Gay Marriage Means Business In California

If you haven't been surfing the net lately, you would be sure to miss the Gay Marriage papparrazzi of companies vying for the Gay Marriage dollar in California. Check out echelonmagazine.com when you get a minute. It's like I've always known, once people start to realize how Gays and Lesbians contribute to our society, hate will slowly melt away. One of the most powerful influences is "money."

From hotels to fire insurance, it seems as if we just can't keep up with all of the press releases coming down the pipeline as the Golden state gears up for a potential economic boom. The Williams Institute of UCLA School of Law predicts a $683.8 million boost in direct spending by same-sex couples over the next three years. (Hear that Arnold?)

Creating an emotional bond with customers is a strategic imperative for any brand, if you dare. I'm starting to notice that companies are finally starting to feel that bonk on the head that they were given years ago when we first started quantifying our purchasing power. Yes, tell us that you support our cause in addition to how great your products and services are. It will go a long way.

Outvite, although a gay-focused company is a great example of creating that emotional bond. In their recent press release, the title alone punches their salute to the California Supreme Court Decision and then they go on to promote their products and services.

The Rainbow Wedding Network must be brimming with the news as they plan their same-sex wedding tours traveling through major cities in California.

My favorite is the fire insurance. Kudos to Fireman's Fund Insurance for jumping on the band wagon. With all of the disasters California endures each year and the amount of money you have to slap down for your nuptials, I wouldn't be surprised if they started to set up kiosks on every corner.

So wait, let's do the math. The Williams Institute estimates that half of the estimated 100,000 same-sex couples in California will marry in the next 3 years. With an average wedding costing $27,000, hey! that's $13,500,000! Nice change!

The travel industry has been marketing to our community for years, but California's nod to gay marriage is lighting an even bigger fire under the butts of progressive marketing directors. Kimpton Hotels takes the lead by announcing their "Summer of Pride" campaign. The promotion extends a discount on hotel bookings in many gay-friendly cities throughout the country. Hello honeymoons!

All this hoopla makes me wonder why I'm not turning Echelon Magazine into Echelon Wedding and Business Magazine. But we are thinking.........

Michael Lamb
Editor in Chief

Gays and the Recession

Posted 4/27/08

By Dawn Meifert, Merge Media

On the cover of today’s New York Times, "Recession Diet Just One Way to Tighten Belt". It is an article that discusses and discloses how Americans are jumping ship when it comes to their usual brands. They are staying at the Hampton Inn instead of the Hilton, buying Gain instead of Tide and Oh My God!!! buying Keystone Light over Corona Light. Seems to me corporate America really needs to start paying attention to the homos in this country.

I am sure that somewhere some religious zealot will say all this recession talk is part of a grand scheme thought out by the gays and their homosexual agenda to promote their financial superiority. It is a great idea, maybe we should have thought of this long ago! I do know that I have often wished that I knew what the agenda was/is and can I participate? Can I make a donation somewhere that will get me a bumper sticker? Some things we just may never know......

What I do know for sure is that we (the gays) will not be as affected by this economic downturn as most of our straight counter-parts and we have the numbers to prove it. Personally, none of our friends have scaled back in any way, nor do they plan to do so. Seriously, what self-respecting homosexual with an active social life would buy generic?

Just think, if all those brilliant marketers out there of America’s brands would apply the same rigor and investment in the LGBT community the return they would mine on that investment. This single decision would help to stem the slide of their brands and perhaps, save a few jobs. They would be hailed as visionaries!! That same decision would also pump hundreds of millions of dollars into the gay community, which in turn would create more spending.

Eight to ten percent of the population, located mainly in metropolitan areas, more highly educated and the most loyal demographic out there. Can someone please explain to me what in the world is corporate America waiting on??

American Airlines Establishes LGBT, Women`s Cumtomer Advisory Groups - Expands Diversity and Inclusion Information on AA.com

April 22, 2008 - American Airlines, building on its long history of successful marketing to key customer constituencies, has established two advisory councils: one focused on Lesbian/Gay/Bi-Sexual/ Transgender (LGBT) travelers, the other on women travelers.

American was the first airline to develop specialty sales and marketing teams for these two important customer groups and for African-Americans and Hispanics, and has been the industry leader in establishing dedicated advertising budgets for African-American and Hispanic audiences.

Advisory Council members provide ongoing and ad hoc market feedback on American`s position within their respective communities. Additional duties are to contribute input on market trends, community concerns and program concepts that promote growth within these customer groups, including the content on two specialized marketing pages on American’s Web site: aa.com/rainbow and aa.com/women. Links to these pages appear on the Diversity and Inclusion main page.

