Stand up and be Counted….

After smacking the Obama administration around this week a bit on here and more in personal conversations, I am thrilled to report on a great piece of news that is coming out.

The Task Force has been running a campaign to have same gender couples fully counted in the upcoming 2010 census.

The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that Steve Jost, spokesperson for the Census Bureau, said Friday that same gender couples who are married will be reported as such.

“They will be counted, and they ought to report the way they see themselves,” Jost said. “In the normal process of reports coming out after the census of 2010, I think the country will have a good data set on which to discuss this phenomenon that is evolving in this country.”

The process now moves to the technical questions of how do you deal with making sure the data is accurate. Many same gender couples in 2000 both checked “husband,” for example, on the forms and those were rejected by the software. Programmers are looking into ways to have an accurate count of same gender married couples and also those in civil unions or domestic partnerships.

While President Obama tried to use the tiny number of benefits for Federal workers as cover for the idiocy of the DoJ brief, his administration should be pointing to this action as real and measurable progress on LGBT issues.

We can not begin to have a real conversation about our lives until we really know how many of us there are. While this action will not count the total number of LGBT individuals in the US, it will more accurately depict how we form relationships and households. The impact of being able to walk into a Congressman’s office and inform him that XX number of same gender married couples live in his district is immeasurable.

A hat tip to the Obama Administration and the Census Bureau on this Pride Day for realizing we actually do count.

No Spare Change untill We See Change…

Much has already been said about the Department of Justice brief on DOMA. Many of the LGBT organizations have come together to speak out on the subject, releasing a rare joint statement.

David Mixner summed it up well on his own blog with the statement,

The brief in defense of DOMA filed by President Obama’s Department of Justice could have been written by the Rev. Pat Robertson. Using the worst of stereotypes, it intimates that we don’t have constitutional guarantees, invokes scenarios of incest, of children and advocates that we don’t have the same rights as others who have struggled for civil rights.

You fully need to understand the ramifications of this brief: it undercuts every conceivable argument that the LGBT community would use to fight for the repeal of DOMA. Right-wing nut cases can now just simply quote horrible stuff from this hateful brief and proclaim loudly it was filed by the Obama Justice Department. The President and his team have not only undercut this community but have damaged his own ability to repeal this hideous law given to us by President Clinton. With Democratic friends like these, God helps us.

There is an upcoming LGBT fundraiser for the DNC slated for next week.

America Blog is reporting that Mixner himself, HRC, Andy Towle of Towleroad.com, and the Empire State Pride Agenda have all pulled out as well.

Enough is enough.

Dear President Obama:
Do something to fix this.

Dear DNC:
Cancel the event. Admit the massive insult that has been placed upon the community. Stop asking for money with the right hand and then slugging us with the left.

Dear LGBT and Allied Community:
Cut off the spigot. Do not send another single cent to the DNC, to any Democrat in Congress, to any sitting Democratic U.S. Senator or to any State Party Federal Fund until this is fixed. Stop funding any organization that claims to work for us but stays silent when the person they endorsed to be President throws us under the bus. Stop rewarding bad behavior. Stop funding the discrimination that exists. Find candidates like OH Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner who know what equality looks like and will fight for it. Head to The Victory Fund website and support members of our own community who is running for office.

We must stop this right now, and we have the power to do so.

Be In The Room…

The best way for the LGBT Community to create change in any given governmental body is to have one of our own there.  Every state that has seen marriage become equal this year has an openly LGBT individual serving in either the upper or lower chamber. In 1991 there were fewer than 50 openly LGBT Elected Officials. Now there are more than 425.

The Victory Fund is partially to thanks for much of that growth. Victory Fund serves to elect openly LGBT individuals to all levels of office. Their work even just this year has elected 6 out of the 8 endorsed candidates.

So it was with great pride that I was nominated and accepted to serve on the Victory Campaign Board (VCB).

The “activist” board of the Victory Fund, the VCB helps recruit candidates for office and help fund their races. Our purpose, as VCB members is to find the next set of individuals who will personally carry our stories into the Legislatures, City Halls and County Commission meeting rooms and ensure that our lives are represented truthfully.

I’m honored to join my colleagues on the VCB and look forward to the hard work that will be needed to get this job done.

If you want to learn more about the organization, the board, or my involvement head to my VBC page.

Vacation….

This bear is heading to the great Pacific Northwest for a week.  Part 5 of Seeking Quality upon return. Have a good week all.

