EDNA being voted on today - anyone watching the debate?

Here is a blog of it all from HRC

Some powerful comments being made.

Here is to hoping it passes with a huge veto proof majority.

http://www.hrcbackstory.org/

I swear I have felt like doing that several times in the last few weeks here:)

--that is currently on the job-hunt, I'm afraid it would be bad for my health to watch it.

I wish the whole damn thing was done differently - but mark my words I will never give up trying to get the exact same civil rights as I am fighting for my self.

UPDATE - 5:10 PM: Congresswoman Baldwin withdraws her amendment, citing lack of support for the amendment.

I thought it had already been there several times and this was the final vote... maybe Im wrong though...

to reconcile the House and Senate versions.

Traditionally, the committee has been made of a 50/50 split between both parties with 1 extra Majority member.

HOWEVER...

The Republickers, in the last session, decided to exclude ALL the Democrats from the committees and do the whole thing in secret.

And then, when the bill comes out of committee (and it could be hundreds of pages long) the Democrats would have no idea what they're signing.

And if they refused, "The voted for the bill before they voted against it."

I suggest we lock the Repukes out of the committee if it passes both houses, put the trans-amendment back in, and dare them to "vote against it after they already voted for it."

I get a little confused on where the bills are - I swear this has been voted on by both chambers already about a 1,000 times. No wonder people get fed up with politics LOL:)

See how I offered a glimmer of hope only to pull it away at the last minute?

See that?

We're DEMOCRATS!

That's what we do best.




Ugh.

Given that, the ENDA that SHOULD be debated is one that includes transgendered folk. It is SO wrong for an all-inclusive bill to not come up for a vote.

A Democratic President will be the one to sign this important legislation anyway. It should be a bill that protects ALL of us.

UPDATE - 5:12 PM: Voting begins on the three amendments. The first vote is a 15-minute vote; the additional two should be 5 minute votes.

I've been fighting this battle too damned long.

Gettin' tired, folks.

I hear you. ENDA should have been passed YEARS ago.

Looks like us TGs will have to wait "until the right time".

Im so sick and tiered of people doing the wrong thing and justifying by saying they could do nothing unless they throw someone under the bus. The right thing to do is stand up for everyone's civil rights NO MATTER WHAT!

Even many Gay and Lesbian people.

The inclusion of "gender expression" is an important one, because many gays and lesbians (and bisexuals) can also be discriminated against
by wholly subjective perceptions of transgressions of gender "norms".

People who support ENDA without the Trans rights clause are doing themselves no favors.

ENDA PASSES
November 07, 2007 6:24PM

ENDA has been approved, 235-184. Thirty-five Republicans joined the 200 Democrats to pass the bill.


Now to get them to pass Transgendered support as well.


Rep. Frank: “I want to address the motion to delay. Mr. Speaker, we say here that we don’t think things personally, and usually that’s true. Members, Mr. Speaker, will have to forgive me — I take it personally. 35 years ago, I filed a bill that tried to get rid of discrimination based on sexual orientation. As we sit here today, there are millions of Americans in states where this is not the law. By the way, 19 states have such a law. In no case has it led to that decision. The Massachusetts law passed in 1989, that did not lead to the decision in 2004, unrelated. But here’s the deal: I used to be someone subject to this prejudice. And through luck, circumstance, I got to be a big shot. I’m now above that prejudice. But I feel an obligation, to 15-year-olds dreading to go to school because of the torments, to people they’ll lose their job in a gas station if someone finds out who they love. I feel an obligation to use the status I have been lucky enough to get, to help them. And I want to ask my colleagues here, Mr. Speaker, on a personal basis, please don’t fall for this sham. Don’t send me out of here having failed to help those people.”