Civil & Human Rights

(Update) Senate passes ENDA

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. Senate voted to pass the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) today. Senate approves historic gay rights bill:

The Senate passed historic gay rights legislation Thursday to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the workplace, another victory for the gay rights movement that has been gaining favor in the courts and electoral politics.

Senators voted 64 to 32 to approve the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

The vote marked the first time lawmakers had approved legislation to advance gay rights since repealing the military’s ban on gay men and lesbians in uniform in late 2010 and came two days after Illinois became the 15th state to legalize same-sex marriage. Just four months ago the U.S. Supreme Court sanctioned federal recognition of legally married gay couples.

“Let freedom ring,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the bill’s chief sponsor, said shortly before the vote.

* * *

In a sign of rapidly shifting opinions on gay rights, every member of the Senate Democratic caucus was joined by 10 Republican senators to approve the measure. The first time the Senate voted on a measure similar to ENDA, in 1996, Sens. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) voted no. On Thursday they voted yes.

“This is the right thing to do,” McCain told reporters shortly before he cast his vote.

Wisconsin voter I.D. trial in court this week

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Now that the election is over, it is time to catch up on matters not receiving media attention this week, like this federal court trial in Wisconsin challenging that state's voter I.D. requirement. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported earlier this week, Federal trial challenging Wisconsin's voter ID law underway:

Minorities and senior citizens testified Monday about costly and
time-consuming difficulties they faced in getting photo identification
as they pressed their case to permanently invalidate Wisconsin's voter
ID law.

The federal trial that kicked off Monday involves two cases and is
expected to last two weeks. A Dane County judge in a different case has
already blocked the law, but opponents of voter ID are pursuing the
federal litigation in an attempt to ensure the requirement never goes
back into effect.

* * *

The trial began with a string of people describing the problems they
had in trying to secure IDs for themselves or family members. Some of
them have yet to be successful.

"I cannot express the amount of time, energy and frustration it
required" to get a license for her mother, Debra Crawford testified.

Crawford's mother, Bettye Jones, was the lead plaintiff in one of the cases before the court Monday. Jones died in October 2012.

Jones was born in Tennessee and lived much of her life in Cleveland,
Ohio. She moved to Brookfield in 2011 to be closer to family after her
husband died.

She had to make multiple trips to a Wisconsin Division of Motor
Vehicles office before she could get a driver's license last year
because she did not have a birth certificate. Getting the license cost
her more than $100 and took about 40 hours over several months, Crawford
testified.

Crawford and others who testified Monday were questioned only briefly
during cross examination by attorneys for the state. But in opening
statements, Kawski stressed state officials have made exceptions in
unique circumstances to accommodate voters who had difficulty acquiring
IDs.

(Update) Hawaii Special Session for SB1 – Hawaii Marriage Equity Act: full House approves second read

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Hawaii House has approved SB1 on the second read, setting up the final third read vote on Friday. Opposition Fails (Honolulu Star-Advertiser, subscription required):

EqualThe state House voted late Wednesday to move forward with a marriage equality bill after a day of drama and emotion where lawmakers plowed through numerous procedural motions and amendments that would have postponed action or significantly amended the bill to expand a religious exemption.

The 30-18 decision sets up a final House vote on Friday to fulfill a 48-hour notice requirement. If the House approves the bill, it would return to the Senate for another review next week.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser has an editorial opinion today in favor of passage of SB1. Marriage equality path clear as ever (subscription required) (tease):

Same-sex couples and heterosexual couples deserve the same marriage rights, and the special session of Hawaii's Legislature has made this essential truth even more obvious.

Lawmakers should move swiftly to approve a measure that succeeds in bestowing overdue legal recognition to same-sex couples, while preserving the religious liberty of those who so outspokenly oppose this advancement of civil rights.

The Hawaii Senate will take up the amended bill after the Veteran's Day holiday on Monday.

U.S. Senate poised to approve ENDA today

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

If everything goes as planned, gay rights history will be made on Thursday in the Senate. Gay rights bill poised for final Senate vote – Politico:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday set up the the final series of votes for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act — which prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity — culminating in a vote final passage on Thursday afternoon if the bill passes a key, 60-vote threshold procedural test in the morning.

Senate passage of ENDA seemed more and more likely Wednesday after the Senate unanimously accepted an amendment by Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) protecting religious groups exempted under the legislation from government retaliation. That amendment likely secured the vote of several other Republicans pushing for that language, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

[“Asked whether he would vote for the bill, Sen. John McCain
(R., Ariz.) said ‘yes,’ then added
in a brief interview, ‘If we get the amendments worked out,’” according
to an early morning AP report:

McCain was a co-sponsor of the Portman-Ayotte amendment.
The Senate plans to vote Thursday on an amendment by Sen. Pat Toomey
(R., Pa.) to expand the number of groups that are covered under the
religious exemption.]

(Update) Hawaii Special Session for SB1 – Hawaii Marriage Equity Act: House committees approve bill, goes to the full House

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Hawaii Tribune Herald reports Hawaii House committees forward gay marriage bill:

EqualTwo state House committees sent a bill that would legalize gay
marriage to the full chamber Tuesday night, ending a five-day public
hearing that exposed deep divisions in Hawaii on an issue being
considered across the United States.

Members of the House
Judiciary and Finance committees voted for the bill after hearing more
than 55 hours of public testimony, leading to alterations in the
measure.

The committees made three amendments. One strengthens
provisions that exempt clergy and organizations from having to perform
gay marriage ceremonies, modeled after a similar law in Connecticut.
Another deletes language that governed how children of gay couples could
establish Native Hawaiian parentage to qualify for state benefits. A
third moves the date ceremonies can begin to Dec. 2.

The full
House is expected to consider the bill in a second reading this morning,
with the possibility of fully passing the bill Friday, House
spokeswoman Carolyn Tanaka said.

The amendments mean the measure will have to be approved again by the state Senate, which passed the original bill last week. [Update: The House will send SB 1 to the Senate for its consideration early next week, following the Veterans Day holiday Monday.]