Equality Maryland has released the following analysis of the performance of its endorsed candidates in the 2010 primary. We have to compliment Executive Director Morgan Meneses-Sheets for her speed in getting this out!
Equality Maryland: 2010 Primary Analysis (initial findings)
AT PRINT TIME, 100% OF THE PRECINCTS HAD NOT REPORTED IN ALL OF THE RACES AND SOME MAY BE CONTESTED.
Equality Maryland: 2010 Primary Analysis (initial findings)
Maryland’s LGBT Advocacy Organization Committed to Electing Candidates Who Will Stand up for Fairness and Equality in the Maryland State Legislature in the General Election
CONTACT:
Morgan Meneses-Sheets
Executive Director
morgan@equalitymaryland.org
For LGBT Marylanders and their allies, there were many reasons to celebrate late Tuesday night as the results of the 2010 primaries came in. We are pleased that so many candidates are standing with us in our efforts to advance equality. Our work is about providing individuals with basic legal rights and ensuring that the children who are being raised by loving, committed same-sex parents have the same safeguards as other families. These are issues of fairness.
BIG WINS
Equality Maryland is thrilled that Delegate Kris Valderrama looks poised to win after a contentious conflict with the always intolerant, Senator Anthony C. Muse. Delegate Valderrama has been an unwavering supporter of LGBT equality, so we are thrilled that she appears to have come through the primary race.
We are also incredibly happy that 7 of the 9 out LGBT candidates are moving forward to the general election in November - Sen. Rich Madaleno (D-18), Delegate Anne Kaiser (D-14), Delegate Maggie McIntosh (D-43), Delegate Heather Mizeur (D-20), Luke Clippinger (D-46), Mary Washington (D-43), and Bonnie Cullison (D-19).
We congratulate Dana Beyer (D-18) and Tim Quinn (D-37) on their hard work and wish them luck in the future!
LOSSES
Even in the potential losses, there are celebrations. In several races where our endorsed candidate did not make it through, their challenger is actually with us on equality issues.
But the real story of the turning tides was in the District 6 Senate race. With 96% of precincts reporting, it appears that candidate for State Senate, Jordan Hadfield came less than 500 votes short of beating out a long-time senator with a 0% equality record, Norm Stone.
With hard work, a positive, a forward thinking vision for his district and a strong pro-equality stance, Jordan came incredibly close. This should signal to Stone that any assumptions that he made about his district are simply not true.
Pro-equality supporters live in every district. Long time incumbents who continue to stand against fairness should be put on notice by results like these because Equality Maryland and supporters like Jordan Hadfield are not going anywhere. We will continue to fight.
VOTER IDENTIFICATION
On primary day as voters exited the polls in Anne Arundel, Frederick and Prince George’s County they were asked a simple question, “Do you support marriage for same sex couples?”
Equality Maryland volunteers worked to collect postcards in support of our two key issues – marriage equality and gender identity anti-discrimination protections during the primary elections.
By capitalizing on the excitement of the election season, we were able to talk to hundreds of voters and collected almost 1,000 postcards in one day. Volunteers included clergy, PFLAG moms and dads, GSA students, and straight allies who are working with us to pass and defend pro-equality legislation in Maryland.
The primary day efforts are just part of Equality Maryland’s statewide efforts to advance marriage through one on one conversations to really tell the stories of LGBT Marylanders and enhance the pro-equality majority.
ENDORSEMENTS – INITIAL ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS
The absentee ballots have not been counted and some races are extremely close, but it appears that a large number of EQMD endorsed candidates will move on to the general election in November.
Equality Maryland endorsed in 22 Senate races with two dual endorsements – 19 and 47. There were 9 races that were uncontested in the primary. At this time, 5 endorsed candidates look likely to win with 6 losses and two races that may come down to absentee ballots or even be contested.
On the House side 50 of Equality Maryland’s 64 endorsed candidates were in contested primaries. Of those 6 look likely to lose and 42 look likely to continue on to the general with a couple races still too close to call at this time.
The minimum criteria for endorsement by the Equality Maryland PAC included completing the questionnaire and support for EQMD’s two key legislative priorities – gender identity anti-discrimination protections and marriage for same sex couples. Additional considerations included viability, ability to advance legislation, and relationship with key constituencies.
