Category: Legislation

October 28, 2009 – Washington, D.C.
Culminating years of effort by leaders across the nation, President Barack Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law in a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House. This is the first federal law to specifically protect transgender people, adding protections for gender, gender identity, disability and sexual orientation to the 1969 Hate Crime Act, which already covered race, color, religion and national origin.

"Transgender people have lived in fear far too long," said Denise Leclair, executive director of the International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE). "When we are repeatedly targeted with acts of violence, we are deprived of the basic rights and freedoms that other people take for granted. This law sends a clear signal that we deserve, and are entitled to equal protection."

North Dakota is a key state in the fight for ENDA.

There are three votes in play here. Please call them today to ask for their support. Facts and contact info after the jump.


Senator Kent Conrad is a Democrat who previously voted for the hate crimes bill. According to Wikipedia, Conrad has a mixed record on gay rights. While he personally is opposed to gay marriage, he voted against a proposed constitutional ban on the matter and has supported bills that prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation. Call him at 701-258-4648 to support S1584.

Senator Byron Dorgan is a Democrat who has previously cosponsored a bill that inclusides the language of sexual orientation. Co-sponsorship suggests a higher level of support He also voted for the hate crimes bill. According to Wikipedia, As chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee, Dorgan is one of the most powerful Democrats in the Senate. He recently sent a letter to a constituent stating his support for sexual orientation discrimination protections, but said nothing about gender identity. Does he support an inclusive ENDA? Find out. Call him at 701-250-4618 to support S1584.

Representative Earl Pomeroy is a Blue Dog Democrat. However, he voted yes on the hate crimes bill and voted yes on ENDA in 2007. Call him at 701-224-0355 to support HR 3017.

Please list any info you get in the comments section below. We need to know where these three are on ENDA.

If you want to see info on the ENDA target list for the Senate, click here.

A vote on ENDA, HR 3017, is rapidly approaching in September sometime, and where are we? According to my calculations over at the Facebook Inclusive ENDA House spreadsheet, we're at 205 confirmed votes, and we need 218. That's close, but no cigar yet. If you take a close look at the spreadsheet, you'll see there are 33 states with Representatives who are unconfirmed on ENDA. Them's a lot of states.

Today's exciting question is who's who on ENDA over in Washington State? If you want to play along at home, featured below is a picture of a smiling U.S. Representative whose position on ENDA is unconfirmed. Can you guess who it is?

WA State Representatives
Jay Inslee - Co-sponsor of HR 3017
Rick Larsen - Co-sponsor of HR 3017
Brian Baird - Co-sponsor of HR 3017
Doc Hastings - Probably not (voted against in 2007)
Cathy McMorris Rodgers - Confirmed no
Norman D. Dicks - Confirmed yes
Jim McDermott - Co-sponsor
David G. Reichert - Unconfirmed
Adam Smith - Co-sponsor of HR 3017

Fun Facts and Contact Info below the jump.

If you answered Cathy McMorris Rogers, I'm sorry, you're not a winner today.

Representative Dave Reichert is a Republican representing the 8th District of Washington State way over there on the west side of Washington State.

Who is this man and how likely is he to vote for ENDA?

Quite likely, if some people from Washington state pick up that phone and dial.

Rep. Reichert voted yes! on hate crimes in 07 and 09 and voted yes! on ENDA in 2007. According to Wikipedia, he was the Sheriff of the Year in 2004 and narrowly won election in 2008 53-47 against his Democratic challenger.

Call and ask him to support ENDA at 206-275-3438. If you're not from Washington State, send this to your friends who are!

And while you're at it, call your own Members of Congress once in a while. You never call, you never write... http://bit.ly/i08p2

tel: 906-875-3751
email: http://bit.ly/40Z1Ln
#ENDA
Tuesday, August 4th

Today's LEGISLATOR OF THE DAY

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Bart Stupak (MI-D-01)

Rep. Stupak is in a very conservative District, which he wrested from the Republicans in 1992. He is one of several pro-life Democrats, but he voted yes on hate crimes bills in 07 and 09 and yes on ENDA in 2007.

Please call and ask him to support ENDA, HR 3017, in 2009.

tel: 906-875-3751

email: http://bit.ly/40Z1Ln

And while you're at it, ask your friends to sign up for our Facebook Inclusive ENDA Campaign, co-chaired by myself, our very own Bil Browning and Waymon Hudson, and Pam Spaulding, at http://bit.ly/rIze8 We have over 3,000 members, and more every day - I'm hoping for 4,000 over the next two weeks. There are tens of millions of us - let our voices be heard!

tel: 541-624-2400
email: http://bit.ly/xI0an

Today's LEGISLATOR OF THE DAY

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Greg Walden (OR-R-02)

According to Wikipedia, Rep. Walden, a Republican, has been reelected with wide margins five times. His district contains some liberal-leaning communities such as Ashland, though most of the district leans Republican.

Walden is a member of the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership, and supports stem-cell research. He voted yes on the hate crimes bills in 2007 and 2009, and voted yes on ENDA in 2007.

Please ask him to support ENDA, HR 3017, this time around as well.

And while you're at it, sign up to meet with your legislator in your local district in August at http://bit.ly/10Ot47