HRC's Joe Solmonese: NOM Made A Lot Of Noise In New York But Came Away Losers

HRC Denounces Boehner's DOMA Plan

The Human Rights Campaign has issued a denouncement of House Speaker John Boehner's vow to force the defense of DOMA. Via press release:

“The decision to mount an all-out defense of DOMA is particularly hypocritical given the Speaker’s contention that the President was distracted from focusing on the economy by DOMA,” said Solmonese. In order to defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of DOMA in court, Congress would likely have to make arguments that could include:

· That gays and lesbians have not faced a history of discrimination
· That one’s sexual orientation is in fact relevant to a person’s ability to contribute to society
· That, contrary to the opinion of experts, sexual orientation is something that can be changed
· That, despite widespread laws such as marriage amendments disadvantaging gays and lesbians, they are politically powerful.
· That the federal government is justified in violating the federalist tradition of leaving marriage and family law to the states

“A far right fringe may be calling for a defense of DOMA, but doing so is sure to turn off independent voters,” said Solmonese. “John Boehner should realize that the world has changed since 1996 and fair-minded Americans won’t like what House Republican leaders have to say when trying to justify federal discrimination against some of a state’s lawful marriages.”

Joe Solmonese adds: "House Republican leadership has now shown they’re more interested in scoring cheap political points on the backs of same-sex couples than tackling real problems."

Joe Solmonese On DOMA Backlash

New Federal Rules On Hospital Visitation Rights Have Gone Into Effect

HRC's Joe Solmonese On DADT Repeal Implementation Timetable

HomoQuotable - Pam Spaulding

"Joe Solmonese should do the honorable thing and step down. It is shameful to cash all those checks without the follow through on the job. The White House was never put under serious pressure; the late calls now in the e-blasts for the President to do something ring hollow after the toadying that has gone on for two years.

"As we saw, Reid couldn't get it together in the Senate and the wingnuts will have more control in January. The watered-down repeal doesn't do much of anything at this point (even if it passes as a separate bill during the lame duck session -- good luck with that), and we're still dealing with all the GOP squawking by McCain and others who want a 'do-over' of the Pentagon's implementation report. It's a big f'ing mess because there has been piss-poor leadership by those who are lobbied in government.

"In turn it's the unelected, highly marketed, well-tailored representative of the entire LGBT community, Joe Solmonese of HRC, who also has to be held accountable for these failures. It's clear that those in power had no fear of the vast war chest of HRC being used to turn up the heat." - Pam Spaulding, calling a Solmonese resignation a "New Year's wish for the community."

HRC's Joe Solmonese On DADT Vote

HRC Delivers 150K Petitions To LDS

Clip description via YouTube vlogger Dave Evans:

National gay rights activists on Tuesday delivered a petition letter carrying 150,000 signatures to the Mormon church following an address given by President Boyd K. Packer, a Church Apostle. The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay civil rights organization, collected the signatures after an e-mail alert to members and supporters 20 percent of whom are not lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The response to the alert is the largest in HRC history. The petition letter and signatures were delivered in an 800-page stack to the church's downtown Salt Lake City office building by HRC President Joe Solmonese and leaders from Utah's gay community and a gay Mormon support group.

HomoQuotable - Joe Solmonese

“Words have consequences, particularly when they come from a faith leader. This is exactly the kind of statement that can lead some kids to bully and others to commit suicide. When a faith leader tells gay people that they are a mistake because God would never have made them that way and they don’t deserve love, it sends a very powerful message that violence and/or discrimination against LGBT people is acceptable. It also emotionally devastates those who are LGBT or may be struggling with their sexual orientation or gender identify. His words were not only inaccurate, they were also dangerous." - Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese, responding to Mormon leader Boyd Packer's address to millions of LDS members.

GetEQUAL's Broken Promises Remix

Joe Solmonese Clarifies On Mehlman

After reading last night's JMG post about his Hardball appearance, HRC head Joe Solmonese sends us this clarification on his position on Ken Mehlman.

