HRC’s Campaign for New York Marriage Equality

Only 6 more votes are required in the state Senate to ensure marriage equality in New York. In order to reach that magic number, HRC has identified important democratic primaries where we can pick up the supportive votes needed for New York to join states like Vermont and Iowa in finally providing equal marriage rights to all of its residents!

One of the priority democratic primaries is in South Buffalo, where HRC-endorsed Tim Kennedy is running against Democrat incumbent and equal marriage foe Bill Stachowski. HRC members Errin Doyle and Casey Fouquet are just two of our local HRC members who have been volunteering and actively engaging the community on behalf of Tim Kennedy to secure marriage equality in New York. Errin and Casey joined Kennedy weeks ago for their first door-to-door canvass and pounded the pavement, proving themselves to be total rock stars!

Casey and Errin have even postponed a camping trip this coming weekend, the last weekend before the Primary, in order to help the Kennedy campaign with their Get-Out-the-Vote efforts. Hats off to Casey and Errin and to all our HRC brothers and sisters who are actively volunteering to ensure marriage equality in New York.

If you live in the Buffalo area and are interested in volunteering for a great pro-equality candidate, please contact David Turley at David.Turley@hrc.org or call him at 202-330-3790.

Yesterday’s shipment comes off of the heels of an earlier delivery on Capitol Hill, and is in addition to the over 20,000 hand-signed postcards that were delivered by veterans to priority U.S. Senators on that day.

While the defense bill is on a list of possible votes in September, it is important to keep the pressure on your senators and remind them that you want to see a speedy vote on the National Defense Authorization Act, and that they should keep repeal language in this bill. For more information on how to contact your representatives, visit our interactive Countdown 2010 website.

Enumerated laws have been shown to provide better actual protections to students and to make students feel safer in school. GLSEN’s 2007 National School Climate Survey found that 9 out of 10 LGBT students experienced harassment in school. By highlighting categories of vulnerable students, states send a strong message that all students are valuable and alerts students that they can seek help from teachers and the administration if they face harassment or discrimination.

The “Dignity for All Students Act,” passed by overwhelming majorities in both the Assembly and Senate, also marks the first time the New York Senate has passed legislation explicitly protecting trans people. The step bodes well for passage of the New York “Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act” which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression in employment, housing, credit and public accommodations.

Currently, 14 states and the District of Columbia prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/ or bullying against students based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Only 12 states and the District of Columbia prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Yesterday, Judge Thomas Ludington of the U.S. Federal Court for the District of Eastern Michigan dismissed the case of three plaintiffs seeking to strike the criminal provisions of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

The court challenge by three anti-LGBT clergy from Michigan made the ridiculous claim that the hate crimes statute creates “a special class of persons who are ‘more equal than others’ based on nothing more than deviant, sexual behavior.”   They claimed that this law – so important in protecting the rights of LGBT persons across the country – violated their First Amendment rights, their guarantee of Equal Protection, the Tenth Amendment and the Commerce Clause.  Their arguments mirrored the ones made urging Congress to defeat the legislation last year.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder sought the dismissal, claiming that the law does not violate the Constitution and further, that the plaintiffs do not have the right to bring such a suit regarding a theoretical harm, since none have yet been prosecuted under the act, nor is there any evidence they ever will be.  The Judge agreed, dismissing the case on all counts.

Thanks to HRC Law Fellow Adam Thomas for his contributions to this post.

HRC was excited to learn that Molly Simmons, an outstanding volunteer that sits on our Board of Governors, was among those chosen to sit on the 9-member board. Molly’s experience as a former police officer and as an established leader in our community will be a great asset to the board and we know that she will continue to be a positive force for the LGBT community in Atlanta.

You can read more about the LGBT liaison or the advisory board here and here.

We recently met with Sonia Barnes, the district representative for U.S. Representative Bob Etheridge.  This was our second meeting in North Carolina. The meeting was a success, and could not have been so without the amount of people who graciously lent us their time as well as their stories.

Included in this group was HRC Governor and Steering Committee member Madeline Goss, who shared her powerful story regarding her gender transition in the workplace. Once Madeline had decided to transition, she went and spoke with her HR director to explain her decision.  She was concerned that her position as an engineer at the company would not be secure. Initially, the company could not guarantee that Madeline’s transition would not affect her employment. After doing some research, Madeline found that her company did have a non-discrimination policy in effect that prevented her from being fired on the basis of her gender identity.  Policies like these exist to protect people like Madeline, who are brave enough to be true to themselves day after day while heading into work, unsure whether or not they will be fired at any moment. Sadly, for millions of Americas these protections don’t exist. They are forced to choose between their jobs and being themselves.

