ACT On Principles

With the latest revelations on DADT being pushed back by Secretary Gates, and the two week ENDA deadline missed event though promised by Representative Frank, we wanted to share with you a moving song from the Union movement, “Which side are you on?” written by Pete Seeger.

Which side are you on boys?  Which side are you on?

Come all you good workers
Good news to you I’ll tell
Of how the good old union
Has come in here to dwell

Which side are you on boys?
Which side are you on?

My daddy was a miner
He’s now in the air and sun
He’ll be with you fellow workers
Until the battle’s won

Which side are you on boys?
Which side are you on?

They say in Harlan County
There are no neutrals there
You’ll either be a union man
Or a thug for J. H. Claire

Which side are you on boys?
Which side are you on?

Oh workers can you stand it?
Oh tell me how you can
Will you be a lousy scab
Or will you be a man?

Which side are you on boys?
Which side are you on?

Don’t scab for the bosses
Don’t listen to their lies
Poor folks ain’t got a chance
Unless they organize

Which side are you on boys?
Which side are you on?

Hi Folks,

I just wanted to share with you this breaking news!

Yesterday evening, the senate just introduced a 26 pages framework of what a Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill will look like and LGBT Families has been included in the framework (it is at page 22 of the 26 page document).

For more information, you can read them here:
Immigration Plan Includes LGBT Families – Advocate.com
Harry Reid tries to jump the Lindsey Graham roadblock: Politico.com
Senate’s legislative framework for immigration reform: Politico.com

While this is not the end… and we assume that there will be a lot of debate, but we know at least that as of now, our families, LGBT Families, will be included. A lot of you have been working with us in supporting this issue either through meeting with representatives or allowing us to speak at your rallies or write to your members… it has been a long, stressful and difficult journey but at least we know that we are moving in the right direction and we are seeing some results and movement.

I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you for supporting this very important issue even when it is not so popular and for signing our weekly petitions at change.org

We would never have been where we are without your support and assistance.

I know that in the next month, when the bill gets introduced and moves through the floor, we are going to need more of your help and assistance as we fight to make sure that LGBT Families are not going to be removed from the bill.

However, right now, I just want to say “THANK YOU”.

Yours sincerely,
Amos Lim, Treasurer & Founding Board Member
[email protected]
347-Out-4Imm (Voicemail)
Blog: http://out4immigration.blogspot.com
Action: http://www.change.org/actions/search?search=lgbt+immigration+rights
Website: http://www.out4immigration.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/out4immigration
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/out4immigration
Donate: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=YS3PXYE8GBCZU

http://www.change.org/actions/search?search=lgbt+immigration+rights

Lt. Dan Choi speaks about the Truth and Consequences of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy, Jr. Forum on 29 April 2010.  It’s an amazing video where Lt. Choi discusses GetEqual and Civil Disobedience in Part 4 and Part 5.  Insightful questions and answers come at Part 6 and Part 7.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

• SUNDAY: DADT Rally At White House: GetEQUAL, Queer Rising, and Talk About Equality will join forces … http://bit.ly/aSj5uV #LGBT #

From GetEQUAL and QueerRising:

There will be a rally in Washington DC on Sunday, May 2, 2010 to pressure the President with the demand he transmit IMMEDIATELY to the Senate Armed Service Committee the language for repeal into the Defense Authorization Bill. If you would like to plan your action for this date, by all means do. If not – please email the date and details of your action plan to: [email protected] so we can try to coordinate and assist in publicizing!

*FOR FREE BUS TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM NYC, SIMPLY EMAIL YOUR NAME, EMAIL, PHONE AND AGE TO [email protected] (You must be 18 or over, bus will leave midtown Manhattan around 6am and return before midnight).

Once your action is complete you can link video, press coverage and photos of your action to the GetEQUAL Facebook Page and here on DADTRepeal.org.Simply email links to youtube videos to [email protected].

