National
Senate committee holds over DOMA repeal vote
Leahy says measure will be voted on next week
Sen. Patrick Leahy (left) with Sens. Herb Kohl and Dianne Feinstein (right) (Blade photo by Michael Key)
A Senate panel held over a previously scheduled debate and vote on legislation to repeal Defense of Marriage after members opposed to the anti-gay law read statements calling for its demise.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said during the markup that action was holding over on the bill, known as the Respect for Marriage Act, under request from Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-Iowa).
Committee rules allow for any member of the panel to hold bills over when they first appear on the executive committee agenda, so putting action on legislation or other business isn’t unusual. The panel has held over action on every bill that has come before it this year.
Leahy said the Respect for Marriage Act would be “voted on one way or the other next week” during the committee’s next executive session and he hopes the legislation will pass.
Observers are expecting amendments on the DOMA repeal legislation to come up when the committee takes up the bill next week, although the nature of the amendments remains uncertain. Opponents of DOMA repeal may attempt to offer “poison pill” amendments to derail the Respect for Marriage Act from moving forward.
Grassley, who opposes DOMA repeal, said during the markup he’s working on the amendments to the bill and members should expect to vote on them next week, although he didn’t identify any particular amendments he would offer.
“I’ve circulated amendments to the bill, and am working on more, so member should be prepared to consider amendments to the bill at the next committee’s executive session meeting,” Grassley said.
According to the Courage Campaign’s Prop 8 Trial Tracker, Grassley intends to offer an amendment that would strike Section 2 of the Respect for Marriage Act, which enables federal benefits to flow to married same-sex couples no matter the state in which they reside. Grassley’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request to confirm that such an amendment is in the works.
Democratic senators who oppose DOMA spoke out in favor repeal of the 1996 anti-gay law, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage, before the session adjourned.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the sponsor of the legislation, noted she was one of 14 senators who voted against DOMA in 1996 and said she remains opposed to the law for the same reasons.
“DOMA, in my view, is clearly discriminatory,” Feinstein said. “So, in my view, DOMA is a pernicious denial to one class of legally married couples of more than 1,100 federal rights and benefits that are provided to all other members of that class — legally married couples.”
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) invoked the work of 19th century French political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville, who wrote after visiting the United States, “The one thing that distinguishes America from any other country is the inexorable march to equality.”
“That march continues,” Schumer said. “It still burns brightly in the American breast that we should treat everybody equally. The repeal of DOMA will be a large step in that direction. It will happen. It will happen, and let’s just hope it happens sooner rather than later.”
National
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
Designer/activist wins for work on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
It was a historic night at the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday as Queen Jean won the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, making her the first out transgender person to win a Tony.
“This experience has been monumental. We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,” she said. “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm. So I just want to say, thank you all so much for this incredible honor. The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
She won the award for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and was also nominated for best costume design of a play for “Liberation.”
In addition to her stage work, Queen Jean is the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people in New York City.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
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