GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Secular Coalition Announces Freethinking Caucus in Congress

The Secular Coalition for America announced that there is going to be a congressional caucus for "free-thinkers." The newly announced Congressional Freethought Congress even has a mission statement:

• First, to promote public policy on the basis of reason, science, and moral values;
• Second, to protect the secular character of our government by adhering to the strict constitutional principle of the separation of church and state;
• Third, to oppose discrimination against atheists, agnostics, humanists, seekers, and the nonreligious, and to champion the value of freedom of thought and conscience worldwide; and
• Fourth, to provide a forum for Members of Congress to discuss their moral frameworks, ethical values, and personal religious journeys.

Jerry McNerney (CA-9), the only member of congress with a PhD in mathematics, has agreed to be the co-chair of the Freethought Caucus. I am not sure who the other member of the Caucus is, but presumably that in addition to Jared Huffman (CA-2) they will be from another state other than California!

Hat/tip to Friendly Atheist

114th Congress Begins: 80% White, 80% Male, 92% Christian (Representative of America? NO!)

Via Talking Points Memo comes this excellent infographic visualizing the (lack of) diversity in the 535 Members of the United States Congress who are supposed to represent the 320 million people who live in this country. Most of the diversity that does exist in Congress comes from the Democrats, not the Republicans.

Specifically:

There are a total of 81 minorities that are Democrats in both houses combined and 16 that are Republicans, according to data from CQ. The 114th Congress also has 79 Democratic women and 29 Republican women, also according to CQ. 

Of the 188 Democrats in the newly sworn-in House of Representatives, 78 are minorities, according to CQ. Despite the rise of new stars like Rep. Mia Love (UT, pictured above) just 12 of the 246 Republicans in the House majority are minorities. In the Senate, percentages are slightly better for Republicans. There are four Republican senators who are racial minorities and 3 Democrats who are racial minorities. 

By gender, there are 65 House Democrats who are women and 23 women are on the other side of the aisle, according to CQ. That leaves 123 Democratic men and 223 Republican men. In the Senate, there are 14 Democratic women and a record six Republican women leaving 30 Democratic men plus another two Independents who caucus with Democrats and 48 Republican men.

However, the Washington Post points out that it is in the area of religious representation that the Congress does the worst. There is only 0.2% representation (i.e. 1 member) who declares themselves to have no religious affiliation while 20% of Americans declare that they are affiliated with no specific religion.

QUEER QUOTE: Matt Foreman Opposes Federal LGBT Legislation, Says #ENDAisNOTEqual

Well, well, well! Expressing publicly thoughts which many LGBT activists (like myself) have had privately for years, Matt Foreman, former head of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and eminence rose of the LGBT movement has said that the current "federal gay rights bill," commonly known as ENDA (which passed the United States Senate for the first time in its 40-year history last year) is a waste of time.

To be precise he said this:

"It's pathetic that four decades have gone by without Congress extending basic civil rights protections to LGBT Americans. It's even more pathetic that what's left of Bella Abzug's comprehensive legislation is ENDA - a small-bore bill that is now riddled with giveaways to anti-gay forces, including a religious exemption big enough for an 18-wheeler to cruise through. It's time to pull the plug on this essentially lifeless corpse and demand full equality under the federal civil rights statutes."

ENDA is (and has been for at least a decade) the #1 priority of HRC, the nations largest LGBT political advocacy organization. But with a Republican-controlled House of Representatives, no pro-LGBT legislation will be enacted in the near-future, since only a handful of House Republicans (well, 7) are publicly supportive of the measure. The hardest thing about banning anti-gay discrimination in federal law is that most Americans already think it is illegal (and think that it should be), which paradoxically reduces momentum for enacting such a policy into law.

I agree with Matt that ENDA should be replaced by a comprehensive civil rights bill that calls for an end to discrimination in public accommodations, employment, education and housing, basically amend the 1964 civil rights act and add "sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression" to the words where "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin" appear in the text.

However, it does seem like pushing for a more comprehensive measure will make enacting basic projections in the 23 states where you can currently be fired for being LGB even less likely to happen in the near term.

So, I disagree that ENDA should be withdrawn, I think it should be supported, IN ADDITION to a comprehensive bill.