Equality Maryland Endorsements - PRIMARY ANALYSIS
THESE ARE OUR INITIAL FINDINGS. WE WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS AS ABSENTEE BALLOTS ARE COUNTED AND ALL PRECINCTS CONFIRMED.
Maryland State Senate
Jordan Hadfield D 6 –LIKELY LOSS
Delores Kelley D 10 – WON
Bobby Zirkin D 11 – UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Edward Kasemeyer D 12 – UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Jim Robey D 13 – UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Karen Montgomery D 14 –TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Robert Garagiola D 15 – UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Brian Frosh D 16 – UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Jennie Forehand D 17 – TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Rich Madaleno D 18 – WON
Mike Lenett D 19 - LOSS
Roger Manno D 19 – WON
Jamie Raskin D 20 – UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Paul Pinsky D 22 – UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Darrell Carrington D 23 –LOSS
Tim Quinn D 37 – LOSS
Nancy King D 39 -WON
Catherine Pugh D 40 – UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Nathaniel McFadden D 45 – UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
George Della D 46 - LOSS
David Harrington D 47 -LOSS
Victor Ramirez D 47 –WON
Maryland House of Delegates
Candy Greenway D 3 –UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Galen Clagett D 3 – UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Ryan Trout D 4 UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Maryann Maher D 9 – UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Jon Weinstein D 9 – UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Adrienne Jones D 10 –WON
Elizabeth Bobo D 12 –WON
Guy Guzzone D 13 - UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Shane Pendergrass D 13 - UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Frank Turner D 13 - UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Eric Luedtke D 14 –WON
Craig Zucker D 14 –WON
Anne Kaiser D 14 –WON
Kathleen Dumais D 15 –WON
Aruna Miller D 15 –WON
Brian Feldman D 15 –WON
Ariana Kelly D 16 –LIKELY WIN
Bill Frick D 16 –WON
Susan Lee D 16 –WON
Kumar Barve D 17- UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Jim Gilchrist D 17 - UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Luiz Simmons D 17- UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Dana Beyer D 18 -LOSS
Al Carr D 18 –WON
Ana Sol Gutierrez D 18 –WON
Jeff Waldstreicher D 18 –WON
Bonnie Cullison D 19 –WON
Jay Hutchins D 19 -LOSS
Benjamin Kramer D 19 –WON
Sheila Hixson D 20 -WON
Tom Hucker D 20 -WON
Heather Mizeur D 20 –WON
Ben Barnes D 21 –WON
Barbara Frush D 21 –WON
Joseline Pena-Melnyk D 21 -WON
Tawanna Gaines D 22 – UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Justin Ross D 22 – UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Nicole Williams D 23 -LOSS
James Hubbard D 23 –WON
Gregg Hall D 24 - TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Erek Barron D 25 -LOSS
Kris Valderrama D 26 -WON
Judd Legum D 30 -WON
Virginina Clagett D 30 –WON
Stan Janor D 31 -LOSS
B. Daniel Riley D 34A – TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Rudolph Cane D 37 -WON
Shane Robinson D 39 -WON
Charles Barkley D 39 -WON
Kirill Reznik D 39 –WON
Barbara Robinson D 40 -WON
Shawn Tarrant D 40 -WON
Samuel Rosenberg D 41 – UNCONTESTED IN THE PRIMARY
Lori Albin D 42 -WON
Stephen Lafferty D 42 –WON
Curtis Anderson D 43 -WON
Maggie McIntosh D 43 -WON
Mary Washington D 43 –WON
Keiffer Mitchell D 44 -WON
Peter Hammen D 46 –WON
Brian McHale D 46 –WON
Luke Clippinger D 46 –WON
Jolene Ivey D 47 –WON
Doyle Niemann D 47-WON
###
Equality Maryland is Maryland's largest LGBT civil rights organization, focused on making life better for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens of Maryland. Equality Maryland works to secure and protect the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Marylanders by promoting legislative initiatives on the state, county and municipal levels and educating the public about the issues faced by our diverse community.
