Blade: “Diego Sanchez, who is transgender and a senior policy adviser to Frank, said the bill will be inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity. He noted it will include the legislative language Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) used in 2007 in an attempt to restore gender identity provisions to an earlier version of the bill.” It will be co-sponsored by fellow Congressional gays Jared Polis and Tammy Baldwin. And, like those two, Frank just released his own statement about the president’s despicable DOMA brief, which he calls “a big mistake.”
BREAKING: Barney Frank Will Introduce ENDA Legislation Next Week
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galefan2004
Oh wow, Barney grew some balls or is he just using them now? My guess is he is looking at his home district and they are pissed by his continuous inaction and Obama love, and that causes him to have to do something. Just in time to start off the big fleecing of the gays fund raisers coming up for the DNC as well. When this bill passes in a congress that is completely Democratically controlled, and is signed into law by Obama, I will give the Dems some props.
Michael W.
Nope. Still not enough, Obama!
InExile
See guys, a little pressure goes a long way! Just imagine what lots of pressure could do. Time to turn up the volume.
TheJohnV
Introducing legislation is nothing – it’s been done plenty of times. When the Dems PASS legislation, then I will contribute to the DNC. But for now, I refuse to donate any more cash to the DNC or any Democrat until they actually really do something concrete and permanent.
Kiss my Ass you bunch of worthless congressional do nothings!!!
galefan2004
Personally, I am more interested in getting behind HB 176 (http://dowhatsrightohio.com/) in my home state of Ohio than I am getting behind this on a national level right now if for no other reason than that if HB 176 in Ohio passes it will show be evidence of a possible turning tide in Ohio (which passed one of the most aggressive anti-human rights bills with 75% of the vote).
Cam
So all it took was the internet bitching about what a Sellout Frank has been for the last several years….or is it….oh thats right, ENDA is the legislation that is HRC’s baby.
Either way, Frank is just nervous about gays deciding not to show up to his fundraiser.
So even though Don’t Ask Don’t Tell would be an easier sell right now, what with 75% of the country supporting it’s removal, HRC doesn’t want it pushed so there is NO WAY Frank will add it to his bill.
Rob
If he wants the Democratic Party to get credit for merely introducing legislation, he needs to introduce legislation to repeal DOMA.
galefan2004
Lets be honest, ENDA is probably the biggest thing that personally affects me right now, and because of that it is my champion cause. I’m not going to join the military, and I don’t see myself getting married in my lifetime, but when it comes to ENDA you start talking about ending the firing and discrimination of gays and lesbians. However, I’m waiting to see if this will actually pass.
InExile
I hope this law passes and I am very happy the democrats are finally doing something. That said, they need to pass ENDA not just introduce legislation that goes nowhere.
I will never forget being told that someone else was getting a promotion that was less qualified than me because they had a “wife and family”!
Hannah
That’s a start. I’m loving this gay rage making the politicians’ knees wobble. Let’s keep ’em cowering.
Cam
Anybody else notice that Frank’s balls grew in, just about the time the gay press was calling for a boycott of the DNC fundraiser he co-chairs?
So it took no time for him to whip up and introduce this legislation once HIS fundraiser was threatened. Really makes you realize what our “Allies” in congress REALLY care about.
SM
@Hannah:
Obama has been working on issues like this for months idiot. You just a loser with gay rage who can’t respect the STRAIGHT man who is working on your issues when he really does not have to.
GROW UP
The seeds for a presidential memorandum President Obama plans to sign today that would extend federal employee benefits for same-sex couples were planted last December during a meeting with advocates and the Obama transition team.
Over the course of 2 1/2 hours, representatives of several groups met with Valerie Jarrett, now one of the president’s top White House advisers, and John Podesta, who along with Jarrett was a co-chair of the transition team, and discussed a range of issues important to gay and lesbian Americans
timncguy
@SM: Go and actually READ the tiny little list of benefits they “think” they might be able to extend to federal employees. The go read the detailed coverage of how today’s planned action was “thrown together” yesterday in order to try to quell the anger over the DOMA brief. Thrown together so quickly they aren’t even sure what it includes.
Do all this research BEFORE you come here and try to convince anyone that someone in this admin was actually doing anything since December.
This announcement today is a rehash of what Hillary announced previously were her plans for the State Dept. Part of today’s announcement will be Obama directing his other staff to go see what they can provide without violating DOMA. If they were doing any substantive work since Dec, they would already KNOW the answers to those questions.
ChristopherM
He’ll introduce it, and it will get shot down in part because Barney thinks we should play nice and keep giving money to the DNC, effectively demonstrating that we aren’t willing to stand up for ourselves.
SM
@timncguy:
I love how a bunch of gays who cannot win these equality battles constantly belittle the best civil rights President you all have had in history as he chips away at what’s blocking you.
You think it’s that easy? Then why does your community FAIL SO DAMN MUCH!
timncguy
@SM: Obama is the one who made the promises. We didn’t put the words into his mouth. He promised to be a FIERCE ADVOCATE for eqaul rights.
Fierce Advocate means you get off your butt and make PUBLIC Statements in support of LGBT rights.
He has NOT DONE that at all. Everyone is fully aware that these things take time. And, had Obama been actually doing any advocating, we would have been happy to give him the time he needs.
Is it easy? No. But, it would have been very EASY for Obama to issue an executive stop loss order suspending the enforcement of DADT while congress works to repeal it. Would thae be easy? YES IT WOULD. 69% oft he public supports the repeal of DADT. He would pay no political price at all. It is completely legal and he has the power to do it. He just REFUSES to do it.
You wouldn’t be hearing all the outrage that you have over the past few day except for one action. Obama’s DOJ issued a brief defending DOMA. The brief was written by a lawyer in DOJ who is a member of an anti-gay organization. The brief was filled with offensive anti-gay rhetoric that wasn’t necessary. It fact some legal experts say the DOJ was not even legally required to write the brief at all. But, if they had to write it, they certainly didn’t need to fill it with hateful anti-gay rhetoric.
Go through that brief and replace all the gay references to inter-racial or jewish or african american and see what kind of reaction you would have gotten out of those communities. It would have been much LOUDER than what you hear fom us. And, it would have been acted on IMMEDIATELY with all kinds of apologies and corrective actions.
Fitz
I agree that the best way to interpret this is: Pressure works, keep it up. now more than even before, get off the net and write a physical letter to your congressperson, and senator.
GJR
@TheJohnV:
Ain’t it the truth. Remember the bad old days when the Republicans ran all 3 branches and we all thought, “Oh, if the Dems were only in power things would be different…” Well, when Franken gets in, we will have a filibuster-proof majority of Dems (in name only of course, given the many DINOS), an easy margin in the House and a Dem president, yet, surprise, surprise, somehow they just can’t these things passed…
Cam
Since Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and ENDA both deal with employment of gays why isn’t he tying the two bills together? Congress lumps together every OTHER kind of legislation.
On the bright side. Gee, it’s nice to know that wimpy Barney Frank is a wimp in both directions…i.e. we just applied a little pressure of boycotting his fundraiswer and suddenly ENDA legislation gets introduced by him way ahead of schedule. nice to know his spinlessness can be used to our advantage as well.