and the opportunities before us are vast. We can finally pass hate crimes legislation covering our entire community and a fully-inclusive ENDA; we can roll back eight years of bad Bush Administration policy on HIV, workplace protections for federal employees, and benefits for families.

In winning the elections, we did not pass these bills or secure these policies. Rather, we earned a fighting chance to pass them. The election opened a door that had long been locked. But what lies beyond the door is not a room full of treasures; no, what's beyond that door, what we're seeing now, is a steep, spiral staircase. What we won in this election is the chance to climb it. It's more than we've had in my memory, but it's not going to be easy.

And my experience tells me that a "fighting chance" is a good way to describe it, because we're going to have to fight for it.

This is a lesson of Prop 8 and of all of the discriminatory campaigns against us. It's the lesson of eight years of roadblocks to our legislation. The lesson is that when our community is getting ready to win, the other side fights hard. And they fight with lies. When we passed hate crimes in the last Congress, the haters rolled out every lie that they would later use to take away our rights in California. We harm religion. We harm children. We take over the schools. We put preachers in jail. The same lies.

In a way, it's comforting. I mean, if it were palatable to be an out-and-out bigot these days, our opponents could simply take out ads that say "hate the gays? Vote yes on 8!" But we are past that today. Today, people will turn against us if they're given a reason to fear us. And the same few lies serve that purpose every time—whether it's hate crimes or marriage at stake.

Our job is to beat back those same lies. Every time. When hate crimes comes up for a vote in 2009, will those of us who are standing up against the Prop 8 haters come out against those who would kill this bill? We must. We must stand up. We must never forget that even as we focus on the right to marry and the economic and spiritual benefits that it brings, we have a duty to protect our entire community's right to live without fear of being attacked for who we are. And we have a duty to stand up in this fight, and win it, because passing hate crimes legislation ten years after Matthew Shepard's death is a step toward marriage and every other community goal.

And like a spiral staircase, each step upward is a step in full circle: back to facing our enemies, back to the same set of falsehoods that every campaign against us uses, back to the same slanders, the same tired old bigoted players. But I do believe that we are climbing upward, even though we have not yet achieved so many of our goals. More Americans support marriage than ever before, and even in California, Prop 8 succeeded by far less than another anti-marriage initiative just eight years ago. Young people, LGBT or not, overwhelmingly believe in our rights, and are increasingly fighting for them. Employers are treating our families equally; faith communities are embracing us. Although we find ourselves facing the same people again and again, I truly believe that with each year that passes, we do so from higher ground.

But we cannot reach the top if we do not keep the heat on the other side, calling them to task. We cannot reach the top if we do not invest the same energy, time, and even anger into federal laws and policies that we have invested in fighting Proposition 8.

I know that especially after losing California, it is difficult to imagine how working on hate crimes, or an inclusive ENDA, or family benefits, or fair federal workplace policies, is going to move the ball forward for marriage. But it's clear to me that this is our path—upward and around, steadily and surely. It's clear to the right wing, which is why they try to block every measure that would help our community at all.

Martin Luther King once said that faith is taking the first step when you don't see the whole staircase. Many of you took that first step in speaking out against Proposition 8, or volunteering for Barack Obama, or coming out. Our equality—in our families, in our workplaces, and in our communities—is that staircase. It is linked together, and one measure follows from the next.

In this holiday season, we too, the LGBT community, are linked together with one future, one path, and one monumental task: to fight hate with truth. That is the next step that we will take together.

Happy holidays, and a happy new year.

Warmly,

In the last 24 hours, there have been new developments in the continuing debate over Pastor Rick Warren: his church has removed anti-gay language from its website and singer/activist Melissa Etheridge publicly vouched for Warren in an attempt to diffuse some of the anger directed his way. Harry Knox (pictured below), director of HRC Foundation's Religion and Faith Program, takes it a step further in this guest post that calls for real repentance and reconciliation:

When I was in seminary, a wise old professor constantly warned us against "a thin diet of cheap grace".  By that he meant our proclivity to hear the good news of salvation full and free without hearing its twin call to work on behalf of the poor, the widowed, the outcast, the marginalized.

