U.S. House Members Form First Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus

U.S. representatives Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Barney Frank (D-Mass.) announced today the formation of the LGBT Equality Caucus. The 52-member bipartisan group, which includes two Republicans, marks the nation’s first congressional caucus with the express purpose of advancing equal rights for LGBT people, repealing discriminatory laws and educating lawmakers on gay issues. Baldwin and Frank, both openly gay, cochair the caucus.

Baldwin told The Advocate that the caucus’s primary concern this session is “to educate and prepare for major legislative victories” once a supportive commander in chief steps in the White House. Specifically, she referenced the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). President Bush had threatened to veto both, but neither made it to his desk.

Baldwin also noted the significance of launching the caucus with bipartisan support. “We have to have the most effective communication possible with both sides,” she said. “Our Republican charter members will be great at educating and being role models for their side of the aisle.”

The two Republican charter members are Connecticut’s Chris Shays and Florida’s Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, but others are expected to join this week. Shays agreed that forming the LGBT Equality Caucus is pivotal in educating fellow lawmakers. But he sees another reason why this particular caucus will be successful. Unlike most caucuses, which are helmed by a Republican and a Democratic cochair, “in this case, you have two cochairs who happen to be one gay and one lesbian -- individuals who have experienced the very discrimination we’re talking about.” That, he said, will show other lawmakers firsthand that being gay is not a threat to the social fabric of the country.

The idea to form an LGBT Equality Caucus goes back to 2003. That’s when Baldwin began convening an ad hoc group of Representatives to rally around bills that affect gays and lesbians. During those early legislative sessions, the group fended off attacks, such as the antigay Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have defined marriage in the U.S. Constitution as between a man and woman.

By the current session the ad hoc group had moved from defense to offense, advancing gay-friendly bills such as ENDA. That's when Baldwin said she realized formalizing the group into a caucus would expand its membership and increase its clout. “We expect to use the Caucus extensively for briefings,” Baldwin said, explaining that caucuses help publicize briefings and are valuable in nimbly bringing witnesses to Capitol Hill. In addition, she said, the LGBT Equality Caucus will serve as an information clearinghouse with a website and Listservs to ensure speedy updates and a higher level of awareness about LGBT issues.

Over the longer haul, Baldwin hopes these tools will help the caucus work to eliminate bullying in schools, eradicate the disparities LGBT people experience in health care systems, address the mental health issues that arise from discrimination, increase research and prevention programs for HIV/AIDS, and advocate for international LGBT issues. “We have an administration that doesn’t include LGBT rights as a part of human rights,” Baldwin said. “Congress needs to speak up when we hear of mass arrests or asylum issues.”

Beyond cochairs Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Frank (D-Mass.), members of the new caucus include these representatives: Rob Andrews (D-N.J.), Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), Lois Capps (D-Calif.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Raú;l Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Mike Honda (D-Calif.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Howard Berman (D-Calif.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Robert Brady (D-Pa.), Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), Susan Davis (D-Calif.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), Phil Hare (D-Ill.), Rush Holt (D-N.J.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), James Moran (D-Va.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-Washington, D.C.), Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Steven Rothman (D-N.J.), José Serrano (D-N.Y.), Chris Shays (R-Conn.), Pete Stark (D-Calif.), Betty Sutton (D-Ohio), Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.), Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.). (Trenton Straube, The Advocate)