Colorado’s civil unions bill was killed in a House committee last night during the special session called by Gov. John Hickenlooper. The governor, who has described civil unions as “a fundamental question of fairness and civil rights,” called the special session after Speaker Frank McNulty refused to allow a vote last week on the civil unions bill and other measures as the legislative session winded to a close.
Hearing room packed with supporters of civil unions. Photo credit Daniel Gonzales, volunteer, One Colorado.
Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey says:
As families wake up to yet another day with no protections in sight, we stand with Coloradans in our disappointment and anger that our lives have fallen to political horseplay. Who is most hurt by these legislative shenanigans? Colorado families, that’s who. While not a substitute for full legal marriage, civil unions would have provided vital protections to loving, committed same-sex couples and their families, who continue to remain vulnerable.
We thank Gov. John Hickenlooper for calling a special session in an attempt to unlock the gridlock and get things moving again. We thank One Colorado and all those who advocated for this bill. We stand in solidarity with them in the push for full equality.
It continues to be a super-hot news week, given President Obama’s announcement supporting marriage equality. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Deputy Executive Director Darlene Nipper was back on CNN today with host Carol Costello talking about the president’s history-making words, as well as the need to repeal DOMA and pass employment protections for LGBT people. Watch:
The Task Force has been fielding a slew of media requests this week related to Obama and Vice President Joe Biden’s remarks on marriage, the North Carolina vote on Amendment One, and more.
We’ve been talking to English-language and Spanish-language media outlets. Here’s the Task Force’s Pedro Julio Serrano on CNN en Español yesterday:
In what’s shaping up to be a big week for LGBT people and their families, we heard today that the U.S. Senate is going to take up employment protections in a hearing on June 12.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, scheduled a hearing on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which if passed and signed into law would make it illegal under federal law to discrimination against employees on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation – effectively protecting the LGBT people in employment settings.
The announcement for ENDA’s hearing, which has bipartisan support, comes two weeks after the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a decision that federal law against sex discrimination includes protections for transgender people based on gender identity. While the historic EEOC decision helps protect transgender people, a federal law explicitly covering LGBT people is still necessary in order to ensure adequate protections in the workplace.
LGBT people face discrimination on the job. We’re still fired, denied promotions and harassed, just for being who we are. Most don’t know that over half (51 percent) of LGBT people hide who they are at work to most or all of their co-workers.
Discrimination against transgender people has also been well documented, most recently by our National Transgender Discrimination Survey. Seventy-eight percent experienced mistreatment, harassment, or discrimination at work, with one in four (26 percent) losing their job because they were transgender.
The Task Force has long advocated for the passage of ENDA and in January coordinated a Lobby Day where hundreds of LGBT activists met with U.S. Senate offices urging for the passage of ENDA. We applaud Senator Harkin for scheduling a hearing on ENDA and urge the committee to pass this vital legislation.
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2nd annual Pink & Purple Weekend honors LGBT leaders
This past weekend, the Task Force held multiple events for Pink & Purple Weekend in Washington, DC to celebrate the great diversity of the LGBT community, and honor the leaders who push LGBT equality forward.
LGBT movement leaders were honored at our Pink & Purple Recognition Awards Brunch. Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey set the tone for the event when she delivered her 2012 Toast to the Movement remarks, focusing on the need to celebrate the diversity in our movement.
Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey delivers her 2012 Toast to the Movement.
The first award was presented to Dee Rees for her work on the film Pariah by Task Force Deputy Executive Director Darlene Nipper and National Black Justice Coalition Executive Direcor Sharon Lettman-Hicks. An award winner from last year, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis presented the second award to Ingrid Duran & Catherine Pino for the leadership in the Latino/a and LGBT communities.
The Task Force’s Russell Roybal and U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis present a leadership award to Ingrid Duran & Catherine Pino.
DJ Whitney Day at Pink & Purple Sunset.
In addition to the awards brunch, the Task Force celebrated the LGBT community with two parties on Friday night. The night was kicked off with a women’s event, ‘Pink & Purple Sunset’ was held atop the Liaison Hotel around their rooftop pool. DJ Whitney Day, who spins all over the world, debuted in DC to rave reviews. Immediately following the women’s event, Pink & Purple Party was held at Cobalt, a local gay club in DC. The place was packed and DJ Paulo, one of the premier DJs in the country, was on hand to spin.
You can see more photos from Pink & Purple Weekend on our Facebook page here.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force responds to President Obama’s history-making comments today supporting marriage for same-sex couples. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has been urging the president to join the millions of Americans who already support marriage equality.
Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey said:
President Obama’s ‘evolution’ is now complete. Congratulations, Mr. President, for making history today by becoming the first sitting president to explicitly support marriage for same-sex couples. Who benefits? Millions of families who now know that their country’s leader believes in fairness for all. This is a great day for America.