As a result of the full-throated advocacy of the Human Rights Campaign and many others, there seems to have been some moderation of the anti-LGBT rhetoric at Rev. Rick Warren's Saddleback Church.  Web pages at the church's site that used to say gay and lesbian people were not welcome to join the congregation have been removed. And in a quick green room conversation with Melissa Etheridge, it appears Warren said he regrets his choice of words when he compared our committed loving relationships to pedophilia and polygamy.

America is eager, yea anxious, for an unclouded celebration on Inauguration Day; we LGBT people are chief among them. Lots of progressives are asking what it would take to piece the coalition that elected Mr. Obama President back together after his ill-fated choice of Warren as inaugural invocation leader.

Here's what would help: real repentance. For LGBT people and the millions of Americans who stand with us for equality to be able to bow with proper reverence, not distracted by the irrational and hateful words of the preacher on his way to the podium, we need to hear him say he has changed and plans to do better. That's the definition of repentance.

Disagreeing without being disagreeable can sometimes be a thin diet of cheap grace. Rick Warren calling for passage of a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act and offering Saddleback Church's resources to help would be real reconciliation.

Because our voices have been united in a call for justice over the last several days, the Vice-President-elect has reiterated the new administration's commitment to our legislative agenda and there has been movement on the part of our opponents. I rejoice that Saddleback's well-read website bashes LGBT folk a little less. And awareness of who Rick Warren really is has risen dramatically. We have exposed him as the divisive homophobe he has proven himself to be.

I pray that now that the truth is out, it will set Warren free to continue to change and to begin to truly work for us whom he claims to love. The proof will be not in his prayers, but in his (and the new President's) actions.

In the meantime I will celebrate both the Holidays and the Inauguration for all the good they hold, rejuvenating my spirit for the hard work of living for justice day-by-day. And I will hope that the President and his erstwhile friend Rick Warren will keep moving, even as we keep pushing them.

I'm in the redemption business.

Harry Knox, Director
Religion and Faith Program
Human Rights Campaign Foundation

From Equality Advocates PA:

Last night the Harrisburg City Council voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance to create a Life Partnership Registry, allowing unmarried, committed couples to affirm and recognize their relationships with the city. By a vote of 7 to 0, the Harrisburg City Council has taken an important step to streamline the process for domestic partners to obtain healthcare and other benefits afforded to married couples.

"This vote shows that people all across Pennsylvania are committed to treating same-sex couples with the same respect and dignity as other married couples," said Jake Kaskey, policy and outreach coordinator with Equality Advocates Pennsylvania, the state's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy organization. "This type of legislation has strong support across Pennsylvania, and will concretely help countless unmarried couples obtain benefits afforded to married couples." 

Kaskey noted that polling conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research in November 2007 found that 91% of people polled supported hospital visitation rights for same-sex couples. 

Equality Advocates Pennsylvania worked with Councilman Miller and Harrisburg Attorney Benjamin C. Dunlap, Jr. to draft the ordinance. 

Councilman Dan Miller, who introduced this legislation, remarked, "I am proud that the Harrisburg City Council unanimously passed the Life Partner Registry Bill last night. It is a positive step toward equality for all residents. I hope this new law expanding lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in the state capital will inspire state legislators to take similar action." 

Lesbian and gay, as well as unmarried heterosexual couples, can register with the city. Harrisburg would become the third municipality in Pennsylvania to approve this type of registry, joining Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. 

The ordinance now awaits the approval of Mayor Stephen Reed. 

Boston Globe columnist Derrick Jackson takes Obama to task today for his "terrible judgment" in selecting Pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration, now less than one month away. He draws a contrast between Obama's deposing of his former pastor Jeremiah Wright when his controversial statements threatened to derail his campaign and the way that he has shrugged off the loud outgry from his gay and progressive supporters over Warren:

Yet here is Obama exercising terrible judgment on someone who just got done injecting anti-gay ideology into politics in the biggest state in the nation. It is nice that Warren and many evangelicals are increasingly involved in the environment and global poverty. But it seems that Obama is having a little PJSD here, as in Post Jeremiah Stress Disorder. Having nearly had his campaign destroyed by the tapes of his former pastor Jeremiah Wright blasting America as a hopelessly racist nation, Obama seems compelled to close his eyes to one of the most powerful forms of conservative-driven bigotry left in this country.

