Apr 04, 2008  |  By: LOU CHIBBARO J  | COMMENTS     

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.

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