Organization Spotlight: Arizona LGBT Political Coalition

The Arizona LGBT Political Coalition is a collaboration between several gay-rights groups who have united to further the rights of the LGBT community in Arizona.

Log Cabin Republicans are Vital to LGBT Liberation

In an interview on CNN prior to the election, Patrick Sammon of the Log Cabin Republicans makes a strong point that I agree with about working within the system:

"It's important to work from inside the party to make it better, because ultimately gay rights will be impossible to achieve unless there is support from both republicans and democrats"

Granted this blog proudly supported and is enthusiastic about the Obama win but in fairness to the spirit of our LGBT brothers and sisters who are trying to create reform and change for our lives in the republican party I think it is equally important for us to support their efforts to create change within the GOP.

http://online.logcabin.org/

Does Your Congress Member Make the Grade?

The Human Rights Campaign, the nations largest organization fighting for LGBT rights, released its Congressional scorecard yesterday (Download PDF here). The scorecard rates members of Congress on their support for issues of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. This is an excellent tool to use during this election year. You can see how the elected official for your area voted on all the LGBT issues that came up during the 110th Congress (Jan. 2007 - Jan. 2009).

Here are some of the successes from this Congressional session:

* For the first time in a Congressional session, the Senate and House both passed hate crimes legislation that provides protection on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity;
* For the first time, the House introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that includes protections for both sexual orientation and gender identity, with 185 Members of Congress cosponsoring the bill.
* For the first time, the House held a vote on and passed a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), that prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation;
* The House held the first-ever hearing focused solely on workplace discrimination faced by transgender Americans;
* The House held the first hearings since 1993 examining the negative impact of the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
* The Senate held the first-ever hearing on the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations (DPBO) Act which provides equal family benefits to LGBT federal civilian employees; And with pro-equality leadership in the House and Senate, the discriminatory Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) was not even scheduled for a vote.
* Also with more fairminded officials being elected, and the work of HRC lobbying and educating Congress we have also seen the number of positive votes improve.

According to HRC we have see the following:

In the 110th Congress, the average score for members of the U.S. Senate increased from 41.7% to 55.4% and for the House of Representatives from 40.5% to 47.9%. The number of Senators scoring 90% or better increased from 11 to 17. The number of Representatives with 90% or better increased from 96 to 128.

The following legislation is what appears on the HRC scorecard:

* The Matthew Shepard Act, H.R. 1592/S. 1105, to allow local law enforcement to access federal resources to investigate or prosecute violent crimes committed because of the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity;
* The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), H.R. 3685, to prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation;
* The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), H.R. 2015, co-sponsorship of the inclusive version to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity;
* The HIV travel and immigration ban, included in the reauthorization of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), that took the first step toward ending the ban on travel and immigration to the United States by HIV-positive individuals;
* The Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA), H.R. 3326/S. 860, to allow states to provide Medicaid coverage to HIV positive persons;
* The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), H.R. 2221/S. 1328, to provide same-sex partners of U.S. citizens equal immigration access;
* The Military Readiness Enhancement Act (MREA), H.R. 1246, which would repeal the military’s ban on open service by gays and lesbians;
* The Tax Equity for Domestic Partner and Health Plan Beneficiaries Act (DP Tax), H.R. 1820/S. 1556, to equalize tax treatment for employer-provided health coverage for domestic partners.


To view the HRC scorecard click here.

Crossposted via our friends at Lez Get Real.

Rock the Queer Vote

"If you don't vote you don't have the right to complain" and we here at Queers United sure have a lot of complaining to do. LGBT people are not given the same marriage rights, adoption rights, the right to serve openly, protection under hate crimes legislation and employment non-discrimination. We are in the middle of a civil rights battle and we must demand equal rights. Your vote is our voice as a community, speak up be heard and vote for queer-positive politicians and referendums.

There are only a few days left, make sure to register to vote!

Click here to check your states registration deadline.

H/t to Queer Activism