Equality Maryland can be found online at www.equalitymaryland.org. The Equality Maryland office can be reached at 410-685-6567.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Equality Maryland Releases 2010 Primary Analysis
Friday, August 06, 2010
Equality Maryland Releases Second Set of Endorsements
Following is Equality Maryland's press release.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 6, 2010
Equality Maryland Releases Second Set of Endorsements for the 2010 Election
Maryland’s LGBT Advocacy Organization Committed to Electing Candidates Who Will Stand up for Fairness and Equality in the Maryland State Legislature
CONTACTS:
Morgan Meneses-Sheets
Executive Director
morgan@equalitymaryland.org
Lisa Polyak
Chair of the Political Action Committee
lmpolyak@hotmail.com
Baltimore, MD - As members of the national LGBT community strategize on where we go next in the fight for equality, many eyes are on the Free State. Without a doubt there is great momentum for marriage equality, but Maryland is also gaining momentum in the work to ensure that transgender and gender variant Marylanders are provided equal treatment under the law.
“We are pleased that so many candidates are standing with us in our efforts to advance equality,” said Morgan Meneses-Sheets, Executive Director of Equality Maryland. “Our work is about providing individuals with basic legal rights and ensuring that the children who are being raised by loving, committed same-sex parents have the same safeguards as other families. These are issues of fairness.”
The minimum criteria for endorsement by the Equality Maryland PAC includes completing the questionnaire and support for EQMD’s two key legislative priorities – gender identity anti-discrimination protections and marriage for same sex couples. Additional considerations included viability, ability to advance legislation, and relationship with key constituencies.
“Equality Maryland will continue to work hard to elect those candidates who believe in treating all Marylanders with respect and dignity,” said Lisa Polyak, Chair of the Political Action Committee.
Equality Maryland Endorsements
The list includes endorsements previously released on June 26th. The new endorsements are in bold.
Maryland State Senate
Jordan Hadfield D 6
Delores Kelley D 10
Bobby Zirkin D 11
Edward Kasemeyer D 12
Jim Robey D 13
Karen Montgomery D 14
Robert Garagiola D 15
Brian Frosh D 16
Jennie Forehand D 17
Rich Madaleno D 18
Mike Lenett D 19
Roger Manno D 19
Jamie Raskin D 20
Paul Pinsky D 22
Darrell Carrington D 23
Tim Quinn D 37
Nancy King D 39
Catherine Pugh D 40
Nathaniel McFadden D 45
George Della D 46
David Harrington D 47
Victor Ramirez D 47
Maryland House of Delegates
Candy Greenway D 3
Galen Clagett D 3
Ryan Trout D 4
Maryann Maher D 9
Jon Weinstein D 9
Adrienne Jones D 10
Elizabeth Bobo D 12
Guy Guzzone D 13
Shane Pendergrass D 13
Frank Turner D 13
Eric Luedtke D 14
Craig Zucker D 14
Anne Kaiser D 14
Kathleen Dumais D 15
Aruna Miller D 15
Brian Feldman D 15
Ariana Kelly D 16
Bill Frick D 16
Susan Lee D 16
Kumar Barve D 17
Jim Gilchrist D 17
Luiz Simmons D 17
Dana Beyer D 18
Al Carr D 18
Ana Sol Gutierrez D 18
Jeff Waldstreicher D 18
Bonnie Cullison D 19
Jay Hutchins D 19
Benjamin Kramer D 19
Sheila Hixson D 20
Tom Hucker D 20
Heather Mizeur D 20
Ben Barnes D 21
Barbara Frush D 21
Joseline Pena-Melnyk D 21
Tawanna Gaines D 22
Justin Ross D 22
Nicole Williams D 23
James Hubbard D 23
Gregg Hall D 24
Erek Barron D 25
Kris Valderrama D 26
Judd Legum D 30
Virginina Clagett D 30
Stan Janor D 31
B. Daniel Riley D 34
Rudolph Cane D 37
Shane Robinson D 39
Charles Barkley D 39
Kirill Reznik D 39
Barbara Robinson D 40
Shawn Tarrant D 40
Samuel Rosenberg D 41
Lori Albin D 42
Stephen Lafferty D 42
Curtis Anderson D 43
Maggie McIntosh D 43
Mary Washington D 43
Keiffer Mitchell D 44
Peter Hammen D 46
Brian McHale D 46
Luke Clippinger D 46
Jolene Ivey D 47
Doyle Niemann D 47
###
Equality Maryland is Maryland's largest LGBT civil rights organization, focused on making life better for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens of Maryland. Equality Maryland works to secure and protect the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Marylanders by promoting legislative initiatives on the state, county and municipal levels and educating the public about the issues faced by our diverse community.