What do you think?

CELEBRITY FRIDAY: U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) Announces Retirement

The political landscape of Southern California is recovering from an announcement that has the impact of an earthquake: a sitting Congressman announced his retirement. 20-term incumbent Henry Waxman announced on Thursday that after spending 40 years in Congress he wants to do something else with his life. Waxman represents California's 33rd district which includes the "West Side" of Los Angeles, and is one of the wealthiest Congressional districts in California (and thus the nation).

The sudden appearance of an open seat to a high-profile position of Congressperson without the possibility of term limits will surely be attractive to many local politicians. The Los Angeles Times runs down the list of people expected to run for this heavily Democratic seat:

Potential contestants include state Sens. Ted Lieu of Torrance and Fran Pavley of Agoura Hills; Assemblyman Richard Bloom of Santa Monica; Secretary of State Debra Bowen, a former South Bay lawmaker; local radio host Matt Miller; women's rights activist Sandra Fluke — all Democrats — and Manhattan Beach businessman Bill Bloomfield, an independent and former Republican who spent $7 million of his own money in an unsuccessful 2012 race against Waxman. 

Even before the congressman announced his 20th term would be his last, two other political independents had stated their plans to run: Brent Roske, a television producer and director, and Marianne Williamson, the author of several self-help books. 

Amid Thursday's swirl of rumors and speculation, with fresh names surfacing almost hourly, a few possible contenders took themselves out of the race. 

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he would not run. Sheila Kuehl, a former state senator and assemblywoman who represented the Westside and the Valley, and Bobby Shriver, a former mayor of Santa Monica and nephew of President Kennedy, both said they would continue their campaigns for a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. 

The retiring supervisor they aim to replace, Zev Yaroslavsky, did not explicitly rule out a try for Waxman's seat but made it seem highly unlikely. "My first reaction is [that] to be a [congressional] freshman at the age of 65 is not something I've longed to do all my life," Yaroslavsky said.

Open Congressional seats are very rare indeed and this should be a fascinating race. Wendy Greuel, who lost the 2013 Los Angeles Mayor's race to Eric Garcetti last May announced her intention to run almost immediately, while State Senator Ted Lieu waited until Friday to do so, and included several high-profile endorsements of politicians who represent pieces of the 33rd District.

NC-12: Black Gay Candidate Running For Congress

Marcus Brandon is currently the only openly gay legislator in North Carolina state Legislature. In fact, he is one of the very few Black LGBT people ever elected to state-level position in the United States. The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund just announced that Mr. Brandon has won their endorsement in the special election to fill the 12th Congressional District of North Carolina. Rep. Mel Watt held that seat for 20 years but is expected to resign soon to become the head of Fannie Mae. The NC-12 District is (in)famous because for years it was a subject if legislation under the Voting Rights Act because it was drawn to be a majority-minority district (it now has a slight plurality of white voters). It includes cities like Winston-Salem and Charlotte, as well as Mecklenburg County. It is considered a very safe Democratic seat (PVI D+23).

If Mr. Brandon were to win the Democratic primary and be elected, he would be only the second LGBT person of color elected to Congress, after Mark Takano was elected in California's 41st Congressional District in 2012.

Queer Quote: Speaker Boehner Lies About ENDA (Again)

Speaker John Boehner has been under increasing pressure to allow a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) since the measure passed the United States Senate recently. Boehner's response to LGBT advocates calling for leguslative action to outlaw anti-LGBT workplace discrimination has generally been to lie about what the law does.

He was asked about ENDA on Thursday and repeated his false statements on the bill, which is today's Queer Quote:

I am opposed to discrimination of any kind — in the workplace and any place else. But I think this legislation — that I have dealt with as chairman of the Education Workforce Committee long before I was back in the leadership — is unnecessary and would provide a basis for frivolous lawsuits. People are already protected in the workplace. I am opposed to continuing this.

Listen, I understand people have different opinions on this issue, and I respect those opinions. But as someone who has worked in the employment law area for all of my years in the statehouse and all of my years here, I see no basis or no need for this.