Time to Hang It Up Mr. Coats…

The Ohio House Democratic Caucus rejected bigotry today and appointed Robin Belcher to fill the remainder of Rep. Higgins term.

Congratulations are in order to Equality Ohio, the Ohio Democratic Party’s LGBT Caucus, Ask Cleveland, and any other organization that may have been engaged in this effort.

Mr. Coats - your 15 minutes? They are over.

Update from Yesterday…

Yesterday I talked about Mr. Coats of Cleveland wanting to be both a bigot and State Representative.

I am not in favor of that idea. Since I can’t change his mind, we ought to make sure he doesn’t change jobs.

I called Equality Ohio yesterday about their plan to deal with this situation, and today Peter Caborn called me back late today with information about their efforts.

I will offer praise when it is due, and in this situation, it is halfway due.

Equality Ohio has delivered the testimony of Mr. Coats during the City Council hearing to the House Democratic Caucus. There have been additional conversations with House Leadership, and an update will be going out to the Cuyahoga County members of Equality Ohio. In addition, conversations have been started, I believe with the Ohio Democratic Party.

This all is excellent news, and I applaud Equality Ohio for this effort.

I asked Peter if we could expect a state-wide alert to membership and a call to action for anyone who has a Democratic Representative. I was told that this wasn’t part of the plan, but that they might consider doing so.

This isn’t a Cuyahoga County Issue. In fact, I’m not really sure why the organization would target the County and not just the House District if they wanted to be narrow in focus. However, that matters not, as this is a state-wide issue. The entire House Democratic Caucus will make a recommendation to Speaker Budish. He needs to hear from the members of the caucus, all of them, that reading bible verses into the record as justification for discrimination is wrong and has no part in the state house.

Even if background conversations are ongoing, the membership of the organization needs to know what steps are being taken to keep this type of hate speech out of the House Chamber.

I give Equality Ohio credit so far, but hope they follow through with the plan and get the grassroots going.

More with the Chairman… (Seeking Quality part 4)

I want to go back to the fundraiser that sparked this conversation with Chairman Redfern. The event itself is not the issue. I commend Equality Ohio Campaign Fund for actually doing something. To have a high dollar LGBT event, branded with the LGBT organizations in Ohio for the sitting Governor is a positive step forward.

The problems arise with both the audacity of the language and the misplaced priorities of the organization.

“Making History, Ohio’s LGBT Community Unites.” What history is being made here? First LGBT fundraiser for the Governor? First time unnamed organizations have come together? Which organizations? Is there a Transgender group involved? A student group? A Republican group? A group representing people of color? Who exactly is unified and making history? How dare you say that this community is unified at an event which is cost prohibitive to many. Who was the email even sent to? Who did the hard copy invitations go to? I know of at least one openly gay delegate to the Democratic National Convention who didn’t get a paper or email invitation. What was the criteria to unity?

More important than the name of the event, however, is the convoluted logic used to arrive at the idea that “The Governor’s second term could be our best and brightest opportunity to achieve seven tangible goals.”

I asked Chairman Redfern if the Republican controlled Senate will not pass EHEA or other legislation that moves the LGBT community closer to recognition, can we expect the Democrats to pick up enough seats in the Ohio Senate in 2010, or in 2012 after the lines are re-drawn, to allow this type of legislation to move forward.

“We see this as a three or four cycle process,” said Redfern, “we think we can add one or two in 2012 when the lines are more fairly drawn, and an additional two seats in 2014 or 2016.” In the examination of someone who knows a bit about elections in Ohio, the Democrats cannot take control of the Ohio Senate until Governor Strickland leaves office.

Can someone please tell me how, with no contributions to the Republican Party in the last cycle, only 2 Republican co-sponsors in the House on EHEA Equality Ohio thinks it will pass any of the seven pieces of legislation before Strickland’s term ends? Map that out for me, I implore you.

The Democratic Party in Ohio is the only chance of passing any of this legislation, and the Democrats in the House and the Governor are to be commended for their work thus far.

We talked briefly about the Ohio Democratic Party and their commitment to LGBT equality. “Any community is welcomed into the Democratic Party,” he said, “and we have demonstrated support for the community with the number of openly gay staff we have in place, the number of openly gay delegates that were elected or appointed that we sent to Denver and the number of gay people on the State Central Committee. Governor Strickland in his first week in office, I believe, signed an Executive Order and has made repeated comments in opposition to the adoption issue for example”

He went on to say that “it is up to the leadership of the community to advise and encourage the party on these issues, and that many individuals had been doing so for years.”

