Frontlines: The Latest from OutServe-SLDN

Equality in the House

Something terrific, something historic happened on Capitol Hill this morning: 52 bi-partisan members of the House of Representatives joined together to form the LGBT Equality Caucus. The 52 were the first, but more will come. Twenty members stood by caucus co-chairs Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Barney Frank (D-MA) in the House Judiciary Committee hearing room as they announced the formation of the bi-partisan group. It was an inspiring and thrilling moment, a moment to make us all proud, and me proud to be there in that Rayburn hearing room. Tammy Baldwin introduced the founding members, saying, “We represent different races, different genders, different sexual orientations, different geographic regions, different generations, and different parties, but we share a common mission: to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality.” What could be more American than the diversity of that group? “This is about the LGBT community insisting on the same rights as all other Americans,” Frank said, “it’s about the military, marriage, and a job. This is hardly a radical agenda.” Radical, no, but it is an agenda that those who care about civil rights for all have been fighting for for years. The formation of this caucus is a giant step forward, but it’s important to remember that we’re not there yet. “With a Democratic majority in the House,” Barney noted, “we now have both the opportunity and the responsibility to move towards legal equality for [LGBT] people. This caucus will play an important role in helping shape the strategy by which we do this.” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) called it a “patriotic agenda for all Americans. This caucus will educate and legislate. Our focus is equality, and I am honored to stand with my colleagues today.” And I was honored to be there for SLDN. This caucus shows how far the LGBT community has come. We are now part of the fabric of our government, but we must continue to push from the outside. Equality is not yet a reality for all Americans, including the men and women who must serve in silence every day under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” -Aubrey Sarvis

Labels: Barney Frank, Congress, Tammy Baldwin

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06-04-08