Source: Washington Blade
The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club and the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance -- Washington’s two most influential local gay political groups -- broke ranks with many of their fellow GLBT groups in states throughout the country by declining to ask Congress to vote against an employment non-discrimination bill that does not include protection for transgender persons.

The Stein Club and GLAA signed on to an earlier statement circulated by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force saying they favor advancing a fully inclusive version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, that provides protection for both gay and transgender persons. The earlier statement calls for opposing any version that doesn’t include trans protections.

But spokespersons for the two groups said they have since decided not to ask Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), the city’s sole representative in Congress, to speak out against a version of ENDA expected to reach the House floor next week without trans protections. Norton cannot vote on bills on the House floor under D.C.’s limited home rule provisions established by Congress.

The Stein Club reached its decision on the issue Monday night when the club’s members voted, following a heated debate, to ask Norton to push for the strongest and most inclusive bill possible, stopping short of asking her to vote no on a less-inclusive measure.

Leaders of more than 300 national and statewide gay rights organizations have signed a statement asking Congress not to support any version of ENDA that doesn't include trans protections. Officials with some of the groups, including Jon Hoadley, executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, said they have yet to decide whether to specifically ask members of Congress to vote against a non-trans inclusive ENDA if it reaches the House floor next week, as expected.

But officials with other groups, such as Equality California and Equality Arizona, said they have already sent messages to the House members in their states calling on them to oppose a non-trans inclusive ENDA.

Gay Democratic activist Peter Rosenstein, a member of the Stein Club who argued against an "all or nothing" strategy on ENDA, told Stein members Monday night that he did not believe the rank and file membership or constituents of the statewide and national groups support their leaders' "all or nothing" position.

"I'm not aware of a single one of these groups polling their members or taking a survey of their members," Rosenstein said.

Jones, of Equality Arizona, and Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, said that while they did not conduct a poll of their membership, the feedback they have received by e-mail has been overwhelmingly supportive of their position opposing any form of ENDA that is not trans inclusive.