Join Courage Campaign "Conference Call" Tonight for Next Move on Marriage Equality

On Thursday, November 6, from 5-6 p.m. PT the Courage Campaign will host State Senator-elect Mark Leno, a leader in the fight for marriage equality and a progressive champion in the Legislature, and Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles City Council President as well as Barack Obama's California campaign co-chair for a unique discussion on where we
go from here, post-election.

During this "Courage Campaign Conversation," there will be an opportunity for participants to ask Eric Garcetti and
Mark Leno a question. Or, if you would like to increase the chances of your question being asked by the moderator, please submit your question in the form field below.

Space is limited, so please fill out the form below to RSVP ASAP. We will contact you via email immediately with the phone number and call-in information.

http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/LenoGarcettiCall

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.

Thank Members of the Newly Formed LGBT Caucus!

Congressman Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin have announced the formation of the newly formed Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives.

"The mission of the LGBT Equality Caucus is to achieve the extension of equal rights, the repeal of discriminatory laws, the elimination of hate-motivated violence and the improved health and well being for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression."

The following are the 52 congressional members of the LGBT caucus. Please take a moment to thank your state representatives for standing up for LGBT equality.

Click here to contact your representatives!

Rob Andrews (D-NJ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Lois Capps (D-CA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Barney Frank (D-MA), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Mike Honda (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), James McGovern (D-MA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Hilda Solis (D-CA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Henry Waxman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Peter Welch (D-VT), Howard Berman (D-CA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Robert Brady (D-PA), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Susan Davis (D-CA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Phil Hare (D-IL), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Doris Matsui (D-CA), James Moran (D-VA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-Washington, D.C.), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Steven Rothman (D-NJ), José Serrano (D-NY), Chris Shays (R-CT), Pete Stark (D-CA), Betty Sutton (D-OH), Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), Niki Tsongas (D-MA), Robert Wexler (D-FL), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).

For more info on the news check out Pride Source