Congress Collapses Under Anti-Gay Pressure

President Bush has a knack for getting his way.

The Commander-in-Chief threatened to veto Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act unless Congress made clear none of the $120 million federal funds be used for domestic partner registry.

And, of course, Congress crumbled.

In a statement released Wednesday, the White House insisted,

The Administration strongly opposes the bill’s exclusion of a longstanding provision that disallows the use of Federal funds to register unmarried, cohabitating couples in the District, to enable them to qualify for benefits on the same basis as legally married couples.

Under Federal law, legal marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Federal tax dollars are not used to extend employment benefits to domestic partners of Federal employees, and D.C. should not enjoy an exception to this rule.

The Republicans had long objected to the domestic partner clause, but Democrats were hoping their political power could convince Washington to change its anti-gay ways. Unfortunately, they were wrong and folded to the President’s demands. The revised bill passed yesterday 224-to-200.

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Promotions and Partner Emails

Never one to miss a defeat, Human Right Campaign’s Joe Solmonese wagged a finger at Congress. He also points out that the decision’s largely symbolic – although ugly just the same.

In the wake of a hateful and divisive White House veto threat, we are disappointed that the House of Representatives voted to approve the Goode Amendment and add anti-gay language into the DC Appropriations bill.

We appreciate the efforts of our fair-minded Committee leaders in removing this unnecessary language from the bill and we will continue to work for its removal in the future. As harmful as these symbolic acts of bigotry are to our fight for equality in America, today’s vote does not impact the quality of life of the thousands of gay and lesbian couples living in Washington, DC.

The DC Domestic Partnership registry remains intact and fully functioning, and same-sex and unmarried couples can still participate in the partnership registry. It’s a shallow victory when the status quo on DC’s law is the best our opponents can do in this Congress.

Of course it’s a shallow victory. Bush and his allies are the most shallow people on the planet! And rude, too. Also, we hear Bush doesn’t wash his hands after he goes to the bathroom. Don’t shake his hand – you know his penis is absolutely crawling with disease.