Fight Over LGBT Vote On House Floor A Sign Of The Sad State Of The Union

On May 19, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017 that would have protected the rights of LGBT workers on federal jobs. The vote turned into a fight as the House Republicans altered the voting procedure, twisted the arms of legislators and defeated the amendment. This fight, a devolution into chaos, mirroring the devolution of the GOP, is a painfully obvious sign of the current sad state of the union and the lack of LGBT equality in the United States.

Quote of the day #NDAA pic.twitter.com/uUofdp6nI5

— American Progress (@amprog) May 19, 2016

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 governs spending on both national defense and Overseas Contingency Operations. As such, the NDAA also governs Department of Defense facilities spending, which includes construction, expansion, remodeling, and maintenance of, for example, military bases and Veterans Affairs medical centers.

The fight that erupted in the House concerned an amendment aimed at stripping away the power of the NDAA’s so-called Russell amendment. The stated purpose of the Russell amendment, proposed by Oklahoma’s House Republican Steve Russell, is to protect religious freedoms, but its opponents claim, instead of protecting freedoms, it allows discrimination, particularly against the members of the LGBT community. The contention surrounding Wednesday night’s House vote on the NDAA, thanks to the inclusion of the Russell amendment, was only a warm-up for the fight that was to take place in the House on Thursday morning.

The counter-amendment, proposed by openly gay New York House Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney, would have ensured contractors who failed to comply with President Obama’s 2014 executive order banning LGBT discrimination in the workplace were not eligible for federal contracts. Maloney’s amendment was expected to pass in the House vote. However, House Republicans leaders altered the standard voting procedure, allowing representatives to change their votes quietly using electronic methods, avoiding what Illinois House Democrat Luis Gutierrez called “the walk of shame.”

The result of the House Republicans’ trickery was a verbal fight that began with Democrats chanting “Shame! Shame! Shame!” As soon as the clerk read her statement, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer immediately requested a parliamentary inquiry, questioning whether the votes on the board changed “magically.”

“I saw no one come to the desk to change their vote, Mr. Speaker. The parliamentary inquiry is ‘How can the vote change when no one comes to the well to change their vote?'”

A video of the fight posted by NBC News, highlights the madness that ensued. As Hoyer’s complaints continued, the legislator who Speaker of the House Paul Ryan had designated to preside over the debate spoke over Hoyer, completely ignoring his objections, and announced the LGBT anti-discrimination amendment’s defeat by one vote.

Deeply disappointed House GOP wouldn’t allow vote to strike anti-#LGBT measure in #FY17NDAA https://t.co/DLHgYQ5NjU pic.twitter.com/uGaayyOvYg

— Steny Hoyer (@WhipHoyer) May 18, 2016

According to a report published yesterday by Slate, it appears Speaker Ryan fully supported his designee’s disregard for Hoyer’s inquiry request, as he is on record as being opposed to the Maloney amendment.

“This is federalism. The states should do this. The federal government shouldn’t stick its nose in its business.”

Ryan’s view of this issue as falling under the jurisdiction of the states is further proof of the sad state of the union, as the author of article in Slate so eloquently pointed out.

“In other words, Ryan believes that states should decide whether the federal government should allow federal contractors to use federal tax dollars to engage in anti-LGBTQ discrimination when working on federal projects overseen by federal agencies. And this man is the intellectual leader of the Republican Party.”

As a result of the House vote, the Russell amendment remains part of the NDAA, exempting religious organizations from sections of both the Americans with Disabilities Act and other civil rights laws, according to a report on the amendment published in The Washington Post. Fortunately for members of the LGBT community, President Obama has the option to veto the NDAA, thus vetoing the Russell amendment.

If Obama chooses to veto the NDAA, it will mean more legislative action will be necessary, as the NDAA must be passed in some form because it is necessary for the approval of the 2017 defense budget. More unfortunate, however, is that it will also mean the U.S. House of Representatives is so backward that it takes a presidential veto to stop its members from making LGBT discrimination not only acceptable but also state-sanctioned.

In a country where employment anti-discrimination laws have been in place since the passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, we now have legislators making LGBT discrimination legal in the name of religion. During President John F. Kennedy’s term, he urged the passage of legislation that would protect all Americans. After his death, President Lyndon B. Johnson honored Kennedy’s memory by pushing the Civil Rights Act.

“No memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honor President Kennedy’s memory than the earliest possible passage of the Civil Rights Bill for which he fought so long.”

If Kennedy were alive today, one can only imagine his disappointment at what happened in the House yesterday. One can only imagine his disappointment at what has happened in North Carolina and Mississippi. How can we, as citizens of a country dedicated to the idea that “all men are created equal,” now abandon Jeffersonian principles, let religion permit hate and enter a new Jim Crow era?

[Photo by Jason E. Miczek/AP Images for Human Rights Campaign]