I asked him about his thoughts on what needs to happen to have legislative wins in the future. His advice was succinct. “If you are looking for wins [in the Legislature] lets elect an openly gay legislator. [Also,] it is far more important to go door to door than to attend Lobby Day.”

The road to equality in Ohio does not pass through the communities that like to swirl chardonnay while mingling with famous people. This road requires walking, knocking and talking in the small towns and cities that make up Ohio. It is traveled by large coalitions of people - rich and not so - unifying in the real work that needs to be done to change Ohio. It requires leadership that understands how elections are won and how public opinion is changed. Chairman Redfern has provided a pretty clear map to that road, I hope the LGBT and allied community can find their way there.

How to Have an Impact…

I am going to take a small side-step from the interview with Chairman Redfern and talk about a real concrete example of a very easy way to impact the State Legislature. We’ll come back to Mr. Redfern tomorrow.

Rep. Eugene Miller (D-Cleveland) stepped down to take a seat on the Cleveland City Council being vacated by Roosevelt Coats. In return, the Cleveland City Council voted to support Mr. Coats in his quest to be appointed to Mr. Miller’s House seat. I’m sure there was no tit-for-tat on this whole exchange.

In any case, Roosevelt Coats voted against the Domestic Partner Registry in Cleveland, backing up his bigotry with his version of the bible.

Everything that can be done to prevent this man from be elevated to the Ohio House of Representatives should be done.

Everyone in Ohio that has a Democratic House member should be calling and writing in opposition.

Any organization that has a file of supporters in that district should be working the emails and phones to the leadership of the Democratic House Caucus.

Any PAC that maxed out to the Democratic House Caucus in the last cycle should be on the phone with leadership demanding that this person who doesn’t represent the values of Ohio should not be allowed to vote on the laws of Ohio.

At the barest of minimums an LGBT Organization engaged in state-level work should inform its members and the public about this person.

It’s too bad we don’t have such an organization here in Ohio. This would be a great chance to pick up a vote in favor of the Equal Housing and Employment Act.

I reached out to Equality Ohio today to see if they wanted to comment on their plan to keep bigotry out of the State House. That message went unanswered.

An Interview with the Chairman (Seeking Quality Part 3)….

Today I sat down with Chris Redfern, Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party to talk about the party’s commitment to LGBT issues, and the involvement of the LGBT community in the party. It’s plainly clear to me that Chairman Redfern has built on his 100% voting record when he was in the Legislature and carried those policies and beliefs to the party.

This conversation was prompted by an event held over the weekend to raise money from the LGBT Community for the re-election of Governor Strickland. Promoted by the Equality Ohio Campaign Fund, and called, “Making History, Ohio’s LGBT Community Unites,” the invitation to this high dollar event laid forth a seven point legislative agenda that re-electing Gov. Strickland would help accomplish. The idea that the LGBT community “Unites” at a cocktail party for one candidate for office that costs $250 at the minimum is naive at best and downright offensive at worst.

I’ll hold commentary on that and why the idea of re-electing Gov. Strickland doesn’t impact legislation, for another time. Let’s focus on the seven issues and my conversation about them with Chris Redfern:

1. Passing Ohio’s Equal Housing & Employment Act (EHEA)
2. A law allowing two-parent adoption for same-sex couples
3. Instituting a statewide Domestic Partnership Registry
4. Inclusion of sexual orientation into Ohio hate crimes law
5. Allowing transgender Ohioans to change the gender marker on their birth certificates
6. Redistricting the state to give LGBT candidates a better shot at winning elective offices
7. Domestic partner benefits for state employees

I began the conversation with Chairman Redfern by asking about this agenda. The party, he said, takes its lead on policy initiatives from Governor Strickland, and he hasn’t sat down to talk about some of these ideas with the Governor. I asked if he had sat down with Equality Ohio and he informed me that, “I haven’t spoken to Lynne Bowman or their Republican Lobbyist since I left the Legislature.” Chairman Redfern has an open door, and I found it very easy to get time to discuss these policy initiatives with him. Why has Equality Ohio not engaged the leader of the party on their legislative agenda?

We did talk in depth about some of the legislative items. On passing EHEA, Chairman Redfern speculated that there are about 40 votes in the Ohio House that are for sure. There are 13 remaining Democrats that will need support. Presently there are 25 Democratic and 2 Republican Co-Sponsors. So, if the vote were held today, we can count on a loss with only 42 votes.