Equality Maryland can be found online at www.equalitymaryland.org. The Equality Maryland office can be reached at 410-685-6567.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Vanessa Ali Walks Out on Equality Maryland
Want to know if a candidate really dislikes you? How about if they walk out on your interview? District 14 Delegate candidate Vanessa Ali did that to Equality Maryland, but there’s a twist: she did it after agreeing with them in writing!
Like many endorsing groups, Equality Maryland has sent questionnaires to candidates for state office. Marriage equality is one of their big issues. Vanessa Ali had responded to a question on marriage in her Progressive Maryland questionnaire in this way:Question: As you may know, the Maryland Attorney General recently released an opinion stating that Maryland permits the recognition of valid out-of-state marriages of same sex couples. Do you support legislation to ensure all gay and lesbian couples have access to full civil marriage equality in Maryland?
Ali gave the same response in writing to Equality Maryland, so they brought her in for a face-to-face interview. But Ali knew nothing about the organization. They explained that they advocated for LGBT civil rights. Ali did not know what LGBT stood for, so they told her it was an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. Ali said, “I don’t support that. I can’t talk about that.” Then she walked out! Equality Maryland was smart to bring her in, because if they had relied on her questionnaire alone, they might have concluded that she supported their goals.
Answer: Yes
Now Vanessa Ali is something of a special case. But the episode brings up the difficulty of evaluating politicians who are mostly experts in telling endorsing organizations what they want to hear. For example, the vast majority of Democratic politicians have promised Progressive Maryland and the AFL-CIO to support project labor agreements. But how many of them really know what they are? How about card check, or right-to-work laws, or combined reporting, or Maintenance of Effort? Your author would like to see ANY politician accurately define every one of these items. We know some of you can do that, but you are the exceptions.
Of course, if you don’t want to educate yourselves, you can always walk out!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Endorsements 2010
Want to know who's endorsing whom? You have come to the right place!
Following are the endorsements of MCEA, the Post, SEIU, Progressive Maryland, Equality Maryland, the Sierra Club, the Maryland League of Conservation Voters and NARAL for all MoCo Democratic primaries in which there are more candidates than seats.
Notes:
1. The Post has not yet endorsed in state legislative contests.
2. Progressive Maryland, Equality Maryland, LCV and NARAL have not yet endorsed in County Council races. The latter three may not endorse in those contests at all.
3. Equality Maryland, the Sierra Club and LCV have not finished making endorsements.
4. So far, just ten candidates have swept all available endorsements in this group. They are:
Roger Berliner, Council District 1
Marc Elrich, Council At-Large
Hans Riemer, Council At-Large
Anne Kaiser, D-14 House
Bill Frick, D-16 House
Susan Lee, D-16 House
Ana Sol Gutierrez, D-18 House
Tom Hucker, D-20 House
Heather Mizeur, D-20 House
Kirill Reznik, D-39 House
Riemer is the only challenger in this list.
5. We will add these endorsements to our tabulation as they become available: MCGEO, Fire Fighters, Police, AFL-CIO, Progressive Maryland (council), Post (state legislative), Gazette and the MoCo Business PAC, as well as updates to the above. We are not adding NOW as they often endorse far more people than there are seats (including eight D16 Delegate candidates). And we are not going to include "groups" that are little than more five people sitting around a table endorsing their buddies, or worse, each other. Fuhgedaboudit!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Equality MD Endorsements and Some Surprises
Equality Maryland released their early endorsements today. A complete list and some highlights below the fold.
