Just Married

  How amazing is it that for the first time in the history of the United States we have someone serving in Congress who is not only openly gay, but legally married to their partner? Congratulations to Congressman Barney Frank and his new husband, Jim Ready, who got married yesterday.

A Few Thoughts on the State of the Union

It's still a bit shocking, after eight long years of George W. Bush, to tune in to a Presidential address and come away from it moved by the President's eloquence. There is no doubt that President Obama is a wonderful speaker who can alternate between a relaxed and amusing moment and soul stirring rhetoric with ease.

I have to admit that I enjoyed the way he hammered the failings of the Bush Administration and the Republican Congress by pointing out the massive Deficit that he inherited from the supposedly fiscally conservative right.

The freeze on Government spending he declared for 2011 really worries me, though, as does the fact that in spite of what the President said tonight, the Democrats seem to be backing off Health Care reform once again out of fear for their jobs.

I have been gravely disappointed over this past year with this administration's lack of action on any of the campaign promises the President made to LGBT Americans. Tonight, he once again brought up ending the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy so that LGBT Americans can serve openly in the armed services.

It was a brief line in the speech, but I for one will be paying close attention to see if this time he will live up to what he promises:

"This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are."

No mention was made about his other campaign promise to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

The other moment in President Obama's speech that really pleased me was when he addressed the heinous decision made last week by the Supreme Court which will allow corporations or anyone else to spend as much as they like on political campaigns, sounding a death knell for any chance at real Campaign Finance Reform in this country.

"Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections. Well, I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that's why I'm urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong."

I've never seen a President take on a Supreme Court decision during the State of the Union before, but it certainly needed to be addressed. Watching Justice Alito sourly shake his head and grumble under his breath while those around him stood to cheer was icing on top of the cake.

The end of the President's speech was certainly stirring, but then so were the campaign speeches. The first year hasn't been very promising, but there is still time for this Administration to turn itself around. I'd like nothing more than to see President Obama become a great leader and really bring about change for the better.

Time to Get to Work

Just a few things tonight.

I saw this on Towleroad earlier, and I have to say I'm really impressed by Reverend Pam Shepherd of Ashland, Oregon. Pam and her fellow members of the clergy at the First Congregational United Church of Christ have decided not to sign any marriage licence until they are allowed to sign them for any couple that wants to get married, gay or straight. Reverend Shepherd had this to say:

"We've blurred equal protection under the law and civil rights of all people with the right of faith communities to marry or refuse to marry anyone they want," she said. "Our faith communities need to struggle about what the Bible says about gay people and gay marriages, but the government should be deciding who gets civil rights based on the Constitution. The Constitution is very clearly based on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and if marriage is not the pursuit of happiness, what is?"

We could certainly use more allies like Reverend Shepherd who take stands like these, no matter how small they may seem individually.

Speaking of allies, 365Gay has an article about the promises that many of those newly elected to the 111th Congress made on gay issues and about the expectations that those promises will be followed through on quickly. This includes repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act, as well as passing the Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Act and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, among others.

If the Democrats, with their strong majorities in both houses and an ally in the White House, don't act quickly to make these changes, they will have no one to blame but themselves and it will certainly come back to haunt them on election day.

The same holds true, of course, for health care reform, ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and countless other issues that aren't strictly LGBT related.

There is a lot to be done, but for the first time in many years, it seems like we're actually in a position to accomplish real change.

Prop 8 Bullies, Changes in Congress

The supporters of California's Prop 8 are so very sure of the merits of their case that they're resorting to threats to make sure that it's upheld by the state Supreme Court. An Attorney for the Prop 8 forces made it clear to the Los Angeles Times that if the Justices vote to overturn the proposition, they'll likely face a recall vote! Nothing like an old fashioned school yard bully mentality of 'Do it our way or else!' to get the case started, right?

Truly disgusting.

In other news, the health of our planet got a bit of a boost today. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce, chaired for the last two years by Congressman John Dingell of Michigan, will have a new Chairman in the upcoming Congress. Dingell will be replaced, thanks to a vote today by the Democratic members of the House, by Congressman Henry Waxman of California, a strong advocate for the Environment. Dingell, largely seen as a tool of the Auto Industry and of major electric utilities, had weakened any attempts to effect real change in the fight against global warming by representing the needs of the Auto Industry first and foremost.

Since the majority of power in Washington could be said to lie in the hands of Committee Chairs (they have the power to hold legislation back from getting a full vote in the House or in the Senate, for instance, simply by denying it a Committee vote to move it to the floor), this is a big deal, and not just for the environment. This particular committee also has oversight of health care programs, telecommunications, energy, and consumer protection. Having a strong liberal like Waxman chairing this Committee increases the chances for real change.

It's also an important change for another reason: Committees in Congress are largely chaired by the rule of Seniority. The longest serving members of the majority party typically have a lock on all Chairmanships. This has wrecked havoc in the past, for instance in the lead up to and during the Civil Rights movement when the most Senior members in the House and particularly in the Senate were long serving Southern Democrats, re-elected time and again without any real opposition, who were adamantly opposed to any change on matters of race relations.

Today, the Democrats in the House voted to set Seniority aside and go with someone who was better suited to the job. Let's hope that becomes a trend.

On another note, there are now more women serving in Congress than at any other point in history, including a record 17 women in the incoming Senate. But before we start celebrating that fact, Maria Cocco has an article about just how slowly we're moving towards gender equality in Government that is worth checking out.

Today is another Luke day on As the World Turns and I'll be back sometime tonight with a post about that.

Prop 8 Goes to Court; Obama Names LGBT Team Members; Out in Congress

If you hadn't heard yet, the California Supreme Court has taken up cases on the legality of Prop 8. Gays & Lesbians in California won't be able to marry while the court hears arguments and deliberates on the case, which some opponents of the proposition had hoped the court would allow, but at least there is a chance that Prop 8 could be nullified.

This is another step in the ongoing battle for marriage equality and we'll all be watching closely. I think the demonstrations all over the country this past Saturday send the clear message that a growing number of people want change and eventually the courts will catch up to the will of the people.

In other news, President-elect Obama has named seven out gay & lesbian members to his various transitional teams as he prepares to take over the Presidency. Among them is Michael Guest, the former Ambassador to Romania who left the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute last year in protest of the department's refusal to extend spousal benefits to same sex partners of State Department employees working overseas. This refusal was a real issue beyond just the basic injustice of it, because part of the benefits being denied to same sex partners were basic security protections.

Hopefully, under the next Secretary of State, this policy will become a thing of the past.

By the way, did you know that just over two weeks ago voters in Colorado elected the first openly gay freshman Congressman in United States history? Congressman Jared Polis will be only the third ever openly gay member of Congress, but he's the first out gay man ever elected as a non-incumbent. Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts is, of course, the first out gay man to serve in Congress, but he was already in office when he came out.

The third out gay member of Congress is Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, who was also out when elected to office for the first time in 1998, making her the first out Lesbian ever elected to Congress and the first out person ever elected to a seat they didn't already hold.

On the one hand, it's sad that in 2009 only 3 openly gay people will have served in Congress, but on the other hand you could say that there are now more openly gay Members of Congress than ever before, and I'm sure the number will continue to grow. It also doesn't take in to account the many closeted members of the House and Senate who have served over the years and are no doubt still serving now.

365Gay has an article up on incoming Congressman Polis, you should check it out.

I'll be back later this evening with a post on today's As the World Turns.