Even so, if Equality Ohio were to engage in the grass-roots work needed - knocking the doors, making the phone calls and providing real support - and it passed the house, it would not get out of the Republican controlled Senate and would never make it to the Governor’s desk. “No doubt that it will sit in the Senate and die,” Redfern said.

The problem here is that Equality Ohio doesn’t engage in grassroots work any more than they appear to be engaging the party. We know from 2008 that volunteer and fund raising support is minimal at best. In a email to state leaders about Lobby Day and EHEA, Equality Ohio said, “We will need your assistance, I’m sure, with some of the folks who could be sway-able. We’d really like to see this pass out of committee with bipartisan support and more than just seven yeses.”

No call to action, no directed efforts, no plan.

I asked about the party’s involvement with the present effort to pass EHEA. Rep. Dan Stewart (D-Columbus) has been instrumental in building support for the bill. When pressed about the party itself Chairman Redfern explained that the party is committed to the passage of EHEA, but is not a lobbying or legislative body. While the LGBT Outreach Director had been working with Rep. Stewart, “James has too much work to do to be an unpaid lobbyist for Equality Ohio,” Redfern said.

He’s right. That’s not the role of the party. That’s the role of Equality Ohio and their staff, volunteers and supporters. That’s the purpose of Lobby Day. It is the responsibility of grass-roots advocacy organizations like Equality Ohio to deliver legislative victories.

It is the party’s responsibility to elect its members to office and to hold those members to the platform - one that includes LGBT Equality. In 2008 the ODP delivered in backing Ray Pryor when he was attacked with anti-gay mailers. The party, especially under the direction of Chairman Redfern has pulled their weight.

We talked about adoption, an issue that the Governor has made statements about, and Redfern reemphasized the party and the Governor’s commitment to not eroding the rights of anyone any further. He did not speculate on the two-parent adoption legislation, again because he hasn’t been approached on it.

Moving forward, in order to pass the state-wide Domestic Partner Registry, it would be necessary to repeal the Constitutional Amendment passed in 2004. “I don’t see it as pragmatic in the foreseeable future to repeal the amendment, given the feelings in the state,” said Redfern. He did add that the Democratic Party is supportive of a repeal, however.

I personally do not understand why Equality Ohio would spend a minute on a state level Domestic Partner registry. The second sentence of the constitutional provision reads, “This state and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage.” A DP Registry most certainly would approximate the design of marriage. First step - gather 418,408 valid signatures from 44 of the 88 counties to put the repeal on the ballot. Then, mount a grass roots campaign to pass it. Yes, back to grassroots again. Once that is won, Equality Ohio seeks to pass a DP registry - a measure that has no teeth, no outcome, and certainly no where near equal.

Did you miss that part of the year when four states picked up marriage equality, including Iowa? Why would the LGBT community work so hard for the crumbs of cake being cut in five other states?

Tomorrow I’ll go through the rest of the interview with Chairman Redfern, a bit more about the weekend fundraiser, and why equal rights are not, “a great gift…from the Committee to the pro-equality community.”

Meanwhile Up In Cleveland…..

Last night I had the opportunity to meet a great group of people who are part of Ask Cleveland. They held a fund and awareness raiser at a place called Bar Centro in the W. 25th area of Cleveland.

The owners of Bar Centro donated a portion of the proceeds of the evening to Ask Cleveland, and it seemed there were a good 30-40 people there throughout the night.

What impressed me about Ask Cleveland is their real commitment to actual grassroots politics. They have a clear plan and have executed both putting shoes to street and hands to wallets. According to the Gay People’s Chronicle, the organization has raised over $10,000. Last night talking to the organizers, they put that figure closer to $14,000. In addition, they have knocked over 10,000 doors. Shortly they will be hiring a full time field organizer. Many of them also made a trip to Maine to assist with the efforts to pass marriage equality there and pick up valuable training.

This group, whose leaders include a straight couple, former members of Heights Families for Equality, a former LowQuality Ohio board member and a coalition of local business and religious voices, knows what it takes to get the work done. The name of the organization comes from a belief that we as a community do not directly ask our leaders and their constituents for what we deserve - equality.

I applaud Ask Cleveland for their ongoing effort. It would be great to see similar models pop up all over Ohio. It would be even better to see organizations already in place model successful behavior.