In District 18, EM has endorsed four candidates for delegate: incumbents Al Carr, Ana Sol Gutierrez, and Jeff Waldstreicher as well as challenger and EM Board Member Dana Bayer. Next, in District 39, EM endorsed incumbent Sen. Nancy King over her challenger, Del. Saqib Ali.
In both the delegate race in District 18 and the senate contest in District 39, the challengers have attempted to position themselves as stronger on LGBT rights and EM's endorsement of the incumbents undercuts this theme. In any case, it's a positive sign that candidates now position themselves as more liberal on this; times have changed.
Meanwhile, in District 19, EM has not yet endorsed Bonnie Cullison--an openly lesbian candidate for the House of Delegates--though it did endorse incumbent Ben Kramer. For now, EM is staying out of the hot Senate race in that district.
On the other hand, Del. Karen Montgomery scored a coup with EM's endorsement of her challenge to incumbent Sen. Rona Kramer, also perceived as strong on equality. The complete list follows:
State Senate
Delores Kelley D-10
Bobby Zirkin D-11
Edward Kasemeyer D-12
Karen Montgomery D-14
Rich Madaleno D-18
Jamie Raskin D-20
Paul Pinsky D-22
Nancy King D-39
Catherine Pugh D-40
Nathaniel McFadden D-45
House of Delegates
D-3A Galen Clagett
D-10 Adrienne Jones
D-12B Elizabeth Bobo
D-13 Frank Turner
D-14 Anne Kaiser
D-15 Brian Feldman
D-16 Bill Frick
D-16 Susan Lee
D-17 Kumar Barve
D-17 Luiz Simmons
D-17 Jim Gilchrist
D-18 Dana Beyer
D-18 Al Carr
D-18 Ana Sol Gutierrez
D-18 Jeff Waldstreicher
D-19 Benjamin Kramer
D-20 Tom Hucker
D-20 Heather Mizeur
D-21 Ben Barnes
D-21 Barbara Frush
D-21 Joseline Pena-Melnyk
D-22 Justin Ross
D-23 James Hubbard
D-26 Kris Valderrama
D-30 Virginia Clagett
D-30 Judd Legum
D-34 A B. Daniel Riley
D-39 Charles Barkley
D-39 Kirill Reznik
D-40 Barbara Robinson
D-40 Shawn Tarrant
D-41 Samuel Rosenberg
D-42 Stephen Lafferty
D-43 Maggie McIntosh
D-43 Curt Anderson
D-43 Mary Washington
D-46 Brian McHale
D-46 Luke Clippinger
D-47 Jolene Ivey
D-47 Doyle Niemann
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Transgender Bill Supporters Sue Board of Elections
Yesterday, twelve Montgomery County residents filed suit against the Montgomery County Board of Elections in the county’s circuit court seeking to set aside their finding that the anti-transgender petition should proceed. The plaintiffs include former Progressive Maryland president and former state delegate candidate Elbridge James and current Takoma Park mayor Bruce Williams. They are represented by Jonathan Shurberg, an attorney working with Equality Maryland.
The complaint alleges that Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG), the group that collected the signatures, used “inaccurate, inflammatory and false information” that is “indicative of a pattern of fraud on the part of the individuals collecting the signatures…” For example, one of the plaintiffs claimed that she “was falsely induced into signing the referendum petition that is the subject of this lawsuit by individuals stating that the law in question allowed for unisex bathrooms and for men to be in the women’s bathroom.”
The complaint goes on to question the validity of the signatures themselves. It alleges that many signatures were outright forgeries, were not obtained from registered voters, were not obtained from county residents, did not have any addresses or were duplicates. The complaint lists numerous problems with the circulator affidavits, such as, “The Petition contains numerous Petition sheets reflecting alterations indicative of fraud by the circulator such as circulator and/or signer information that appears to have been covered with “white out…” But the complaint never states how many signatures or circulator affidavits are alleged to be invalid.
Finally, the complaint claims that the Board of Elections ignored the above problems, stating, “Defendant Board of Elections appears to have determined to overlook disqualifying infirmities in the Petition signatures, circulator certifications and other categories set forth above and instead to certify the Petition despite the Petition’s failure to comply with governing legal requirements.” The remedy sought by the plaintiffs is for the Montgomery County Circuit Court to set aside the board’s finding of validity, thereby allowing the transgender anti-discrimination bill to take effect.