New Human Rights Campaign Foundation Guide Helps Employers Create Fair Policies for Transgender Workers

“Transgender Inclusion in the Workplace” Offers Guidance on Policies and Practices to Ensure All Employees are Protected

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the nation’s largest gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization, has released a guide that aims to provide human resource and other employment professionals with best practices for transgender workplace inclusion—from discrimination and benefits policies to internal practices that reflect how gender is expressed and integrated in the workplace—as well as the state of legal issues encompassing gender identity in employment situations. “Transgender Inclusion in the Workplace” covers topics such as appropriate terminology with which to discuss gender identity and expression, the creation of policies that protect transgender workers from discrimination, and the expansion of diversity programs to include gender identity and expression.

ExxonMobil: When Push Comes To Shove

Historically, corporations have outpaced governments as the agents of social change and within the past couple of years this reference has been duly noted in particular with the advancement of equality in the workplace for the GLBT workforce. However, there are evolving instances where government legislation is ahead of the pack and causes a profit-seeking corporation to scramble to be in compliance for a contract.

On July 1, 2007, the state of Connecticut passed Public Act No. 07-142 that requires all companies doing business with the state to have a non-discrimination policy that
protects employees including sexual orientation. Connecticut and California (along with several municipalities) are the only states that enforce this type of legislation on their contractors .

Exxon Mobil Oil Corporation, a subsidiary of parent company, Exxon Mobil Corporation has recently submitted a bid as a Connecticut state contractor and signed a certification on September 11, 2007 that they will adopt as their policy the nondiscrimination agreements and warranties set forth in the above legislation. The issue at hand concerns ExxonMobil’s reputation within the GLBT community as a company that does not include sexual orientation within their equal opportunity employment policy, but has permitted their subsidiary to comply with the state law in order to work on projects in Connecticut.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) publishes an annual Corporate Equality Index that scores companies according to their level of benefits and inclusiveness regarding their Gay and Lesbian workforce. Every year, ExxonMobil has scored a whopping zero out of one hundred. HRC’s site indicates an “R” or “Rescinded” next to the item – “Has a written non-
discrimination policy covering sexual orientation in its employee handbook or manual” on the Exxon Mobil page. While most Fortune 500 companies created non-discrimination policies based upon both sexual orientation and gender identity, HRC reports that Exxon Mobil Corporation has lagged in participating in this growing trend.

“The Human Rights Campaign appreciates the leadership Senator McDonald and State Representative Mike Lawlor have provided in Connecticut to advance equality. We hope that the Exxon Mobil Oil Corp. resolution will be a catalyst for further action—it is past time for Exxon Mobil to take company-wide action to prohibit discrimination against GLBT employees and provide equal benefits to GLBT families,” states Daryl Herrschaft, Director, HRC Workplace Project.Alan Jeffers, Media Relations Advisor for Exxon Mobil Corp disputes HRC’s claim. “ExxonMobil has policies in place that have zero-tolerance for discrimination or harassment. These policies are comprehensive in nature, rigorously enforced, and applicable to all employees wherever the company operates in the world. These written policies prohibit discrimination or harassment for any reason, including sexual orientation, in any company workplace,” states Jeffers.

Although Jeffers did submit to Echelon a Corporate Citizens
document acknowledging their inclusion of sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policy, Herrschaft indicates that the document submitted is non-binding and is not included in the company’s equal opportunity employment policy.

Whether Exxon Mobil Corporation does or doesn’t have a legal and
binding non-discrimination employment policy including
sexual orientation is still a battle to be fought with the Human Rights Campaign. In the meantime, the progressive states and municipalities that demand this policy from their contractors will be at the forefront of workplace advocacy.

Print 2.0?

Mention our competitors! Are you nuts?

That is probably what I would have said not too long ago as Echelon was just getting a footing on the Internet and was striving to increase brand exposure. Today is a different day. Now, naming your competitors and working together to help increase traffic on each other’s sites is the mainstay. Featuring competitors in “print”…. now who is ahead of the curve? Echelonmagazine.com is currently in construction on a brand new site that
features all of the elements of Web 2.0, but as that evolves, we hope your enjoy the articles in this issue pertaining to GLBT finance.

A GLBT finance issue is a relatively new item in today’s media. It not only serves the financial needs of our community but also tends to accentuate our collective personality as a people of substance that breaks down perceived myths.

