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“One of the things I have noted is members of Congress can and do learn,” she said. “Many have shared with me their own progress as they’ve considered this issue.” Baldwin noted that when she asked members last year to vote against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have banned gay marriage, some who had voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 told her that they were ready to show they had changed and would vote against the proposal. Hammill said Pelosi would not be dissuaded by concerns that House members could become locked into their stance. “The speaker is committed to passing the most inclusive bill possible,” he said. “This strategy allows us to work for that goal without risking the historic promise of ENDA.”
‘A very useful tool’ Although it fell short of their ideal, many gay and transgender rights groups indicated this week they would support Baldwin’s amendment. “Being able to put people on record will be a very useful tool for moving forward in future years,” said Dave Noble, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force’s public policy director. The emerging support for Baldwin’s amendment came after United ENDA, led by the Task Force, lambasted the decision by House Democrats to move ahead with a gay-only ENDA and sideline the trans-inclusive version until it wins more support. “It simply makes no sense,” said Matt Foreman, the Task Force’s executive director, in a statement released hours after last week’s Capitol Hill meeting. “If the goal is moving an ENDA that protects all of us, passing a flawed, gay-only bill utterly undermines that objective. The notion that the House of Representatives will be willing to revisit a different ENDA before the end of the calendar year &mdas
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