What does gay-friendly Rep. Jerry Nadler, chairman of the Judiciary subcommittee on civil rights, need voters to do to help him pass the anti-DOMA bill he'll soon introduce?
"Call your representatives. Meet with them. Pressure them," Nadler told me.
Nadler hopes to quickly get a Senate companion bill.
What's more interesting is this bit:
Gay Rep. Tammy Baldwin says pushing other bills will illuminate the path to repeal.
The House could vote by summer's end on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act -- banning bias based on sexual orientation or gender identity -- and the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, extending health and pension benefits to federal workers' partners.
"If we do get a roll call vote on ENDA and the domestic partners bill, we are going to get a sense about what this body is thinking about our families and our right to be free from discrimination. That will an indicator we don't currently have on repealing DOMA." Baldwin told me.
The number of gay-friendly lawmakers is rising. The more calls and letters, the more change.
So basically what's holding the White House and Congress back on repealing DOMA is that they don't know whether there's support behind it, and they're hoping ENDA will serve as an indicator.
Because the Democrats have a large majority in the House, the moderate Democrats will hold the key to a Partial DOMA Repeal. I don't think the so-called "Blue Dogs" would have any major issue with a Partial DOMA Repeal, as most of them represent moderate districts where support is strong for gay rights, even though gay marriage is still frowned upon.
Let's get ready to bombard Congress with calls, faxes and emails and make sure they hear us.
No comments:
Post a Comment