Ian Palmquist, the executive director of the statewide LGBT civil rights organization Equality North Carolina, also joined us for the meeting. Ian shared about his partner who was fired for filing a complaint of workplace discrimination. Ian’s partner is just one of the hundreds of victims of workplace discrimination that have contacted Equality North Carolina.

Also attending was Sarah Preston, Policy Director of the ACLU, and Gary Palmer, a representative from the Replacements Limited company. Palmer spoke powerfully about of the effects that discrimination has on LGBT youth and about ending discrimination for the next generation.

Jake Wheeler, an Intern with HRC, also spoke on the effects of discrimination on LGBT youth.  Wheeler has witnessed firsthand the hardship that goes along with being a young gay man looking for a job in today’s economy.

I think our stories truly touched Sonia Barnes. We asked her to thank Rep. Etheridge for voting for the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. I also took a moment to ask Sonia which way she thought Rep. Etheridge was going to vote on ENDA.  The fact that she could not give our group a definite answer made one thing clear to us; we have more work to do.

Our diverse group included Randy Floyd, Co-chair for the local HRC Steering Committee and Roberta Dunn, a leader in the local transgender community who sits on the steering committees of HRC and the Mecklenburg Gay and Lesbian Political Action Committee (MeckPAC).

Jennifer Roberts, the Chairwoman of the Board of County Commissioners for Mecklenburg County, was there with constituent and straight ally Jacqueline Galante.

Everyone at the meeting shared stories about workplace discrimination in Charlotte with Legislative Correspondent John Trippi. The staff in Kissell’s office were told about a transgender woman who worked as a mechanic for the city in the Department of Auto Maintenance that lost her job shortly after letting her supervisor know of her desire to begin transitioning. They also shared a story about a grade school teacher who was fired once parents got wind of her sexual orientation and called the principal.

Roberts spoke to the staff about the economics and family benefits of ENDA. She talked about Mecklenburg County passing an employment non-discrimination policy five years ago that did not protect transgender people. This past December, MeckPAC and Roberts teamed up to pass domestic partner benefits and this year they teamed with Mayor Anthony Foxx and City Manager Curt Walton to create a non-discrimination policy in Charlotte. They are still working to include gender identity in the policy.

Charlotte is an up and coming city and there have been great strides to improve the livelihood of the LGBT community, but there is still much more work to be done. I hope that everyone will contact their lawmakers tell them to support and pass ENDA.

Visit our Pass ENDA Now website to find out more about ENDA and contact your members of Congress at countdown2010.hrc.org.

The Appeals Court looked to the language of the Texas mini-DOMA in deciding that it was clear that the legislature intended to declare same-sex marriages illegal and thus the court could not acknowledge their existence, even for the purpose of granting a divorce from a legal marriage in another state.  The court denied the principle of comity, which requires that courts in one state give effect to the laws of another state, stating that it would not extend comity to other states, if doing so would violate Texas public policy.  The court rejected rulings from other states, including New York, which allowed such divorces, even though same-sex couples may not yet legally marry in New York.  It also stated that there was no fundamental right to same-sex marriage and that sexual orientation was not a suspect classification, denying that the mini-DOMA in Texas violated the Fourteenth Amendment.  This ruling stands in sharp contrast to that issued by Judge Walker in the California Prop 8 decision, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, which held that such a right existed and that sexual orientation should be protected as a suspect class. 

A second Texas case, in which a judge in Austin granted a divorce to a lesbian couple, is likely to be appeal by the State to the Texas Court of Appeals for the Third District, with one or both of these cases potentially winding up in the Texas Supreme Court.

The Texas case is but one decision in an ongoing judicial debate across the nation regarding how much deference states with no relationship recognition or even explicit laws on the books which deny any rights at all to same-sex couples must accord those states which allow such partnerships.  Returning to the state that issues the marriage license is not an option for most couples as all states currently have a residency requirement for divorce. Generally, at least one half of the couple must live in the state six months or more in order for the state to grant a divorce.  Relationship termination is an essential part of allowing both individuals to move on with their lives. Until the federal Defense of Marriage Act is repeal by Congress or struck down by the Supreme Court, couples will continue to be vulnerable during the most difficult period in their relationship.

“My daughter has risked her life in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and has a high security clearance from the United States government. We are her family and we accept her, why can’t the United States military?” a mother asked me bright and early Saturday morning.