• RT @QueerCitizen: David Mixner from Congress: #Obama is making a "huge mistake" by delaying #DADT http://bit.ly/aUtRAX #lgbt #
• RT @AMERICAblogGay: Entire audio from Signorile's 2 hour gay townhall meeting with gay leaders http://bit.ly/acC6oV #LGBT #GETEQUAL #
• @kerryeleveld: Will Obama rise or squander this #DADT opportunity? http://bit.ly/aE8kBn #LGBT #

• RT @QueerCitizen: David Mixner from Congress: #Obama is making a "huge mistake" by delaying #DADT http://bit.ly/aUtRAX #lgbt #
• RT @AMERICAblogGay: Entire audio from Signorile's 2 hour gay townhall meeting with gay leaders http://bit.ly/acC6oV #LGBT #GETEQUAL #
• @kerryeleveld: Will Obama rise or squander this #DADT opportunity? http://bit.ly/aE8kBn #LGBT #

I was able to ask a question at the Michelangelo Signorile Sirius/XM Thursday, April 22th, A Path Forward: An LGBT Leadership Town Hall .  You can click on the link to hear the entire interesting panel.

As you know one of the key tools that the Act On Principles website provides is Public Whip Counts for multiple pieces of LGBT legislation in the House and the Senate including the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the Repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” , the Repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, the Uniting American Families Act, and many others.  No other national organization provides such a service, and we would hope that they soon are inspired to begin to do so.

Here is the essence of my question:

In regards to principles and transparency, why aren’t the national organizations sharing information on where current LGBT legislation stands earlier, rather than later.   Why aren’t we learning about the key DADT Senators, earlier?  Will the national organizations endorse the idea of public whip count on LGBT legislation”

[Additional Note:  I am remised that I forgot to thank Aubrey Sarvis, Executive Director for the Service Members Legal Defense Network (SLDN) for already endorsing our House and Senate Public Whip Counts on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.   I went up and thanked him personally after the panel and he said, “We will be doing more work together.”  I look forward to that.]

Joe Solmonese claims that “they couldn’t be more transparent” and that their “Congressional Scorecard”   is essentially the same thing as the Act On Principles “Public Whip Counts” .    He later went on to state, “I don’t think that there is a lack of transparency of what the work needs to get done,” as they often meet in coalition with other groups.

Sorry Joe.  Wrong. Nice try.  A Congressional Scorecard of past votes and co-sponsorships is not the same thing, as a Public Whip Count of current legislation.  And here is why:

Lesson One: Congresses change with elections. The 111^th Congress has changed since the 110^th Congress.  In particular, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) one of your targets for DADT repeal isn’t even on your “most helpful” scorecard, as he wasn’t elected.  Neither is Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) one of your target votes for ENDA, as she wasn’t elected and is not on your scorecard.

Lesson Two: New pieces of legislation are introduced regularly. HRC’s Scorecard includes issues of HIV/AIDS funding, co-sponsorship of issues such as Hate Crimes, and ENDA, issues included in the 110th Congress.  Not a always an exact indicator of where a member stands on many newer issues such as the Domestic Benefits and Obligations Act (DPBO), the Uniting Americans Families Act (UAFA),  and the repeal of DOMA (these items weren’t introduced until this congress).

Lesson Three: The Grassroots need names of who to target their efforts towards.  Generic blasts of “Call your Member of Congress” are failing to motivate the grassroots and HRC’s website and email blasts refuse to name names. The reluctance of Joe during the town hall to even mention the six target Senators indicates that there is a larger problem with HRC.  If you visit HRC’s special website for DADT Repeal it is almost impossible to find the six Senators that need to be pushed.  Joe could only name five during the town hall.

• Senator Jim Webb (D-VA)
• Senator Bill Nelson (D-NE)
• Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV)
• Senator Evan Bye (D-IN)
• Scott Brown (R-MA)

Lesson Four: More information early, is better than little information late in the game.  The last few votes are crucial to push the legislation through, and time of of the essence.  These are the votes that the grassroots need the most information on, and sooner, rather than later.   The five Senators above should have been directly been discussed in the email boxes and the blog postings as of last year, not in the final moments as we head into the President’s Defense Authorization Budget.

As the title of the town hall suggests, we were looking for “A Path Forward”.    Act on Principles, Service Members Legal Defense Network, and  Out4Immigration with many other newer organizations have lead the way.   Now is the time for the largest LGBT organizations such HRC , The Task Force, Immigration Equality, and the  National Center for Transgender Equality to endorse a more open and transparent path.