Gay
rights
advocates
and
gay-supportive
members
of
Congress
say
they
remain
uncertain
whether
two
important
gay
rights
bills
can
clear
the
Senate
before
lawmakers
adjourn
in
the
fall
to
devote
their
efforts
to
the
upcoming
presidential
and
congressional
elections.
Last
year,
the
House
of
Representatives
passed
the
Local
Law
Enforcement
Hate
Crimes
Prevention
Act
and
the
Employment
Non-Discrimination
Act,
or
ENDA,
two
measures
that
gay
advocacy
groups
had
hoped
would
be
enacted
into
law
in
2007
or
2008
by
a
Congress
newly
controlled
by
the
Democrats.
But
this
week,
Capitol
Hill
insiders
said
the
two
bills
were
in
trouble
and
the
chances
for
either
one
clearing
the
Senate
this
year
remained
in
doubt.
Election
year
politics,
threats
by
Republican
leaders
to
wage
a
filibuster
and
a
shortage
of
time
on
the
Senate
calendar
for
scheduling
a
large
number
of
competing
bills
were
cited
as
some
of
the
problems
the
bills
face.
The
hate
crimes
measure
would
authorize
the
federal
government
to
prosecute
anti-gay
and
anti-transgender
hate
crimes.
ENDA
calls
for
banning
job
discrimination
by
private
sector
employers
based
on
an
individual’s
sexual
orientation.
The
bill
would
exempt
the
military
and
churches.
House
Democrats
removed
a
transgender
protection
clause
from
ENDA
last
September
after
determining
they
couldn’t
line
up
enough
votes
to
pass
a
fully
inclusive
bill.
The
decision
to
drop
the
transgender
clause
created
sharp
disagreements
among
gay
activists
and
prompted
some
gay
groups
to
call
on
Congress
not
to
pass
ENDA
unless
the
trans
protections
were
restored.
Capitol
Hill
sources,
most
of
whom
spoke
on
condition
that
they
not
be
identified,
disagreed
over
who
is
to
blame
for
holding
up
the
bills,
but
most
agreed
that
the
transgender
flap
was
the
least
of
the
problems.
One
congressional
source
familiar
with
the
hate
crimes
bill
said
a
number
of
GOP
lawmakers
believe
Senate
Majority
Leader
Harry
Reid
(D-Nev.)
did
not
want
to
bring
the
hate
crimes
bill
to
a
vote
because
doing
so
would
help
the
re-election
chances
of
moderate
Republican
senators
who
support
the
bill.
Among
them
are
Sens.
Gordon
Smith
(R-Ore.)
and
Susan
Collins
(R-Maine),
who
face
strong
election
challenges
by
Democrats
in
November.
Jim
Manley,
a
spokesperson
for
Reid,
disputed
that
assertion,
saying
Reid’s
deliberations
over
the
bill
had
“nothing
at
all”
to
do
with
the
election.
Manley
also
disputed
a
claim
by
another
congressional
source
that
Reid
and
other
Senate
Democrats
were
reluctant
to
bring
up
gay
rights
bills
at
a
time
when
Democrats
are
focusing
most
of
their
attention
on
the
economy
and
a
mortgage
crisis
that
is
causing
Americans
to
lose
their
homes
through
foreclosure.
“They
prefer
to
focus
their
talking
points
on
the
economy
and
not
get
sidetracked
on
a
potentially
controversial
issue
like
gay
rights,”
said
the
source.
The
source
said
some
Democrats
worry
that
conservative
commentators,
led
by
Fox
News
talk
show
hosts,
would
try
to
link
ENDA
with
gay
marriage,
even
though
it
has
nothing
to
do
with
that
contentious
issue.
Manley
reiterated
earlier
statements
that
Reid
was
working
with
Sen.
Edward
Kennedy
(D-Mass.)
to
determine
the
best
timing
for
the
bill
and
whether
sufficient
votes
can
be
lined
up
to
pass
both
the
hate
crimes
bill
and
ENDA
in
the
Senate.
He
said
Senate
Republican
leaders
have
made
it
clear
they
will
initiate
a
filibuster
to
block
both
bills,
a
parliamentary
procedure
that
requires
60
votes
to
stop.
“It’s
all
about
getting
the
60
votes
to
break
the
Republican
filibuster,”
Manley
said
adding
that
it
is
not
clear
whether
supporters
of
the
two
bills
have
those
votes.
He
said
Reid
is
deferring
to
Kennedy
on
the
best
strategy
for
Senate
passage
of
the
hate
crimes
bill.
Kennedy
spokesperson
Melissa
Wagoner
said
Kennedy
is
weighing
whether
to
attach
the
hate
crimes
bill
as
an
amendment
to
another
bill,
similar
to
what
Kennedy
did
last
year.
The
Senate
last
year
passed
the
hate
crimes
bill
as
an
amendment
to
a
defense
authorization
measure.
The
bill
died,
however,
when
issues
related
to
the
Iraq
war
prompted
House
Democrats
and
Republicans
to
refuse
to
link
the
hate
crimes
bill
to
the
defense
measure.
At
the
time,
Rep.
Barney
Frank
(D-Mass.),
chief
sponsor
of
both
the
hate
crimes
bill
and
ENDA
in
the
House,
called
on
the
Senate
to
pass
a
freestanding
version
of
the
hate
crimes
bill
this
year.
Kennedy
and
other
backers
of
the
hate
crimes
bill
in
the
Senate
have
said
attaching
it
to
another
bill
would
be
the
best
way
to
prevent
President
Bush
from
vetoing
the
legislation.
The
White
House
announced
that
Bush
would
likely
veto
both
the
hate
crimes
bill
and
ENDA.
Nearly
all
gay
and
transgender
rights
groups
have
called
on
Congress
to
pass
the
hate
crimes
bill
regardless
of
whether
the
president
planned
to
sign
or
veto
it,
saying
a
Bush
veto
would
likely
hurt
Republicans
in
an
election
year
because
the
bill
enjoys
widespread,
bipartisan
support.
“Sen.
Kennedy
is
always
looking
for
an
appropriate
vehicle,
but
it
is
not
clear
what
that
might
be
in
this
Congress,”
Wagoner
said.
She
said
she
did
not
know
whether
Kennedy
would
accept
Frank’s
suggestion
that
he
bring
the
measure
to
the
Senate
floor
as
a
freestanding
bill.
Gay
rights
attorney
and
lobbyist
Christopher
Anders,
who
heads
the
Washington
...
