Credit Where Credit Is Due-- Some House Republican Closet Cases Don't Sign On As Cosponsors To A Homophobic Bill

The closeted gay congressman from North Carolina who always carries water for extremist hate groups

Yesterday AmericaBlog posted a list of the 95 biggest homophobes on the US House basing it on which bigots were willing to sign on as co-sponsors to Missouri's gay obsessed Vicky Hartzler's resolution demanding President Obama defend DOMA in court.

This list pretty much comprises the biggest homophobes in the U.S. House of Representatives. They're all Republicans. The list is also an indication that the newly elected teabaggers are not just focused on fiscal issues. A number of the cosponsors are freshmen (for example, Sean Duffy (WI), Kristi Noem (SD), Tim Scott (GA) and many more.) So, yeah, the teabaggers are hard-core right-wingers on social issues, too... They hate the gays and nothing will stop them. It's pure bigotry. For some of them, rhetorical and legislative gay-bashing is a passion, even an obsession.

Joe Sudbay, the writer, explains that they all have LGBT constituents, of course, but he doesn't point out that at least two of them are notorious closet cases themselves, Trent Franks (R-AZ) and Patrick McHenry (R-NC). That's not to say that none of the others are; it's just that Franks and McHenry have been blatant and publicly exposed. I don't know what hotties Howard Coble (R-NC), Michael Grimm (R-NY), and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) do behind closed doors. On the other hand, several notorious GOP closet cases have not signed on as cosponsors, including Adam Schock (IL) and David Dreier (R-CA).

I might add at this point that Blue America has a page dedicated to replacing homophobes in Congress and we'll be actively working to make sure at least a couple of the worst offenders have robust challenges. I notice that the #1 homophobe on the AmericaBlog list, at least alphabetically, is central Florida's healthcare hypocrite and clueless bigot Sandy Adams. I asked her Democratic opponent in the 2012 congressional race for his stand on marriage equality. As usual, he didn't hesitate:

The tragedy of discrimination knows no boundaries. That is why it is deplorable that in the United States, there still remain individuals whose prejudice runs so deep, that they would seek to legislate their sexual preference into laws that selfishly favor their own gender identification or sexual preference, by denying basic social and civil rights to other citizens who share different ways of life. The fact that DOMA was signed into law by a Democratic president is equally detestable, as DOMA rails against democracy in every sense of the word. In the case of Rep. Sandy Adams (R-FL), who I am running against in Florida District 24, and her Republican brethren-- I can only say that the depravity of their continued support for DOMA is intellectually bankrupt and spiritually deafening.

We added Ruiz to the page today.

Meanwhile, Jerry Nadler (D-NY) has just re-introduced the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal DOMA once and for all. I got this letter from him yesterday:

The long march toward equality and civil rights for gay and lesbian Americans took a major detour in 1996, when the regressive and overtly discriminatory Defense for Marriage Act (DOMA) was signed into law and the forces of intolerance temporarily triumphed over rationality and compassion. But, while progress comes much more slowly than we want, our society’s feelings about gays and lesbians-- and their rights-- have thankfully changed dramatically in 15 years.

For one, President Bill Clinton, who signed DOMA into law, and former Congressman Bob Barr (R-GA), who authored that terrible legislation, have changed their minds and renounced DOMA and endorsed my legislation-- the Respect for Marriage Act-- to repeal it.

Today, we find ourselves at a crossroads, in which the majority Americans support the rights of gays and lesbians to marry, and in which President Barack Obama has boldly announced that DOMA is unconstitutional and that the Department of Justice will not defend it in court. Meanwhile, the House Republican Leadership appears more out of touch and remote from the needs and values of Americans than ever, pledging now to use the public’s resources to continue to defend DOMA in court.

But today is a historic day: I have re-introduced the Respect for Marriage Act to repeal DOMA and remove the federal government from the business of discriminating against legally married gay and lesbian Americans. This legislation is the product of years of work and consensus among our nation’s foremost LGBT advocates and leaders, along with elected officials who care about the rights of all Americans, and I am extremely proud to do my part.

Now, as we continue the struggle for equality, the question at hand is not IF Congress will repeal DOMA but WHEN.  I can imagine the day when my future grandchildren will ask, “so what was the big deal about gay marriage anyway?” But, until we get there, we must continue to fight. Please say “I DO Support the Respect for Marriage Act,” sign the petition, and stay informed about my efforts toward marriage equality for all Americans. Thank you for all that you do to make equality a reality.