It’s difficult to get a sense of the volume of evidence the plaintiffs have to back up their claims. CRG submitted 32,087 signatures. They need 25,001 to be upheld. The Board of Elections never stated how many signatures were found to be valid when they certified the petition. The complaint never stated how many signatures Equality Maryland’s volunteers found to be invalid. So the presiding judge would have a number of options: find that the process is so fraud-ridden that the petition must be set aside (the plaintiffs’ position), find that the Board of Elections acted within its allowable discretion or order the board to re-examine every signature.
But there is a bigger tactical field than merely the legal realm. The transgender bill started as an anti-discrimination bill, pure and simple. Then it was amended to include “any restroom, shower, dressing room, locker room or similar facility,” an amendment that was later removed but never forgotten by its opponents. CRG’s petition drive degenerated into an ugly ground war that produced this video of a County Council staffer confronting petition gatherers. CRG is promising a lawsuit over this incident. So now we have one confirmed lawsuit against a taxpayer-funded agency, another possible lawsuit involving a taxpayer-funded employee, much talk about showers and bathrooms but much less talk about protecting innocent people from discrimination – which after all was the inspiration for the bill. CRG’s fear-mongerers are running wild while the bill’s original, necessary purpose is receding into the background. From a purely tactical perspective, this order of battle is more favorable to CRG than to the bill's supporters.
Back in 1991, the Planned Parenthood vs. Casey federal abortion case caused many people to fear that the Supreme Court might overturn Roe vs. Wade. Maryland’s legislature passed a bill providing for Roe vs. Wade protections in the state’s law in case the Supreme Court threw out Roe. The law’s opponents successfully petitioned the bill to referendum, but the voters upheld it by a 62-38 margin. Since that 1992 vote, anti-choice groups have not come close to banning abortions in Maryland, though they do try to chip away at them.
If CRG does succeed in getting its referendum before the voters, it might be the best thing that ever happened for supporters of the transgender anti-discrimination bill. Voter affirmation will be much more useful for their cause than endless lawsuits (and videos).
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
EM Statement on Passing of Sen. Britt
Equality Maryland issued the following statement over the weekend and has temporarily replaced the front page of its website with a tribute to Sen. Gwendolyn Britt:
Dear Friends,
We are saddened to report that our dear friend and hero, State Senator Gwendolyn Britt, has passed away from a heart attack. We struggle to find the words to convey the depth of our feelings at this loss, and we offer our condolences to her husband, Travis, her children, grandchildren, and entire family. Sen. Britt's loss will be felt deeply by her colleagues in the Maryland State Senate, by her constituents in Prince George's County's District 47, and by virtually everyone who knew her.
Thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Marylanders and their families only knew Sen. Britt by name, and yet this name truly meant everything to them. At a time in our nation's history where LGBT people seek champions for the equal protection of our families, Sen. Britt rose up and declared our cause her own. In a feature article on "players to watch" in the General Assembly printed just last week by the Washington Post, Sen. Britt was described as a "civil rights activist." Sen. Britt fought Jim Crow laws down south and here at home in Maryland. She spent her life seeking to correct injustices.
When Equality Maryland approached Sen. Britt about being a lead sponsor on The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, she did not hesitate or ask to think it over first. Her answer was definite, her pride apparent, her convictions solid. In the past few days, as Sen. Britt prepared to file marriage equality legislation and advocated with her senate colleagues on the issue, she made us at Equality Maryland feel that with her by our side, anything is possible. She taught us to keep the faith, never to waver from our commitment to a cause, and to speak truth to power no matter what obstacles stand in our way.
Senator Britt, we will miss your grace, your dignity, your warmth, your intelligence, your smile, your solemnity, your beauty, your hugs, and most of all, your friendship and support.
You will always be with us.
The Staff, Boards and Lobbyists for Equality Maryland
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Gay Rights Movement Divided on Legislative Strategy
The strong divisions with the organizations advocating greater rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people (often called LGBT by the groups but known colloquially as the "gay rights movement") have become quite public recently. Specifically, controversy has centered over whether pro-LGBT groups should support legislation which does not include transgender people.