It must be repeated that this statement is simply not true, and that if Speaker Boehner really believes this is a true statement, then he must be an idiot. The fact is that 29 states do not have laws that protect LGBT people from being fired based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Since it is probably not the case that Boehner has risen to be second in line to become President of the United States while being an idiot, one can only conclude that Speaker Boehner is deliberately repeating a lie in order to deflect attention from the call to allow a vote on ENDA.

QUEER QUOTE: John Boehner and Chad Griffin Trade Barbs Over ENDA

The same day that the U.S. Senate took an important step towards passage of a federal LGBT rights bill, the Speaker of the House made it clear he opposes the legislation from becoming law, provoking sharp words from the head of the largest LGBT rights group in the United States. The Senate voted 61-30 to bring ENDA to the floor, but before that happened John Boehner had his spokesperson release a statement saying "The Speaker believes this legislation will increase frivolous litigation and cost American jobs, especially small business jobs." Additionally, the Speaker's office also said that "We have always believed this is covered by existing law. [This is] not a new issue or a new position -- it's a longstanding position, and, frankly, not 'news' at all. This has been his position, on the record, for years, stated publicly many times."

Chad Griffin, head of the Human Rights Campaign, reacted to the false assertion that current law already protects LGBT people from employment discrimination by saying: "The Speaker, of all people, should certainly know what it's like to go to work every day afraid of being fired. Instead of letting the far right trample him again, it's time for Speaker Boehner to stand with the majority of everyday Republican voters and support ENDA."

What the Speaker is doing is continuing to bolster the incorrect impression held by 69% of Americans that anti-LGBT discrimination is already illegal, thus decreasing the momentum to actually enact the policy into law. This is truly odious behavior by a public official, because lack of LGBT employment discrimination has actual negative impacts on actual people.

Hat/tip to Talking Points Memo

BREAKING! U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud (ME-2) Comes Out As Gay

Mike Michaud is a Democratic congressman from Maine and candidate
for Governor.  He publicly confirmed he is gay on Monday November 4.

Mike Michaud is a 6-term Democratic Congressman representing the 2nd Congressional District of Maine who is also running for the Democratic Nomination for Governor of Maine (and has been the leading contender in most polls). In articles published on Monday Michaud revealed that he is gay.

Growing up in a large Franco-American Catholic family, it’s never been in my nature to talk about myself. I write this now merely to let my opponents and the outside interests who fund them know that I am not ashamed of who I am. And if seeing someone from my background, in my position, openly acknowledge the fact that he’s gay makes it a little bit easier for future generations to live their lives openly and without fear, all the better. 

I don’t plan to make my personal life or my opponents’ personal lives an issue in this campaign. We’ve had enough negativity in our politics and too many personal attacks over the last few years. We owe it to the people of Maine to focus on how we get our state back on track.

Michaud has a reputation as one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, with a 10% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America and is a card-carrying member of the Blue Dog caucus in the U.S. House. Wow, a 58-year-old, openly gay, pro-life Democratic candidate for Governor of Maine.

Michaud's announcement means there are now 7 openly LGBT members of the U.S. House of Representatives, with Michaud having the most seniority.

It should be an interesting to watch how various political constituencies react to Michaud's announcement!

Hat/tip to Chris Geidner

Congress Ends Government Shutdown And Raises Debt Limit

The Congress passed a bipartisan agreement to end the shutdown of the federal government and allow it to borrow money to finance the national debt. The U.S. House passed the measure 285-144 and the U.S. Senate passed it 81-18. The agreement was brokered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and passed the House with the vote of every single Democratic member (198) and was opposed by a majority (144) of the Republican Congressional majority.

The federal government is funded through January 15, 2014 and the debt ceiling is lifted until around February 7, 2014.

GRAPHIC: Explains Why GOP Acts The Way It Does

Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker explains why the GOP majority in the U.S. House voted to shut down the federal government for the first time in 16 years last night. It was primarily due the far rught wing of the Republican majority, who have been dubbed the "suicide caucus" by fellow conservative commentators.

As the above map, detailing the geography of the suicide caucus, shows, half of these districts are concentrated in the South, and a quarter of them are in the Midwest, while there’s a smattering of thirteen in the rural West and four in rural Pennsylvania (outside the population centers of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh). Naturally, there are no members from New England, the megalopolis corridor from Washington to Boston, or along the Pacific coastline. 

