U.S. House Members Form First Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus

U.S. representatives Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Barney Frank (D-Mass.) announced today the formation of the LGBT Equality Caucus. The 52-member bipartisan group, which includes two Republicans, marks the nation’s first congressional caucus with the express purpose of advancing equal rights for LGBT people, repealing discriminatory laws and educating lawmakers on gay issues. Baldwin and Frank, both openly gay, cochair the caucus.

Baldwin told The Advocate that the caucus’s primary concern this session is “to educate and prepare for major legislative victories” once a supportive commander in chief steps in the White House. Specifically, she referenced the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). President Bush had threatened to veto both, but neither made it to his desk.

Baldwin also noted the significance of launching the caucus with bipartisan support. “We have to have the most effective communication possible with both sides,” she said. “Our Republican charter members will be great at educating and being role models for their side of the aisle.”

The two Republican charter members are Connecticut’s Chris Shays and Florida’s Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, but others are expected to join this week. Shays agreed that forming the LGBT Equality Caucus is pivotal in educating fellow lawmakers. But he sees another reason why this particular caucus will be successful. Unlike most caucuses, which are helmed by a Republican and a Democratic cochair, “in this case, you have two cochairs who happen to be one gay and one lesbian -- individuals who have experienced the very discrimination we’re talking about.” That, he said, will show other lawmakers firsthand that being gay is not a threat to the social fabric of the country.

The idea to form an LGBT Equality Caucus goes back to 2003. That’s when Baldwin began convening an ad hoc group of Representatives to rally around bills that affect gays and lesbians. During those early legislative sessions, the group fended off attacks, such as the antigay Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have defined marriage in the U.S. Constitution as between a man and woman.

By the current session the ad hoc group had moved from defense to offense, advancing gay-friendly bills such as ENDA. That's when Baldwin said she realized formalizing the group into a caucus would expand its membership and increase its clout. “We expect to use the Caucus extensively for briefings,” Baldwin said, explaining that caucuses help publicize briefings and are valuable in nimbly bringing witnesses to Capitol Hill. In addition, she said, the LGBT Equality Caucus will serve as an information clearinghouse with a website and Listservs to ensure speedy updates and a higher level of awareness about LGBT issues.

Over the longer haul, Baldwin hopes these tools will help the caucus work to eliminate bullying in schools, eradicate the disparities LGBT people experience in health care systems, address the mental health issues that arise from discrimination, increase research and prevention programs for HIV/AIDS, and advocate for international LGBT issues. “We have an administration that doesn’t include LGBT rights as a part of human rights,” Baldwin said. “Congress needs to speak up when we hear of mass arrests or asylum issues.”

Beyond cochairs Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Frank (D-Mass.), members of the new caucus include these representatives: Rob Andrews (D-N.J.), Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), Lois Capps (D-Calif.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Mike Honda (D-Calif.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Howard Berman (D-Calif.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Robert Brady (D-Pa.), Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), Susan Davis (D-Calif.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), Phil Hare (D-Ill.), Rush Holt (D-N.J.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), James Moran (D-Va.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-Washington, D.C.), Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Steven Rothman (D-N.J.), José Serrano (D-N.Y.), Chris Shays (R-Conn.), Pete Stark (D-Calif.), Betty Sutton (D-Ohio), Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.), Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.). (Trenton Straube, The Advocate)

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Name: Margaret Porter
Date posted: 2008-07-02 1:54 PM
Hometown: Indianapolis, In

Comment:

It is quite thrilling to see people finally step forward to represent the glbt communities! Where I wonder are the representatives from Indiana? We seem to be stuck in the past somewhere, still attempting to change State Laws to prohibit marriage or any kind of legal protection for our many tax paying gay and lesbian citizens!!!!Wake up hoosiers and spend some time on worthwhile citizen problems instead of the myriad of illegals in the state who get by daily with who knows what!!! Just let a gay couple suffer some kind of mishap and see how they are ignored by attorneys, judges etc. Check out the case of Conrad vs Atkins an ongoing saga of some three years now!!!!!

If you would like to submit a comment for posting, please fill out the form above.

All comments submitted via this form are subject to posting or publication. (To send a private letter to an Advocate editor or writer, please use the e-mail button at the top of the page, or use snail mail.) If you would like your comment considered for publication in The Advocate magazine, please include your full name, your city of residence, and a phone number where you can be reached during business hours so that we can confirm your identity. Your e-mail address and telephone number are strictly confidential and will not be shared or used for any purpose other than to contact you about your comment.

See the Contact page for sending comments for reasons other than responding to Advocate editorial and news stories.

Please note that comments sent by fax or snail mail are unlikely to be posted, although they will be considered for publication along with all letters received via e-mail or via this Web page. Comments that chiefly concern Advocate.com content will be considered for posting only on the Web site. The Advocate reserves the right to edit submitted comments for grammar, spelling, obscenities, or libel; we will, however, do our best to preserve the original comment's style and intent. Comments considered for publication in The Advocate magazine may also be edited for length.

More Exclusives

View From the Hill: The End of DADT?
Defense Secretary Robert Gates revealed that lawyers are exploring ways to ease enforcement of the military's gay ban, but cautioned that the law doesn't leave much wiggle room. He need look no further than DOD history for a lesson in altering the policy.

Hot Sheet: Week of July 5
When you get back from that big 4th of July barbecue, unwind with Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno and your favorite B-movie-mocking, basic cable robots.

Hungry Like the Wolf
A master of viola, ukulele, piano, and harp, Patrick Wolf is a music prodigy -- one who, the night before this interview, spit on a cop and got himself arrested.

Soapside: Advocate's Guide to Daytime
Forbes March talks about playing gay, Otalia fans outraged, update on One Life to Live’s Patricia Maurceri’s firing over gay plot point, Phillip Chancellor III big reveal, and Erica Kane goes to Africa.

The Faces of Federal Prop. 8
With the federal challenge to Prop. 8 moving full speed ahead, Advocate.com sits down with the two couples named as plaintiffs in the suit.

Mommy, the Gays Are Coming
After a year of advancements and celebration for gay and lesbian Colombians, the community takes to the streets of Bogota for the country's biggest pride ever.

The Pride of Antwerp
Advocate.com hits the gay-friendly streets of Antwerp with openly gay police commissioner Serge Muyters.

Excerpt: Mean Little Deaf Queer
In an excerpt from her humorous and harrowing new memoir, Mean Little Deaf Queer, Terry Galloway recalls her early childhood, describing feelings of ugliness, confusion about gender, and being one of the boys.

Top Political Blogs
From Joe.My.God to The Daily Beast, Advocate.com spotlights a few of the best blogs that cover politics, inside and way outside the Beltway.

The Diva of French Television
A hot young screenwriter who has made gay OK for millions of French viewers, Nicolas Mercier sips champagne, dons a feathered hat, and says he wants to see Colin Farrell and Jude Law go at it.