The Human Rights Campaign, the major national lobby, has argued that Congress should pass the Employment and Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) even if it does not include protections for transgender people:
[I]t appeared there are not the votes to pass an all inclusive version of ENDA and in an open letter to members of Congress, HRC, the NAACP, the National Education Association, the National Employment Lawyers Association, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the American Federation of State, County, Municipal Employees and a number of other groups said they would support ENDA without gender identity.Equality Maryland, the state's largest pro-LGBT lobby, has forcefully attacked and opposed efforts to pass a version of ENDA without protections for transgender people:
The letter says that it is "beyond dispute that transgender employees are particularly in need of those protections. They face far more pervasive and severe bias in the workplace and society as a whole."
But it goes on to say: "As civil rights organizations, however, we are no strangers to painful compromise in the quest for equal protection of the law for all Americans. From the Civil Rights Act of 1957 through the almost-passed District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2007, legislative progress in the area of civil and human rights has almost always been incremental in nature. With each significant step toward progress, the civil rights community has also faced difficult and sometimes even agonizing tradeoffs. We have always recognized, however, that each legislative breakthrough has paved the way for additional progress in the future.
"With respect to ENDA, we take the same view."
"While we are greatly disappointed that the current version of ENDA is not fully inclusive, our sense of frustration in this case is directed at those who would clearly prefer to see no one from the gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender community protected at all."
In an unprecedented show of unity, more than 90 leading national and state groups, including Equality Maryland, signed onto a letter in support of one inclusive ENDA. This letter was delivered to Congress yesterday. (To view the letter, click here.) As a result, Democratic leadership has postponed mark-up of the bill, giving our community a renewed opportunity to pass an inclusive ENDA. If you have not already done so, please urge your member of Congress to support only an inclusive ENDA.The divisions over the issue were apparent at Equality Maryland's Jazz Brunch. While EM Executive Director Dan Furmansky reiterated the organization's commitment to passing only more inclusive legislation, this all-or-nothing approach was attacked by the recipient of the major award, Victor Basile, a former president of the Human Rights Campaign.
Equality Maryland will continue to work for and support only legislation that is explicitly inclusive of "gender identity" language to assure the protection of the full LGBT community. This is a core principle of our organization. There is no state law in Maryland protecting individuals from discrimination on the basis of gender identity, while discrimination based on sexual orientation has been covered under state law since 2001. Maryland's LGBT community knows firsthand the difficulties we face in "going back" for transgender anti-discrimination protections after passing a partial anti-discrimination bill. Since 2002, every state that has passed an anti-discrimination law has passed an inclusive law. Inclusive legislation is not just a moral imperative; it is politically wise.
Equality Maryland did accept legislation excluding protections for transgender people when fighting for the state equivalent of ENDA, though it now continues to fight hard to pass new legislation which would be more inclusive. Indeed, protections for transgender people were EM's major legislative priority in the previous regular legislative session.
Rep. Barney Frank, an architect of ENDA who has fought for years to get it passed, was supposed to speak at the Equality Maryland Jazz Brunch and was listed on the program. However, he was "unable to join" the hundreds of people in attendance at the last minute. Frank also disagrees with the Equality Maryland's stance on ENDA and explained his view in a statement to House replicated on his website:
We are at a differential stage in public understanding of these issues. We've been dealing explicitly and increasingly openly with prejudice based on sexual orientation for almost 40 years, since the Stonewall Riots of 1969 and since then.Meanwhile, at the local level, Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg continues to try to get Montgomery County to pass protections for transgender people in the hope that the State and the country will follow our lead. She recently issued a press release defending her bill against attacks:
The millions of people that talk openly and to take on the prejudice against people who are transgendered is newer. It is also the case that prejudice begins with people reacting against those who are different from them in some way. People are rarely prejudiced against their clones. So we have this situation where there is more prejudice in this society today against people who are transgendered than against people who are gay and lesbian, partly because we have been working longer at dealing with the sex orientation prejudice; partly because the greater the difference, the greater the prejudice is to start, the more people fail to identify, the more they are put off by differences, especially when those differences come in matters of the greatest personal intimacy. . . .