I was surrounded by booth after booth celebrating the diversity of Manchester, NH at the fourth annual People Fest in Veteran’s Park. People Fest is an incredible open air festival that brings together the many cultures of the area, from its early Irish settlers to the French Canadian and Lebanese populations (to name a few) that have grown and prospered over the decades.

With the sounds of traditional Native American drums as a backdrop, I listened to the story of a woman from a small town in New Hampshire who was too afraid of jeopardizing her daughter’s celebrated military career to get involved in our campaign to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell beyond signing a petition.

Amidst the celebrations and festive music, I realized; we have so much more to do.

Luckily, People Fest was the right place to be. With the help of Mary Lou Paquette, a twenty year veteran who has been a powerful voice in New Hampshire, and Zandra Rice Hawkins, Executive Director of Granite State Progress, we gathered more than 120 petition signatures to Senator Judd Gregg asking for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell this year at this fantastic local event.

That night, with the dedication of super volunteers Tom Lavalley and Joshua Bedard, we more than doubled our efforts by pounding the pavement the old fashioned way. We heard more stories, got more signatures, and listened to more messages as they were left on the voicemail of Senator Gregg’s Manchester office.

Hopefully, by this time next year, the woman I met Saturday morning, and the hundreds of supporters I have spoken to over the last months will be able to take a sigh of relief, and reflect upon the fact that we did it. We made history. We will repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell this year, but only with your continued support.

Zandra from Granite State Progress

We are so close to this historic vote, and there is no way that we’re going to let up the pressure now. Please join us Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 4 Park Street in Concord at 5:30 p.m. to make calls to make the difference. This is the last leg, and we need you now more than ever!

Please contact Christine Sloane at Christine.Sloane@hrc.org for more information.

Donna Payne speaking at the "Reclaim the Dream" rally

On Saturday, August 28, Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network came together with other civil rights organizations to celebrate the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech.  The backdrop of that celebration however was around the Glenn Beck and the Tea Party sponsored rally in the same place that Dr. King spoke in 1963.  Their event did not stop the civil rights organizations from commemorating that day as they have done for the past 47 years.  Rev. Sharpton led the way to celebrate at the “Reclaim the Dream” Rally/March.  Inclusion has always been first with the National Action Network, so LGBT civil rights organizations were asked to participate.  HRC along with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Black Justice Coalition came together to support the march and I was proud to be a speaker for the LGBT community. 

The morning started with a religious gathering given by One Nation Working Together and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR).  The Interfaith program gave you the feel of how the elder civil rights leaders would start out the march by having prayer and singing together.  One Nation Working Together is a broad range of civil rights, labor, faith, immigration rights, and progressive organizations.  They will be leading a march on the Mall on Oct. 2, 2010 and all of the LGBT organizations will participate. 

Payne with Rev. Al Sharpton

The rally began at 11am at Dunbar High School and followed by a march to the new site of the MLK Memorial.   The important thing to remember is that the LGBT civil rights movement is working with their allies to keep the commitment in fulfilling the dream.  We want an equal playing field that grants everyone access to education, healthcare, employment, and liberty and freedom.  We also come in memory of one of our own – Bayard Rustin, an African American openly gay man who was a trusted adviser to Dr. King and the architect of the historic 1963 march on the mall. 

Payne’s remarks as prepared for the event follow:

My name is Donna Payne and I am here today representing the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender community.  I am here as an African American lesbian– we are here together, Natl Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Natl Black Justice Coalition and the Human Rights Campaign because we want to renew our commitment in fulfilling the dream.  We may occupy a different room being that we are gay or lesbian, but we all live in the same house.   When injustice knocks, it’s the same door for all of us.  BUT when we stand together, we build a world that gives everyone equal access.  That is why I am here.

It is an honor to stand in solidarity with other activists.  Reclaiming the Dream today strikes the same fire inside our soul of what Dr. Martin Luther King wanted for us all.  An equal playing field that truly grants everyone access to education, health care, employment, and liberty and freedom.  Our participation in the civil rights movement is nothing new. In fact, many of you know that Bayard Rustin, an African-American openly gay man, was a trusted advisor to Dr. King and the architect of this historic march that we’re here to commemorate today.   Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people have been and will continue to be actively engaged in the fight for justice and socioeconomic equality.  Our support is not about “just us”- lgbt equality, but about JUSTICE for all of us.  We were there 47 years ago and we will be with you in the future.  

Our united front is an unstoppable force and we will honor Dr. King’s memory by working together to “Reclaim the Dream” for all of us!