Queercents.com’s Allison Einbinder provides a bit of comfort as our minds unwillingly turn towards what we did with our money in 2007 and how that translates into our tax obligations.

Echelon is proud to announce the re-launch of GFN.com (GayFinancialNetwork). Since 1998, Walter Schubert has been providing guidance on the issues affecting our money. I actually had the pleasure of meeting him back in 2004 and he took me on an awesome tour of the New York Stock Exchange. Schubert’s foresight in embracing Echelon back then demonstrated a keen sense of the current trend.

Aside from the other articles in this special focus on finance, I urge you to take a look at what Dr. Gary Gates of UCLA’s Williams Institute has to say about the media and quantitative surveys on our community. Dr. Gates is one of our
foremost experts on GLBT demographics and until the day comes when we
actually know how many of us there really are, keep your ear to the ground when you see or hear his name.

If you haven’t begun to incorporate the elements of Web 2.0 yet, I strongly
recommend it. We can all accomplish more by breaking down the invisible
barriers we set before ourselves and start working collaboratively.


Michael Lamb
Editor In Chief
Echelon Magazine

Mark My Words

By Mark Segal


Sometimes the national leadership of our community makes me shake my head in wonder. The last big suggestion to come from some of our national leaders is to boycott Wal-Mart. What? There are a couple of problems with this idea.

This holiday season, Wal-Mart is expected to outpace other retailers thanks to its low prices, which appeal to Americans suffering under President Bush’s “for rich men” economic policies. Second, how can we effect this boycott if we believe our own publicity about the affluent gay market? If
we’re all fashionistas, shopping at Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus, we
wouldn’t be seen in a Wal-Mart anyway.

Wal-Mart does not seem to be a great target to bring the community together
or ask allies to join us. (This is not to say that Wal-Mart isn’t a good
boycott target in general.) On the other hand, there is an event happening
in April that, if handled well, could unite the GLBT community and our
allies. Pope Benedict XVI is making his first official trip to the U.S. in
April. Like Wal-Mart, his organization does not offer domestic-partner
benefits. But unlike Wal-Mart, Benedict has a few choice words about our
community.

As a young man, Benedict served in Hitler Youth. He’s offended Muslims and
Jews as well. We know his positions on women’s rights, condoms and
homosexuality, and on homosexuality, let’s let him speak for himself:

“Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered to an intrinsic moral evil, and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder.”

On same-sex couple adoption: “Allowing children to be adopted by persons living in such unions would actually mean doing violence to these children.”

Benedict also led a witch-hunt in seminaries looking for priests with
evidence of homosexuality, calling homosexuality “objectively disordered”
and a “grave sin.”

A 2005 document on homosexual priests stated: “ ... the Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, may not admit to the seminary and Holy Orders those who practice homosexuality, show profoundly deep-rooted homosexual tendencies, or support the so-called gay culture.”

This man, who speaks of morals, runs an organization that is ostensibly the
largest pedophilia organization in the world, despite a 1961 church document
that stated: “Ordination should be barred to those who are afflicted with evil tendencies to homosexuality or pederasty.”

How dare this man speak of morals.

This April, the Pope will visit New York City and Washington, D.C. This is a
time for action, for mass demonstrations. We should make his visit a
statement that his behavior and language is not acceptable in a civilized
world.

At a recent “gay wedding,” Christian protesters reminded me of the hate of
the KKK toward African Americans and the hateful words of Nazi-era Germans
toward Jews.

Jews learned to never forget and this is why they speak up at any time
someone says anything slightly anti-Semitic. Let the GLBT community take a
lesson from them: This April is a time for us to speak up and speak out!

Mark Segal is PGN publisher. He can be reached at mark@epgn.com.

Printed in this blog with permission by Mark Segal PGN Publisher © 2007 Philadelphia Gay News

Many refer to Mark Segal as the dean of American gay journalism. As a pioneer of the local gay press movement, he was one of the founders and former president of both The National Gay Press Association and the National Gay Newspaper Guild. He also is the founder and publisher of the award winning Philadelphia Gay News which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.

Justifying Hate

ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act) finally passed in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday, November 7, 2007.

Although, Echelon Magazine would have preferred that they pass the version including gender identity protections, it will be interesting to see how the whole thing evolves and how far it will go. It’s likely that the Senate won’t even consider putting it on their slate of affairs until next year, and even more likely that old George won’t sign it. Whether or not it will actually be signed into law this time, and despite the lack of inclusion of our transgender brothers and sisters, ENDA as it stands today is a bold statement that our country’s political climate is moving in the right direction – even if it’s not exactly following our road map.