"As the community has digested the news of Ken Mehlman’s coming out, I believe it’s important for us to move forward and use this opportunity to expand the circle of Americans supporting marriage equality. Last night on Hardball with Chris Matthews I gave a short answer regarding Ken’s coming out saying, ‘the past is the past.’ While I do believe we have to turn the page at some point, I should have given a more thorough response saying that we cannot forget the past and while many are finding it hard to forgive, our future is far more important."

HRC's Joe Solmonese And Some Log Cabin Guy On Ken Mehlman's Coming Out

Joe Solmonese: "The past is the past. We certainly don't have the luxury at this point in our movement to turn away any offer of help." No mention from either of them on the trail of hate crimes, homeless teens, suicides, and broken families left in the wake of vicious Mehlman-led anti-gay ballot measures in twenty-one states. The past is the past and Hitler liked dogs.

2PM: LBGT Town Hall Live On SiriusXM

Michelangelo Signorile will be broadcasting live from the LGBT Town Hall in DC today where noted activists will spar with Joe Solmonese and discuss the future of the movement. With the developments of the last few days, things promise to be VERY lively.

The panelists: National Gay & Lesbian Task Force executive director Rea Carey; Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese; National Center for Transgender Equality executive director Mara Keisling; Servicemembers Legal Defense Network executive director Aubrey Sarvis; former Clinton White House advisor on gay rights Richard Socarides and blogger and activist Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend.

GetEQUAL activist Robin McGehee will be among those providing questions from the studio audience. Solomonese was unable to get out of London due to that pesky volcano thingy, but will be participating via video link. You can listen online beginning at 2PM by signing up for SiriusXM's free trial. Mike has promised us video clips after the event's conclusion.

DADT: What Did The White House Decide And When Did They Decide It?

The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld reports that the White House may have made the decision not to pursue a 2010 repeal of DADT as early as February, yet the president still pledged its repeal this year during his State Of The Union address.

Early in the year, multiple sources say some administration officials counseled the president against acting on the military’s gay ban in 2010. Still, Obama included his intention to end the policy in his State of the Union address, saying, “This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law…” Yet just days after the January 27 speech, White House officials convened a meeting on February 1 with LGBT advocates in which they said the policy would not be included in the president’s recommendations for this year's Department of Defense authorization bill, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the meeting.

“It was a definitive shut-down from [Jim] Messina,” said a source, who was present at the meeting and agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, referring to the White House deputy chief of staff. “He said it would not be going into the president’s Defense authorization budget proposal.” The news was a blow to activists since the Defense funding bill is the best legislative vehicle for including a measure to overturn the policy. “It almost seemed like the bar on the hurdle got raised two or three times higher,” said the source. The White House declined to comment on the meeting.

Speaking to a North Carolina audience, two months ago the Human Right Campaign's Joe Solmonese famously vowed that DADT would indeed be turned back in 2010. Unsurprising, the HRC remembers the above-cited White House meeting differently.

“They were noncommittal about legislation in that meeting, but not definitively one way or the other,” said [David] Smith, vice president of programs for HRC. According to Smith, the meeting included discussion of the Pentagon’s working group, who was going to lead that group, and their intent to review the current regulations and consider how they could reduce discharges.

John Aravosis reacts at AmericaBlog:

So yet again the White House is putting out the line that the President is weak and powerless, and has no influence with Congress. It's not only pathetic that any employee of the White House would think it wise to spread the word that the President is weak, but it's also a lie. And it's one the White House, and frankly HRC, has been spreading for a while now. The notion that Congress passes laws, the President only executes them. It's a cute high school civics approach to explaining how Washington works, it's also incredibly naive.

As we saw with health care reform, when the President dithered for a good year, the reform effort spun out of control and the entire thing was almost lost. When the President finally got engaged, finally put the full force of his presidency behind lobbying for the bill, suddenly the bill became law. It is flat out wrong, a lie, to suggest that the President has no power to influence legislation. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying to you, or has no concept whatsoever of how Washington works.