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作者: zoeliang (too young to die) 看板: NCCU_Herself
標題: [剪報]Breakthroughs expected for gay rights in U.S. Congress
時間: Mon Feb 26 21:14:44 2007
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2007-02-26 12:11 AM
TAIWAN NEWS
Anti-gay bias has flared up in Hollywood and professional basketball recently,
and soon the topic will be thrown into a new forum - a reshaped Congress
likely to pass the first major federal gay-rights bills.
Wary conservative leaders, as well as gay-rights advocates, share a belief that
at least two measures will win approval this year: a hate-crimes bill that
would cover offenses motivated by anti-gay bias, and a measure that would
outlaw workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Also on the table - although with more doubtful prospects - will be a measure
to be introduced Wednesday seeking repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy
that bans open gays from serving in the military.
All three measures surfaced in previous sessions of Congress, at times winning
significant bipartisan backing but always falling short of final passage.
This year, with Democrats now in control and many Republicans likely to join in
support, the hate-crimes and workplace bills are widely expected to prevail.
"With liberals in control, there's a good possibility they'll both pass," said
Matt Barber, a policy director with the conservative group Concerned Women for
America. "They're both dangerous to freedom of conscience, to religious
liberties, to free speech."
If approved by Congress, the bills would head to the White House. Activists are
unsure whether U.S. President George W. Bush would sign or veto them.
For gay-rights leaders - whose efforts to legalize same-sex marriage have been
rebuffed by many states - the congressional votes are keenly anticipated after
years of lobbying.
"This is a major step in our struggle," said Joe Solmonese, president of the
Human Rights Campaign. "I know there's a lot of despair on the other side."
The workplace bill - titled the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA - is
the subject of behind-the-scenes negotiations. The bill that emerges is
expected to expand on earlier versions to cover not only sexual orientation but
also gender identity, thus extending protections to transgender employees.
For many Americans, ENDA's provisions would be familiar. More than 85 percent
of the Fortune 500 companies include sexual orientation in their
non-discrimination policies, as do 17 states and many local governments.
And publicly, there is increasingly little tolerance for overt anti-gay bias.
The National Basketball Association swiftly repudiated retired all-star Tim
Hardaway after he spoke this month of hating gays, while TV actor Isaiah
Washington apologized and sought counseling after using a gay slur in reference
to a fellow actor on "Grey's Anatomy."
Advocacy groups also say there have been huge strides in regard to protections
for transgender people - with nine states, scores of major corporations and
more than 70 colleges and universities now banning discrimination based on
gender identity.
California's ban, in effect since 2003, has not triggered a flood of litigation
, but it has prompted employers to proactively improve their policies for
dealing with transgender employees, said Shannon Minter, legal director of the
National Center for Lesbian Rights.
In past years, some congressional supporters of gay rights warned that ENDA's
prospects would be crippled by including protections for gender identity.
This year may be different.
Democratic Congressman Barney Frank said the version he is helping draft will
indeed cover transgender employees, while offering some allowances to employers
so they can enforce dress codes and minimize controversies over bathroom use.
"With the proper amendments, I think we can get it," said Frank, one of two
openly gay members of Congress.
Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, contended
that gay-rights groups exaggerated the extent of anti-gay bias as part of a
broader push to achieve their political goals.
"I'm sure there's probably a case here and there," Perkins said. "But I've seen
more discrimination of people of religious faith than I've seen of gay people
in the work force."
ENDA was first introduced in the 1994, and came within one vote of Senate
passage in 1996, while the hate-crimes bill has passed in the House and Senate
in separate years only to falter before final passage at the behest of
Republican conservatives.
The hate-crimes measure would expand existing federal provisions to include
acts of violence against gays and lesbians. Opponents contend it would be an
ominous first step toward criminalizing criticism of homosexuality.
According to the FBI, about 14 percent of the 7,163 hate crimes reported in
2005 targeted gays or lesbians - a slightly lower percentage than the two
prior years.
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