Delaware House approves Marriage Equality!

Hey, all! This is a quickie, but Delaware's House just approved marriage equality with a vote of 23-18.

Washington state passes Marriage Equality Bill

More good news on the Marriage Equality front! The House of Representatives in Washington passed a bill for marriage equality with the vote of 55 to 43.

As promised, Governor Chris Gregoire will sign the bill into law next week!

Congrats, y'all!

source

North Carolina House Committee approves Gay Marriage Amendment

This is messy!

The House Rules Committee approved Monday the question after about a half-hour of debate. The full House was expected to take up the matter later in the day. Three-fifths of the House members must vote yes twice on the measure before it can move on to the Senate.

The Republican chairman of the committee didn't allow any public comment from the audience about the bill. House Democratic leader Joe Hackney said the question was being rushed through and its contents could have long-term unintended consequences.

source

House GOP Subcommittee will meet on ‘Defending Marriage’

They just won't quit! Now the House GOP are getting a panel together to discuss 'Defending Marriage'.

A subcommittee in the Republican-controlled U.S. House is set on April 15 to hear testimony in a hearing titled “Defending Marriage.”


The hearing, which is set to take place before the House Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, is scheduled to begin at 10 am in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building.


As of Friday, no witness list was posted on the committee website, nor was the intent the hearing immediately known. Whether the likely impending shutdown of the federal government would cancel or postpone the hearing also wasn’t immediately clear.


Charlotte Sellmyer, a House Judiciary Committee spokesperson, said more information would be available next week.


“Per our office policy, we release background and witness information one day prior to the hearing, so please check back in with us next week,” Sellmyer said.


Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), chair of the committee, has said President Obama could be impeached for his decision to drop his administration’s defense of the Defense of Marriage Act in court, and the upcoming hearing would likely represent his views.

This is silly! Where is the panel for jobs? Where is the panel for education and proper child care? Where is the panel for destroying the tax cuts for the rich?

It is clear that the GOP/Tea Party are hellbent on pushing a social agenda that is outdated and unpopular. When will these fools get it together?

source

HOUSE GOP Vote to Defend DOMA in Court

Those dirty bastards! The GOP dominated House voted to defend DOMA.

Chris Geidner, from Metro Weekly has the story

The Bipartisan House Legal Advisory Group (BLAG), by a 3-2 vote over the objections of House Democratic Leaders Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), directed the House General Counsel to defend the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court, according to a statement just issued by a group of Democratic lawmakers.

Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Barney Frank (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jared Polis (D-CO), David Cicilline (D-RI), and John Conyers (D-MI) just issued the following joint statement:
“This 3-2 vote, carried over the vigorous objection of House Democratic Leaders and structured to avoid a vote of the House as a whole, is partisanship at its worst.

“The President correctly concluded that the Defense of Marriage Act cannot and should not be defended in court.  It has been 15 years since Congress enacted DOMA, and the myths and stereotypes used to support its enactment have been shattered.  Married gay and lesbian couples pay taxes, serve their communities, struggle to balance work and family, raise children and care for aging parents.  Their contributions and needs are no different than anyone else’s.  The majority of Americans understand this and now favor extending the time-honored tradition of marriage to loving and committed gay and lesbian couples.  There is no legitimate reason for the federal government to continue denying married gay and lesbian couples the legal security, rights and responsibilities that recognition of their marriages would provide.  

“We are extremely disappointed that the House Republican Leadership has decided to actively promote and defend discrimination; and they cannot cloak their intentions with the false assertion that the President or DOJ have failed to execute the law faithfully.  The Administration considered this issue carefully, over several years, and opted not to defend DOMA in court after extensive study of the legal and factual issues at stake.  Based on the lack of any reasonable arguments that justify the harm that DOMA imposes on loving gay and lesbian couples, DOJ correctly concluded that Section 3 of the law violates the Constitution.  Its conclusion was hardly remarkable, as one federal judge already has ruled that the law is unconstitutional and cannot be justified under even the lowest level of judicial review.  

“The President’s decision that DOJ should not be expected or required to continue making harmful and unreasonable arguments that demean its credibility, and that of the American people, was appropriate.  While the decision not to continue defending a law is rare – as it should be – it is not without precedent.  The President has pledged to honor his duty to faithfully execute the law by enforcing Section 3 of DOMA until it is either struck down or repealed.  His courageous decision also honors his oath to ‘preserve, protect and defend the Constitution’ by ensuring that the rights it guarantees have meaning.

“Rather than seeking to defend this law in court, House Republican Leaders should work with us to repeal DOMA.  This action debunks House Republican Leadership’s claim of being the so-called guarantor of states’ rights.  House Republican Leaders seem only to favor states’ rights when it suits them ideologically.  Rather than recognizing every states’ married couples equally, Section 3 of DOMA refuses to recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples from five states and the District of Columbia.  Those states have a clear interest in ensuring that all of their married couples receive the same recognition under federal law.  Certainly, Republican Leadership is not acting in these states’ interests.”

The move comes in the wake of today's 4:30 p.m. meeting of the BLAG, which Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) convened on March 4 in response to the Department of Justice's Feb. 23 decision that it would no longer defend Section of DOMA.

More to come, y'all. More to come

VIDEO: John Boehner says the House may Defend DOMA

The Drama in Iowa Continues: The House votes to allow people to Ban Gay Marriage

Lord, Iowa! Y'all are bring the drama today! The House today voted 62-37 to pass Joint Resolution 6. This resolution will allow voters to ban same-sex marriages, civil unions, and domestic partnerships by amending the state constitution.

The bill now moves on to the Iowa Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal has vowed to fight attempts to pass the amendment. If passed through both legislative bodies in two consecutive General Assemblies, the issue could be on the ballot as soon as 2013.