These eighty members represent just eighteen per cent of the House and just a third of the two hundred and thirty-three House Republicans. They were elected with fourteen and a half million of the hundred and eighteen million votes cast in House elections last November, or twelve per cent of the total. In all, they represent fifty-eight million constituents. That may sound like a lot, but it’s just eighteen per cent of the population. 

[...] 

In short, these eighty members represent an America where the population is getting whiter, where there are few major cities, where Obama lost the last election in a landslide, and where the Republican Party is becoming more dominant and more popular. Meanwhile, in national politics, each of these trends is actually reversed. 

In one sense, these eighty members are acting rationally. They seem to be pushing policies that are representative of what their constituents back home want. But even within the broader Republican Party, they represent a minority view, at least at the level of tactics (almost all Republicans want to defund Obamacare, even if they disagree about using the issue to threaten a government shutdown).

So this explains why Republicans seem so far out of touch with the rest of the American population. It's because they actually are!

Hat/tip to Rachel Maddow.

Federal Gov't Shuts Down Due To GOP Intransigence

The federal government shutdown at 12:01 am this morning when Republicans who control the U.S. House refused to pass a "clean continuing resolution" that would authorize the federal government to spend funds. Republicans are insisting that various public policy positions they want to be enacted into law be included in any legislation that funds the government. Democrats, who control the United States Senate and the Presidency, refuse to go along with these demands.

It's amazing for me to think that just 6 weeks ago I was still working at a federal agency (National Science Foundation) that is now shut down along with every other "non-essential" federal agency. My best wishes go out to all my former co-workers there and I hope that you all are not permanently impacted negatively by the political shenanigans going on in Congress.

Godless Wednesday: Religious Affiliations of U.S. House On A Map

Buzzfeed has mapped out the religious affiliation of all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and displayed their religion in a map of their districts.

There are 31 religions represented in the House, including 26 different sects of Christianity. Catholics make up the largest group with 136 members, followed by Baptists with 66 members, Methodists with 45 members, Anglicans/Episcopalians with 35 members, Presbyterians with 28 members, and Jews with 22 members. There is only one atheist.

The majority of Catholics and Jews are Democrats, and the majority of Anglicans/Episcopalians, Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, Mormons. and Presbyterians are Republican. Among religions with more than more than five seats, Jews are the most partisan; 21 of the 22 Jews are Democrats. Mormons are the second most partisan; seven of the eight Mormons are Republicans.

Other than states with a single seat, Idaho and Utah are the only states to be represented exclusively by a single religion.

Do you really think there is only one member of the U.S. House of Representatives? Yet, it is religious people, not irreligious people who complain vociferously about being discriminated against and marginalized in the public sphere.

I think this map is a good counter argument to such spurious claims.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God.

Saturday Politics: Racial Disparities Between Republican and Democrat U.S. House Districts

The above graphic explains why Members of Congress who are Republicans and Democrats have very different feelings about immigration reform and other issues. Republican Members of Congress represent congressional districts generally have more White people and fewer people of color than Democrats.

Celebrity Friday: Marcus Brandon, Black Gay Congressional Candidate

Interesting news! Openly gay African American state Representative from North Carolina has taken out papers to run for Congressman Mel Watts U.S. House seat, NC-12.

Democratic State Rep. Marcus Brandon made his intentions to seek Congressman Mel Watt's 12th District seat official, according to Federal Election Commission documents made public this week. 

Watt is President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Federal Housing Finance Administration. If confirmed, a Democratic frenzy is expected in the race to replace him. 

A campaign treasurer for Brandon, a High Point political consultant, filed papers May 1, the day the president announced Watt's appointment, to create the Marcus Brandon for Congress political committee, the first step needed to raise money for a potential bid.

If elected, Brandon would be the first ever openly gay Black Member of  Congress. Mark Takano became the first LGBT person of color elected to Congress last year. Brandon was elected to the North Carolina State House of Representatives in 2010.

