Since the new Congress and administration took office more than six months ago, not one pro-LGBT bill has been signed into law. Now, the nation’s largest LGBT organization is launching a campaign to demand an end to the stalemate.
The Human Rights Campaign’s “No Excuses” grassroots lobby seeks to put everyday Americans in direct contact with their Congressmembers while they’re working out of their district offices during the summer recess, calling on them to take action on key issues affecting the LGBT community.
HRC president Joe Solmonese said the campaign is a “natural outgrowth of where we are in the movement,” as LGBT constituents have taken on a more proactive role in the national political scene.
“For the last two election cycles, we’ve called on members of our community to become more involved in electoral politics like never before,” Solmonese told PGN this week. “In Pennsylvania several years ago, I think that probably more LGBT people than ever before were involved in the effort to defeat Rick Santorum and elect Robert Casey. And we’ve also put a number of allies in place in Congress. But what we are now seeing is that, whether it’s in the House or the Senate or the White House, LGBT issues are not advancing as fast as we’d like them to.”
HRC is asking constituents to speak with their representatives about such topics as the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the passage of an inclusive Employment Nondiscrimination Act and the Domestic-Partner Benefits and Obligations Act, and the inclusion of LGBT individuals in immigration reform.
Solmonese said legislation to overturn DOMA is currently in the works and that he expects Congress this session could make progress on ENDA and the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
The ability to garner the votes needed to advance these and other measures, Solmonese said, could best be fueled by LGBT individuals disclosing their personal narratives to their elected officials one on one, allowing Congressmembers to see firsthand the impact of their decisions.
“The most compelling lobbyists we have are members of our own community,” he said. “We know this just from the advances we’ve made so far. Nothing moves people more than when we’re out and open about who we are and telling our stories. Nothing’s more powerful than when you tell your story, giving a member of Congress a name, a face and a personal circumstance to relate to.”
That such individuals are the Congressmembers’ own constituents also sends a powerful message, Solmonese said.
“If you say, ‘I’m facing workplace discrimination, I’ve been the victim of hate-based violence, these are the economic inequities my partner and I face and, oh, by the way, I live right here in Scranton or in Pittsburgh and I vote for you and I know a lot of other people who do as well,’ that really can get their attention,” he said.
Those interested in scheduling meetings can notify HRC of their intent through the campaign Web site, and then will be connected with their local HRC steering committee for assistance, or contacted directly by HRC staffers if they live in an area without a regional HRC panel.
Individuals with little or no experience discussing these issues with their elected officials can take advantage of the “No Excuses” toolkit posted on the site, which provides guidelines for how to hold the most effective meetings. The site offers information on talking points, advice for conducting conversations and tools to learn more about each member’s record on LGBT issues.
Meanwhile, the campaign is not aimed just at elected officials who have a record of opposing LGBT rights. Solmonese said Congressmembers at all levels of the spectrum of support could benefit from listening to the concerns of their LGBT constituents.
“In some cases, it’s compelling the members to take on leadership roles in advancing these issues, and in other cases it’s really using the opportunity to educate members about the issues. And some of the issues are new; I mean, the idea that we’d have the opportunity to extend domestic-partner benefits to federal employees or eliminate the taxes people pay on their domestic-partner benefits are issues that are new on the radar for many members, because this is the first opportunity we have to advance them.”
Solmonese said the elected officials who’ve received mid-level ratings on the HRC Scorecard, which rates Congressmembers based on their voting record on LGBT issues, could be the most integral tool in pushing forward pro-LGBT legislation, encouraging individuals to focus on those who rated 50, 60 or 70 percent.
For more information about the “No Excuses” campaign, visit http://noexcuses.hrc.org.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].