So this is the question we now face. I am convinced that the votes are there to pass a bill that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment. I am also convinced that if we were to put up a bill that included people of transgender, that part would be stricken on a vote, and, unfortunately, a fairly heavy vote. . . .
I had hoped that we would have a vote upon a transgender-inclusive bill and win. Getting a large vote in this body to say no to transgender inclusion will make it harder in the future to change that situation, partly because my junior Senator, as the Presidential candidate, was unfairly pilloried. His remark was caricatured about his vote on Iraq. He quite sensibly voted for one version of funding for Iraq and then voted against another. He phrased it inartfully. What he did was correct.
Despite the efforts of a small group of ideologically motivated individuals to raise fears and continue discriminatory policies, support for the Montgomery County Council’s proposal to protect the rights of transgender individuals remains strong, Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg, chief sponsor of the legislation, said today.I attended the press conference held by Councilwoman Trachtenberg to show support for the legislation. Councilman Marc Elrich expressed his strong support as well as his hope that the legislation would soon pass the Council unanimously. One of Councilwoman Trachtenberg's aides, Dana Beyer, who is a transgender person (and ran for delegate in District 18 in 2006), spoke eloquently on the bill, answering questions from the press with well-organized facts and aplomb.
The legislation, which has been discussed in a worksession of the Council’s Health and Human Services Committee and at a legislative hearing before the full Council, is scheduled for a vote for adoption by the Council on Tuesday, Nov. 13.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Battle Over Rights Continues
According to an article in the Washington Blade, Dan Furmansky of Equality Maryland blamed Judicial Proceedings Chairman Brian Frosh (D-16) and the Senate leadership for the death of the transgender rights legislation this year:
Sen. Lisa Gladden and Dana Beyer, a former candidate for the House in District 18 who now works for Montgomery Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg, still characterized this as a step towards eventually gaining passage of the legislation:Furmansky said the Judicial Proceedings Committee chair, Sen. Brian Frosh (D-Montgomery County), initially was reluctant to call for a vote on the bill despite a 2006 campaign pledge to support such legislation.
“Senate leadership did not want this bill on the floor for fear of a filibuster, which we think was highly unlikely,” Furmansky said.
Frosh called a vote March 23 to decide whether the measure should go before the full Senate, where activists expected it to pass.
“We had the vote count on the floor of the House and the floor of the Senate,” Furmansky said. “We had the votes.”
But the measure died in committee, 6-5, when Sens. Norman Stone Jr. (D-Baltimore County) and C. Anthony Muse (D-Prince George’s County) joined the committee’s Republican members to kill it.
Furmansky said Muse’s vote came as a surprise because the legislator had repeatedly committed to Equality Maryland lobbyists and others that he would support the bill.
Muse did not respond to the Blade’s repeated attempts to contact him.
In truth, even final passage of this legislation will largely be symbolic, albeit an important one since symbols matter in terms of indicating public acceptance and government pressure. However, stopping discrimination really takes greater understanding which brings a change in attitude on the part of the public. Even with discrimination laws, discrimination can still easily occur. It just tends to get obscured with people being less direct about the reasons for acting in a discriminatory manner.Sen. Lisa Gladden, the bill’s author, said this year’s measure nonetheless marked a step forward.
“Although this bill was voted down, we made tremendous progress on educating the committee and the members of the General Assembly on this important issue, and we will reintroduce and pass this bill next year,” she said.
Equality Maryland board member Dana Beyer, who is transgender, agreed. She vowed to keep working with Gladden and others to pass the measure.
“We’re almost there in Maryland,” she said, “and I’m hopeful that we will reach our goal next year.”
Meanwhile, Andrew Sullivan continues his campaign against the Human Rights Campaign as an ineffective, secretive, and dogmatic lobby for lesbian and gay rights at the national level. I've often joked that HRC often seems more like a logo than a movement. However, Republican control of Congress certainly made it more difficult for them to gain support in Congress. This year will be a real test for HRC as one might expect them to have greater success in passing anti-discrimination legislation with a Democratic majority in both the House and the Senate.