200+ Members of Congress File Brief Opposing DOMA

The last day for amici to file briefs in the DOMA (U.S. v. Windsor) and Prop 8 (Hollingsworth v. Perry) cases was today. One of the most significant briefs was signed by Members of Congress and U.S. Senators, more than 200 in total (212 to be exact).

Full list of signatories 

Lead signatories:

Nancy Pelosi

Steny H. Hoyer

James E. Clyburn

Jerrold Nadler

John Conyers, Jr.

Harry Reid

Richard J. Durbin

Dianne Feinstein

Patrick J. Leahy

Charles E. Schumer

Patty Murray

Jared Polis
David N. Cicilline
Sean Patrick Maloney
Mark Pocan
Kyrsten Sinema
Mark Takano 

Senators:

Tammy Baldwin

Michael F. Bennet

Richard Blumenthal

Barbara Boxer

Sherrod Brown

Maria Cantwell

Benjamin Cardin

Thomas R. Carper

Christopher Coons

William “Mo” Cowan

Al Franken

Kirsten Gillibrand

Tom Harkin

Martin Heinrich

Mazie K. Hirono

Tim Kaine

Angus S. King, Jr.

Amy Klobuchar

Frank R. Lautenberg

Claire McCaskill

Robert Menendez

Jeff Merkley

Barbara A. Mikulski

Christopher S. Murphy

Bernie Sanders

Brian Schatz

Jeanne Shaheen

Debbie Stabenow

Jon Tester

Mark Udall

Mark R. Warner

Elizabeth Warren

Sheldon Whitehouse

Ron Wyden 

Representatives:
Robert E. Andrews
Ron Barber
Karen Bass
Joyce Beatty
Xavier Becerra
Ami Bera
Timothy H. Bishop
Earl Blumenauer
Suzanne Bonamici
Robert A. Brady
Bruce L. Braley
Corinne Brown
Julia Brownley
Cheri Bustos
Lois Capps
Michael E. Capuano
Tony Cárdenas
John C. Carney, Jr.
André Carson
Matthew A. Cartwright
Kathy Castor
Joaquin Castro
Judy Chu
Yvette D. Clarke
Wm. Lacy Clay
Emanuel Cleaver
Steve Cohen
Gerald E. Connolly
Joe Courtney
Joseph Crowley
Elijah E. Cummings
Danny K. Davis
Susan A. Davis
Diana DeGette
John K. Delaney
Rosa L. DeLauro
Suzan K. DelBene
Theodore E. Deutch
John D. Dingell
Lloyd Doggett
Michael F. Doyle
Tammy Duckworth
Donna F. Edwards
Keith Ellison
Eliot L. Engel
Anna G. Eshoo
Elizabeth H. Esty
Sam Farr
Chaka Fattah
Bill Foster
Lois Frankel
Marcia L. Fudge
Tulsi Gabbard
John Garamendi
Joe Garcia
Alan Grayson
Al Green
Raúl M. Grijalva
Luis V. Gutierrez
Janice Hahn
Colleen W. Hanabusa
Alcee L. Hastings
Denny Heck
Brian Higgins
James A. Himes
Rush Holt
Michael M. Honda
Steven A. Horsford
Jared Huffman
Steve Israel
Sheila Jackson Lee
Hakeem S. Jeffries
Eddie Bernice Johnson
Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr.
Marcy Kaptur
William R. Keating
Joseph P. Kennedy III
Daniel T. Kildee
Derek Kilmer
Ann Kirkpatrick
Ann M. Kuster
James R. Langevin
John B. Larson
Barbara Lee
Sander M. Levin
John Lewis
David Loebsack
Zoe Lofgren
Alan S. Lowenthal
Nita M. Lowey
Michelle Lujan Grisham
Daniel B. Maffei
Carolyn B. Maloney
Edward J. Markey
Doris O. Matsui
Carolyn McCarthy
Betty McCollum
Jim McDermott
James P. McGovern
Jerry McNerney
Gregory W. Meeks
Grace Meng
Michael H. Michaud
George Miller
Gwen Moore
James P. Moran
Patrick Murphy
Grace F. Napolitano
Richard E. Neal
Gloria Negrete McLeod
Richard M. Nolan
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Beto O’Rourke
William L. Owens
Frank Pallone, Jr.
Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Ed Pastor
Donald M. Payne, Jr.
Ed Perlmutter
Gary C. Peters
Scott H. Peters
Chellie Pingree
David E. Price
Mike Quigley
Charles B. Rangel
Lucille Roybal-Allard
Raul Ruiz
C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger
Bobby L. Rush
Tim Ryan
Linda T. Sánchez
Loretta Sanchez
John P. Sarbanes
Janice D. Schakowsky
Adam B. Schiff
Bradley S. Schneider
Allyson Y. Schwartz
Robert C. “Bobby” Scott
José E. Serrano
Carol Shea-Porter
Brad Sherman
Albio Sires
Louise McIntosh Slaughter
Adam Smith
Jackie Speier
Eric Swalwell
Mike Thompson
John F. Tierney
Dina Titus
Paul Tonko
Niki Tsongas
Chris Van Hollen
Juan Vargas
Marc A. Veasey
Nydia M. Velázquez
Timothy J. Walz
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Maxine Waters
Henry A. Waxman
Peter Welch
John A. Yarmuth