“The proposed amendment devalues families and divides Iowans,” said One Iowa Executive Director Carolyn Jenison. “The Constitution is meant to protect the freedoms and liberties of all Iowans. It is inappropriate to use the political process to single out and deny a group of Iowans of their constitutional protections.”


“This goes beyond politics,” said Iowa City resident Katie Imborek. “This is about our family and the ability for Paula and me to care for one another and our two children. At a time when so many Iowans are struggling just to make ends meet, I don’t understand why legislators would choose to take up this issue.”

I hope this dies in Senate. More to come.

source

CryBaby is the New Speaker of the House

House passes DADT Repeal 250-175

Well, the repeal for DADT pass in the House, next step, Senate.

That vote could happen next week... Fingers Crossed

The House Passes Tax Cuts for Middle Class 234-188

Well, here we go as 'The Mess in Congress' series continues. Today the House passed the Democratic bill to extend middle-class tax cut.
Here's more:

The House has passed a bill to extend middle-class tax cuts while letting those for the wealthy expire, even as talks continue on extending the cuts for everyone.

The bill is a political maneuver to satisfy Democratic supporters who oppose extending tax cuts for the wealthy. Even if the bill passes the House, it has no chance in the Senate, where Democrats need Republican support to pass a tax bill.

Sweeping tax cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush expire at the end of the year. A small bipartisan group of lawmakers and Obama administration officials continued negotiating Thursday on a deal that could extend all the tax cuts, at least temporarily.
The House passed the Democratic bill by a vote of 234 to 188.

The Senate is next, let's see what happens.

source

READ the Letter asking Obama to NOT appeal the DADT Ruling

69 members of the U.S. House of Representatives has asked Obama to not appeal the DADT ruling.

Read it here:
House Letter to Obama about the DADT Appeal Letter
via Metro Weekly

The 26 House Dems who said NO to the DADT repeal

Remember this people and take note! We should question their loyalty to our community!

• Rep. Sanford Bishop (GA)
• Rep. Bobby Bright (AL)
• Rep. Travis Childers (MS)
• Rep. Jerry Costello (IL)
• Rep. Mark Critz (PA)
• Rep. Lincoln Davis (TN)
• Rep. Joe Donnelly (IN)
• Rep. Chet Edwards (TX)
• Rep. Bob Etheridge (NC)
• Rep. Dan Lipinski (IL)
• Rep. Jim Marshall (GA)
• Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC)
• Rep. Solomon P. Ortiz (TX)
• Rep. Collin Peterson (MN)
• Rep. Earl Pomeroy (ND)
• Rep. Nick Rahall (NC)
• Rep. Ike Skelton (MO)
• Rep. John Spratt (SC)
• Rep. John Tanner (TN)
• Rep. Gene Taylor (MS)

source

WATCH the DADT House Debate

Go here, if you want to see the House Debate on DADT

The Dems who said NO to Health Care are:

These are the House Dems listed

John Adler NJ,
Jason Altmire PA,
Michael Arcuri NY,
John Barrow GA,
Marion Berry AR,
Dan Boren OK,
Rick John Boucher VA,
Bobby Bright AL,
Ben Chandler KY,
Travis Childers MS,
Artur Davis AL,
Lincoln Davis TN,
Chet Edwards TX,
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin SD,
Tim Holden PA,
Larry Kissell NC,
Frank Kratovil Jr MD,
Daniel Lipinski IL,
Stephen F. Lynch MA,
Jim Marshall GA,
Jim Matheson D UT,
Mike McIntyre NC,
Michael E. McMahon NY,
Charlie Melancon LA,
Walt Minnick ID,
Glenn Nye VA,
Collin C. Peterson MN,
Mike Ross AR,
Heath Shuler NC,
Ike Skelton MO,
Zack Space OH,
John Tanner TN,
Gene Taylor MS,
Harry Teague NM

via JMG

Alan Grayson vs Michele Bachmann on "Larry King Live."

Rep. Alan Grayson debated with the Queen of the Loons, Michele Bachmann on "Larry King Live" last night.

The topic was about Health Care and the rest is great fun to watch.

House Passes the Big Hate Crimes Bill!

Great news, great news!

The House voted Thursday to expand the definition of violent federal hate crimes to cover those committed because of a victim’s gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

Democrats and advocates hailed the vote of 281 to 146, which put the measure on the brink of becoming law, as the culmination of a long push to curb violent expressions of bias such as the murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student murdered in 1998.

“Left unchecked crimes of this kind threaten to ruin the very fabric of America,” said Representative Susan Davis, Democrat of California.

The hate-crimes measure was approved as part of a broad $681 billion Pentagon policy measure, a strategy that infuriated House Republicans who accused Democrats of employing a form of legislative blackmail.

This will given to Obama immediately. Hopefully, he sign it by this weekend.

source

The House stops the Removal of Hate Crimes Provision

Last night, the House stopped the silly Repubs from striping the hate crimes items from the
Defense Authorization bill.

The vote was 178 to 234.

Here's more:

You may recall that in July, the Senate voted 63 to 28 to add the provisions of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act to the defense bill. Nearly identical legislation passed the House earlier this year on a bipartisan vote of 249 to 175. Conferees are expected to retain the hate crimes provisions in the final version of the conference report and today’s vote is a strong show of support for the hate crimes language.

So far, it's going good and it should be given to Obama to sign very soon. Let's hope for a steady pace and less mess from the Repubs.

source

ENDA is being heard Today by the House

The House Education & Labor Committee will hear testimony on ENDA today.

Rep. Barney Frank believes there's enough House votes to pass the bill this fall, but it will face some difficultly in the Senate.

Hopefully, everything will turn out fine.


source