Tag Archives: Senate

Openly gay Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is reportedly mulling a run to replace the retiring Sen. Herb Kohl, who leaves office in 2012. If successful, Baldwin would become the first openly gay U.S. Senator in history. The Victory Fund is already promising Baldwin their full support. “This would obviously be a top priority for us. Tammy Baldwin has been an …

Last month beleaguered GOP Sen. John Ensign announced that he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2012. But today his aides revealed that Ensign will resign tomorrow. Ensign has fallen under investigation by the ethics committee in the wake of an alleged sexual relationship with an aide and accusations that he steered business to her lobbyist husband. His departure could clear the …

Responding to pressure from the Courage Campaign, Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) has agreed to become the tenth and final vote needed to advance the bill to repeal DOMA out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. While the repeal effort has a reasonable chance of success in the Senate, it is, of course, doomed in the GOP-dominated House.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act will be reintroduced in the Senate today. U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Mark Kirk, R-Ill., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, announced that they introduced the fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit most employers across the country from discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workers. The bill, known as ENDA, would make …

Because energy efficient lightbulbs are proof that we’re being crushed beneath the heels of the oppressive collective. Or something.

The U.S. Senate has passed a Boxer/Feinstein-sponsored resolution honoring Elizabeth Taylor. It reads, in part: Whereas Elizabeth Taylor used her fame to raise awareness and advocate for people affected by HIV/AIDS;Whereas, at a time when HIV/AIDS was largely an unknown disease and those who were affected by HIV/AIDS were ostracized and shunned, Elizabeth Taylor called for and demonstrated compassion by …

Perkins can’t even tell the truth with his own YouTube headlines: “Tony Perkins Responds to Sen. Chuck Schumer’s Praise of FRC.” Praise? Where?

“All children should always feel safe and secure in our schools. While at school to learn, some students are forced to endure harassment, violence, bullying, and intimidation because of their sexual orientation. This is completely unacceptable. Our laws ensure that all students have access to public education in a safe environment free from discrimination, and these laws must guarantee these …

Scandal-plagued adulterer and defender of marriage Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) announced today that he will not seek reelection in 2012. Nevada Sen. John Ensign, facing an ethics investigation stemming from an affair with a campaign aide, said Monday he would not seek reelection because he wanted to spare his family from an “exceptionally ugly” campaign. “At this point in my …

Think Progress has the full story.

“I want to thank Speaker Boehner and the House Republican leadership for taking action to defend this critical law that was enacted by a bipartisan majority in Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton. It is unfortunate that President Obama decided to no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act. While much of the debate in Washington is focused on …

It’s a pity no one was there to hear him.

Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) announced tonight that he will not run for reelection in 2012, making him the fifth Senate Democrat to declare their retirement at the end of the current term. Akaka was first appointed to the Senate in 1990 after Sen. Spark Matsunaga died of prostate cancer. After months of thinking about my political future, I am announcing …

“Dear Mr. Speaker, In a letter to you last week, the Attorney General advised that the Administration has concluded that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional and therefore will cease to defend the statute in pending litigation. It is in the best interests of taxpayers and the constitution for you to refrain from appointing special …

Just launched by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). Via Huffington Post: We must repeal this discriminatory law. There is no reason same-sex couples should be denied the same rights that my husband and I and so many other straight Americans enjoy. For me it comes down to the very simple principles that every American should be able to marry the person …

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) emailed his constituents today with a promise to cosponsor Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s coming bill to repeal DOMA. As a Vermonter who has been married for 48 years, I believe it is important to encourage and to sanction committed relationships; relationships that encourage us all to give back to our community; and relationships that complete our lives. …

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) today vowed to introduce a bill to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act. “My own belief is that when two people love each other and enter the contract of marriage, the Federal government should honor that. I opposed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. It was the wrong law then; it is the wrong law …