Do you see your Member of Congress on this list? (Note every openly LGBT member of the House and Senate signed the brief).

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Godless Wednesday: Is U.S. Rep. Sinema An Atheist?

U.S. Representative Kyrsten Sinema, the first openly bisexual Member of Congress, was sworn in last week on a copy of the Constitution and is the only member who explicitly lists her religious affiliation as "None."

However, despite these facts, Rep. Sinema does not publicly identify as an atheist and atheists around the country are starting to wonder, does Sinema think there's something wrong with being identified as an atheist?

In an article titled "'Atheist' isn't a dirty word, congresswoman" on CNN's Religion blog, Harvard chaplain Chris Steadman says:

As a nontheist, atheist and nonbeliever (take your pick), I find this statement deeply problematic.

It is perfectly fine, of course, if Sinema isn’t a nontheist, and it is understandable that she would want to clarify misinformation about her personal beliefs. But to say that these terms are “not befitting of her life’s work or personal character” is offensive because it implies there is something unbefitting about the lives and characters of atheists or nonbelievers.

[...]

Why not instead say that she’s not an atheist, but so what if she was?

The 113th Congress is rich with diversity. As an interfaith activist, I am glad to see the religious composition of Congress more closely reflect the diversity of America. As a queer person, I’m glad that LGBT Americans are seeing greater representation in Washington.

But as a proud atheist and humanist, I’m disheartened that the only member of Congress who openly identifies as nonreligious has forcefully distanced herself from atheism in a way that puts down those of us who do not believe in God.

We are Americans of good character, too.

I agree wholeheartedly with Steadman's remarks and I want to add some thoughts. I see this debate over the label "atheist" similar to the debate over the word "feminist." Being a feminist means that you believe in complete equality between the sexes. Period.  That there are so many women (and men) who do not identify with the term (despite believing in the principle it embodies) is a direct result of the inequity feminism is trying to address (and a concerted effort by people who do not believe in equality to stigmatize the word).

To me, it's important to push back on those forces and re-affirm the principle of equality between the sexes by using the preferred, simplest term. Just like I see it is important to use the simplest term to communicate that I reject religion in all its forms, since the simplest way to do that is to reject the notion of "God"--ergo, the term "atheist."

What do you think?

Speaker Boehner Meets Gay Congressman's Family

Charles Dharapak / AP

Last week the 113th Congress was sworn in and John Boehner was re-elected Speaker of the U.S. House. One of his ceremonial duties in that position is to take pictures with all of the newly sworn in members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Happily, 7 of the new Congressmembers are members of the LGBT community, including Sean Patrick Maloney, representing the 18th Congressional District of New York. Pictured above is Boehner with  U.S. Representative Maloney, right, with his legally married husband Randy Florke, and their two kids!

It's really 2013, y'all!

Hat/tip to Chris Geidner of Buzzfeed.

U.S. Rep. Hanna (R-NY) Takes Pro-LGBT Positions

Richard Hanna is a Republican congressman from upstate New York, currently representing the 24th Congressional District (but will represent the 22nd District staring January 3, 2013 due to redistricting).
There are very few moderates in the House Republican caucus but Hanna can probably be considered one of them, since he "only" votes with the rest of the caucus less than 90% of the time.