We celebrate this moment and also remember that the right of loving, committed couples to get married is just one of many issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. It is heartening to know the president stands with our families in the pursuit of full equality, economic security and justice.
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Southerners On New Ground (SONG), a Task Force partner, issued a statement in response to the passage of Amendment One:
People across North Carolina took to the polls in defense of our communities. … Regardless of the seeds of division and intolerance planted by NC Representative Paul Stam, we will not let the livelihood, safety and dignity of our children, elders and families be used as disposable pawns in a political game.
We are disappointed that divisive messages were cemented with the passage of this highly controversial and unconstitutional Amendment, but we declare victory for our families. 160 organizations, thousands of volunteers, and countless people took risks to stand up for non-discrimination in the state of NC. LGBTQ communities, and our families, friends, neighbors and allies stood their ground alongside each other, staking out a critical victory: the people of this state pushed back against an Amendment that worked to exclude North Carolinians rather than expand Constitutional protections for all. Read more…
Amendment One passes in North Carolina
North Carolina voters have passed Amendment One, a constitutional amendment that limits legal unions to marriage between a man and woman and bans civil unions and domestic partnerships. Same-sex couples are already prohibited from marrying in North Carolina under state law. The Task Force assisted the Coalition to Protect North Carolina Families, the local campaign opposing Amendment One, with technical assistance, fundraising, social media outreach and get-out-the-vote efforts.
Statement by Rea Carey, Executive Director National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:
North Carolina has wandered into treacherous terrain with Amendment One. For all the talk of bolstering families, this measure shamefully shoves them into harm’s way.
Blocking loving couples from forming legal unions like domestic partnerships, civil unions and marriage flies in the face of family values. Indeed, Amendment One defies what it means to be a family today. Many North Carolinians, including seniors, single women and children, could be placed in peril because the shrinking definition of family excludes them. Some might even be denied life-saving services like domestic violence protections. This is a brutal step backward for relationship recognition in North Carolina.
We thank all the voters who rejected Amendment One. We stand in solidarity with them and the Coalition to Protect North Carolina Families as they build on this effort to make North Carolina welcoming and safe for all.
WATCH: Task Force on CNN & C-SPAN
Lots going on in the news already this week, including Vice President Joe Biden’s remarks on marriage for same-sex couples and today’s vote on Amendment One in North Carolina. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Deputy Executive Director Darlene Nipper addressed these hot-button issues and more on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” today. Watch here:
Darlene was also on CNN yesterday, talking with anchor/host Carol Costello about Biden’s remarks, marriage equality and the need for LGBT employment protections. Watch:
On Sunday night, Dar appeared on Blis FM Radio’s “The Intersection” program, which you can view here. Also, check out some other stories we’re quoted in this week on these topics: Politico, Christian Science Monitor, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, The Hill and The Christian Post.
Task Force responds to Vice President Joe Biden’s remarks on marriage for same-sex couples
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force responded to Vice President Joe Biden’s remarks today on “Meet the Press” in which he said: “I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual men and women marrying one another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties.”
Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey said:
We welcome the clarity with which Vice President Joe Biden today stated what so many others in this country feel: marriage is marriage is marriage. The vice president didn’t just generally state that he thinks all couples should be treated the same, as is often the way politicians state support for civil unions — he took the time to specifically say what kinds of couples he is comfortable with marrying: men and men, women and women and men and women. What could be more clear? The vice president was being honest and real.
We call upon President Obama to join Vice President Biden in clearly stating his comfort with same-sex couples getting married. Millions of people across the country and the world already support marriage equality. People from every community, faith, economic and political background know that denying marriage to loving couples and families benefits no one; it only hurts families.
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced a webinar series titled Healthy People 2020 Spotlight on LGBT Health – and the first of these webinars will be focused on transgender health issues!
Date and time: Tuesday, May 8, 1PM Eastern
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Register today
The webinar will feature various speakers from HHS and transgender health experts, including:
- Don Wright, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health (Disease Prevention and Health Promotion)
- JoAnne Keatley, MSW, Director of the Center for Excellence on Transgender Health
- Walter Bockting, PhD, Professor of Human Sexuality at the University of Minnesota
- Madeline Deutsch, MD, Director of the Transgender Health Program at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.
- AJ Pearlman from the Immediate Office of the Secretary of HHS
The webinar will also include an opportunity for questions and answers from participants.
At the Task Force, we have put a spotlight on transgender health issues. The Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality found in Injustice at Every Turn: A Report from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey some striking statistics about transgender health: 19% of transgender people reported being refused medical care due to their transgender status, with even higher numbers among transgender people of color, and transgender people have over four times the national rate of HIV infection. Moreover, over half of respondents to the survey had to teach their medical providers about transgender health care.
Register today for Healthy People 2020 Spotlight on LGBT Health: Transgender Health Issues