Obama earned an outpouring of support from gay and lesbian voters, even though his personal stand on gay marriage was standard political fare, stopping at civil unions. Gay advocacy groups praised how he included them rhetorically in speech after speech. Now, a month before that great day that could bring all Americans together unlike any in the nation's history, Obama has gone out of his way to pick someone for the invocation who is not even close to being a pastor for all Americans.

When Obama saw how flammable Wright was, he took him off the stage for the announcement of his candidacy in Springfield, Ill. Warren's calling a ban on gay marriage a "humanitarian" issue should result in the same. If Warren is allowed to give the invocation, the bright American rainbow that got Obama into office will dim in a way that spells danger for what else Obama will not stand up for.

So far, all we've heard from Obama is how his choice of Warren somehow signals his desire to reach across and offer a hand to bring new constituencies into his tent.  It's sad and infuriating that while he was reaching out his hand to conservative-leaning people who most likely voted against him - and who may never, ever support him no matter what he does -  he apparently feels no regret over that swift hind kick he gave to the gays in the process. 

Derrick is absolutely right in that Obama had a variety of excellent religious leaders to select from that would have better represented the desire for Americans to leave behind the divisive politics of the past eight years and begin anew. Yet, while a significant population of Obama's progressive base is still hurting over having their rights stripped away in one of its toughest political battles ever, he chose a James-Dobson-in-a-goatee pastor who proudly played a role in that catastrophe. This entire situation could have been avoided if Obama was more in tune with the intensity of the pain still felt over Prop 8. And for your Back Story blogger, an outspoken early Obama supporter, that decision is the most disappointing of all.

The Boston Globe's Dan Wasserman perfectly captured that sentiment in his political cartoon today:

You've got to hand to it Melissa Etheridge. Not only has the singer/activist been a high-profile voice of authenticity on LGBT issues, but her starpower seemingly manages to tame even Pastor Rick Warren. She spoke with Warren - a fan who, by his own admission, has all her albums - after she found out that he would be giving the keynote address at the Muslim Public Affairs Council where she was scheduled to peform.  Apparently, Warren expressed regret over some of his previous statements about the gays. She makes news this afternoon in a must-read piece at Huffington Post: 

I told my manager to reach out to Pastor Warren and say "In the spirit of unity I would like to talk to him." They gave him my phone number. On the day of the conference I received a call from Pastor Rick, and before I could say anything, he told me what a fan he was. He had most of my albums from the very first one. What? This didn't sound like a gay hater, much less a preacher. He explained in very thoughtful words that as a Christian he believed in equal rights for everyone. He believed every loving relationship should have equal protection. He struggled with proposition 8 because he didn't want to see marriage redefined as anything other than between a man and a woman. He said he regretted his choice of words in his video message to his congregation about proposition 8 when he mentioned pedophiles and those who commit incest. He said that in no way, is that how he thought about gays. He invited me to his church, I invited him to my home to meet my wife and kids. He told me of his wife's struggle with breast cancer just a year before mine.

When we met later that night, he entered the room with open arms and an open heart. We agreed to build bridges to the future.

Brothers and sisters the choice is ours now. We have the world's attention. We have the capability to create change, awesome change in this world, but before we change minds we must change hearts. Sure, there are plenty of hateful people who will always hold on to their bigotry like a child to a blanket. But there are also good people out there, Christian and otherwise that are beginning to listen. They don't hate us, they fear change. Maybe in our anger, as we consider marches and boycotts, perhaps we can consider stretching out our hands. Maybe instead of marching on his church, we can show up en mass and volunteer for one of the many organizations affiliated with his church that work for HIV/AIDS causes all around the world.

Maybe if they get to know us, they wont fear us.

I know, call me a dreamer, but I feel a new era is upon us.

Any chance we'll be getting a public retraction from Pastor Warren anytime soon...? 

[Photo: Melissa Etheridge, flanked by singers Thelma Houston and Cyndi Lauper, talks to the media at HRC's Rock to Win Concert at the 2008 Democratic Convention.]