Anyway, Hanna is making news this week for his announcement of pro-LGBT positions. He has signed off as a co-sponsor of the Uniting All Families Act, which would end discrimination in immigration laws against same-sex bi-national couples as well as the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA), which would repeal DOMA.

The Advocate has the details of Hanna's announcement:

“New York State allows all its citizens the freedom to marry the person they love,” he said. “Under the Tenth Amendment, the federal government has a Constitutional responsibility to respect New York’s right to set its own laws. It’s my job to see that it does. 

“It is right to extend equal protection under federal law to all couples who are legally married without infringing upon religious freedom and beliefs,” Hanna continued. “This legislation does not tell states who can be married or who must be treated as married, nor does it require any religious institution to violate their own convictions. 

“I respect the deeply held beliefs on both sides of this issue,” he said. “The simple fact remains that the federal government has a responsibility to ensure all legally married couples are treated equally under federal law – and this bill would achieve that proper standard.”

In addition to supporting DOMA repeal, Hanna joined fellow Republican U.S. Representative Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania have signed on to the Uniting American Families Act, Immigration Equality announced earlier this month.

Hat/tip to LGBT Think Progress

Next Congress To Have 7 Out LGBT Members!

The 113th Congress of the United States will have a record seven people who are either lesbian, gay or bisexual. In the U.S. House there will be four newly elected Members who are LGB: Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18), Kyrsten Sinema )AZ-09), Mark Pocan (WI-05) and Mark Takano CA-41). In addition, there are 2 LGB incumbents who will be returning to the U.S. House: Jared Polis (CO-02) and David Cicilline (RI-01).

And in a dramatic first, lesbian Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (WI-05) gave up her congressional seat and ran (against former governor and Bush cabinet member Tommy Thompson) for the open U.S. Senate seat to represent Wisconsin. She not only became the first openly LGB person to be elected to the U.S. Senate but the 5th Congressional District of Wisconsin became the first congressional district in the United States to be represented by two different openly gay U.S. representatives (Baldwin and Pocan).

Two other important historic firsts will be achieved on January 3rd, 2013 when the new Congress is sworn in. Takano will be the first-ever openly LGBT person of color congressmember and Sinema will be the first-ever openly bisexual member of Congress, one of the youngest, at age 36, and one of the few who claims to be religiously unaffiliated.

The 6 openly LGB members of the U.S. House make up 1.4% of the 435-member body, which is still an under-representation of the 3.4% of Americans who are willing to tell a pollster that they are LGB or the 9% of Americans who are estimated to be LGB.

Baldwin will be 1 of 100 United States Senators, but in a body which allows a single member great latitude to wield disproportional power over federal legislation and public policy.

Godless Wednesday: Lone Atheist Loses House Seat

Congressman Pete Stark has long been identified as the lone member of Congress to openly associate himself with the label "atheist." Stark had represented a district in Northern California in the U.S. House since 1973(!) but in last week's congressional election he lost an all-Democrat match-up (courtesy California's new top 2 general election format) to Eric Salwell by almost 10,000 votes.

Interestingly, Kyrsten Sinema, the first openly bisexual person elected to Congress (that we have been following on this blog since she won her primary earlier this year) has reportedly flirted with being an openly atheist member as well. She won her race (over a Black male Republican!) by a mere 6,000 votes and for several days after the election it was too close to call.

During her race Sinema described herself as a "notnheist" but now her campaign spokesperson is claiming the Congressperson-elect is rejecting that label.

While Sinema's campaign was initially unavailable for comment after Tuesday's election, spokesman Justin Unga said Friday that Sinema does not consider herself a nonbeliever, adding that she prefers a "secular approach.'' 

"Kyrsten believes the terms non-theist, atheist or nonbeliever are not befitting of her life's work or personal character,'' Unga said in email. "She does not identify as any of the above."

And doesn't that just speak volumes? After making headlines all over the country (and world) as the first openly bisexual person elected to the United States lower legislative body, Sinema apparently feels like it would be a "bridge too far" to also be known as someone who is also godless.

Hat/tip to Friendly Atheist