Tag Archives: Patrick Leahy

Senate hearing on DOMA repeal: July 20

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has set Wednesday, July 20, at 10 a.m. to hear testimony on a bill to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Pro-LGBT bills outnumber hostile ones but little movement expected

U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) re-introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to the Senate on Wednesday, and U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) each re-introduced a bill Thursday to help bi-national LGBT couples. These latest measures

Grassley puts gay district court nominee’s vote on hold

The ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday morning asked that the nomination of openly gay attorney Paul Oetken and three other federal district court nominees be held over indefinitely.

Senate confirmations: A partisan pelt-and-wait game

It looked like a cake-walk: President Obama nominated openly gay attorney Paul Oetken to a federal district court bench in Manhattan two months ago, and just last week, he had a confirmation hearing.

Gay federal appeals nominee: 11 months and still waiting for hearing

Republican members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee have been holding up the nomination of President Obama’s only openly gay nominee to a federal appeals bench.

Immigration reform: scrambling for a chance

Hope springs eternal in a lame-duck Congress—or maybe it’s desperation. Democrats and their supporters, bracing for a more conservative Congress starting in January, are rushing to push legislation through during the few days left in the remaining session.

Sponsoring LGBT Legislation No Harm to Electability

A number of LGBT allies lost their races in last week’s elections--but one bit of positive news is that sponsoring LGBT-rights legislation did not negatively impact a candidate’s ability to win.

Dems clinging to Senate, and stark contrast to GOP

The likelihood of Democrats retaining a majority of the U.S. Senate has diminished dramatically in recent days. But the news is worse than that for the LGBT community, which has had to depend on the Democratic Party to do any

LGBT inclusions in immigration: posturing or real?

LGBT concerns were included this month in a new immigration reform bill introduced to Congress, but they were not part of President Obama’s words in support of that bill and some say the bill is just a mid-term election tool.

Kagan acknowledges she’s “generally progressive”

One message Republicans tried to hammer away at this week, in an effort to derail Elena Kagan’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, must have struck many LGBT viewers of her confirmation hearing as deeply ironic.