photo: Matthew Stockman / Getty
“It’s a beautiful thing to be able to represent everything that our country stands for — freedom, uniqueness, joy, love.”
photo: Kelly Davidson for HRC / etchedonfilm.com
Three-time U.S. Figure Skating Champion Johnny Weir, in his acceptance speech at HRC’s Pacific Northwest Gala in Seattle. Weir, 26, who competed twice in the Olympic Games, was honored with HRC’s Visibility Award.
Singer-songwriter Melissa Ferrick, who is openly lesbian, takes the stage at the sold-out “Her HRC” bash in Boston, which drew a crowd of 500. HRCers in 26 cities threw “Her HRC” celebrations last month, attracting huge crowds and lots of new members. Attendees of the annual events receive free HRC memberships with their ticket purchase. See www.hrc.org/herhrc.
photo: Elaine Thompson / AP
300+
Number of Jewish nonprofit workplaces nationwide to be surveyed on their LGBT employment policies, under a new partnership of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, The Morningstar Foundation and Stuart Kurlander. The goal of the 12- to 15-month project: an equality rating system for Jewish nonprofit groups and the development of education and outreach tools.
U P FRONT vigilance! Anti-LGBT leaders now control the House of Representatives, having picked up 53 more seats there in the last election, according to a Human Rights Campaign analysis. As a result, anti-LGBT lawmakers have a solid majority of 225. In the Senate, they picked up five more seats. Additionally, anti-LGBT lawmakers in both chambers wield positions of power as House leaders and committee chairs. Many of them, unfortunately, scored “0” on HRC’s Congressional Scorecard in the 111th Congress and earlier. (See below.) In fact, new House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio (at right), who replaced Nancy Pelosi at the helm, has garnered a “0” in the last three congressional sessions on hate crimes protections, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal, the Early Treatment for HIV Act and more. Additionally, Boehner voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. “I oppose any legislation that would provide special rights for homosexuals,” Boehner said in a letter responding to an HRC member about LGBT equality. “Please be assured that I will continue to work to protect the idea of the traditional family as one of the fundamental tenets of western civilization,” he wrote another.
What’s ahead? The anti-LGBT lawmakers may try to block progress in a number of ways — by meddling with Washington, D.C.’s marriage laws, rolling back hospital visitation protections and holding up nominations of pro-equality federal judges. And, of course, they could unleash new anti-LGBT legislation. But their new clout won’t halt everything, says HRC Legislative Director Allison Herwitt. HRC and its allies will ensure that bills critical to the LGBT community are reintroduced, including the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the repeal of the socalled Defense of Marriage Act. Fortunately, Congress could still push ahead with bills in the areas of anti-LGBT bullying as well as tax and benefits, including the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act.
How They Scored On LGBT Issues In the 111th Congress
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) – 0% House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) – 0% House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) – 0% Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) – 0% Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) – 0% Senate Repub. Confer. Chair Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) – 6%
WWW.HRC.ORG
winter 2011
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