But, what boggled our mind, throughout the debate was why religions were given such an enormous amount of consideration with regard to how the law will apply to them. The newly passed ENDA continues to safeguard the discriminatory employment practices of religions. However, the “for-profit” religious institutions still feel that their faith/business is in jeopardy as they would not be able to fire gay people simply because homosexuality is against their religion.

Call us naïve, but we would think that a religion is a group of spiritual individuals whose dogma is based on love. Isn’t that the main theme of the bible, to love one another? Well, if this is love, we’re not feeling it. Let us try and figure this out for a moment. Religions consider Gays and Lesbians to be individuals who are living their lives in sin. Therefore, they need to be protected under the law by being able to not hire someone who is a sinner.

Let’s turn the tables for a moment and hypothetically require the removal of phrases stating non-discrimination on the basis of religion or creed. What if a company decided not to hire someone because they were a Christian – would our conservative friends have a problem with that? After all, your religion is a “choice.”

We are of the belief that humans do need spirituality, religion or some kind of connection to the divine in order to get out of our heads and try to come up with some kind of explanation for the unknown. Whether it is idolatry, Hinduism or tree worshiping, people have the right to believe whatever they want to believe. But, our country was founded on a principle of “Separation of Church and State” and that principle was created to protect our citizens from religious persecution. Our laws must be determined based upon what is right for our citizens regardless of creed. Anything else is a blatant nod to a collective group of Americans who blindly support a justification for hate.

U.S. House Takes Historic Step by Passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act

Vote Marks Major Step in Achieving Equality for All

WASHINGTON – In an historic step toward equality, the U.S. House of Representatives successfully passed today the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, ENDA. The vote, 235 to 184, marks the first time ever that either chamber of Congress has passed employment protections based on sexual orientation.

“Today, we witnessed the making of civil rights history in the U.S. House of Representatives by the passing of ENDA,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “This vote by Congress is an important step at ensuring that millions of gay and lesbian Americans will never again have to go to work in fear of losing their jobs because of who they are.”

In 31 states, it is currently legal to fire someone based on their sexual orientation. In 39 states, it is legal to fire a person for being transgender.

The Human Rights Campaign helped introduce ENDA 13 years ago to prevent workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. This year, for the first time, HRC and allies on the Hill included gender identity in the bill to also protect transgender workers. One month ago, House leadership made it clear that Congress did not have the votes to pass HR 2015, which prevents discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This week, House Rules Committee reported out Congressman Frank’s HR 3685, a bill that protects only sexual orientation, to the floor.

While HRC was disappointed that HR 3685 did not include protections for transgender Americans, it believes the successful passage of Congressman Frank’s bill is a step forward for all Americans, and that it paves the way for additional progress to outlaw workplace discrimination based on gender identity.

“Our fight for equality will not be won overnight,” said Solmonese. “It will be won one step at a time, and we will not give up until we reach the finish line. This is a critical piece of legislation and a major step toward the finish line for all Americans.”

Throughout history, Congress has often taken an incremental approach toward equality for other civil rights and business regulatory legislation. For example, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was introduced in five consecutive congresses for eight years and was vetoed twice by former President Bush before it was finally signed into law on February 5, 1993, by President Clinton. Each time the FMLA was introduced, Members built upon the protection from the previous year’s legislative action.

Additionally, each piece of civil rights legislation passed by Congress -- in 1957, 1960, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1990 -- continued the legislative path of the expansion of essential civil rights protections in law.

On Tuesday, the Human Rights Campaign joined the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR); the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), among other organizations in the civil rights community, in support of the bill that would make it illegal for employers to discriminate on sexual orientation. The letter was signed by 10 national civil rights and worker protection organizations representing millions of Americans.

A copy of the letter is available on HRC’s blog, HRC Back Story: http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2007/11/hrc-civil-right.html

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against GLBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

Breaking New Ground

The Echelon team just returned from the West Coast Franchise Expo in Los Angeles on October 19-21. As the Gay/Lesbian community has been somewhat hidden in the franchise industry in the past, we were very pleasantly surprised to be welcomed by the majority of the exhibitors as well as the attendees. At the onset of the Expo, I must admit that I was curious as well as a bit concerned that we would not be welcomed. However, the entire experience was a positive one and over the course of the three days proved to me that times are definitely changing.

Similar to the franchising industry in terms of GLBT inclusiveness is the sport of racecar driving. Evan Darling is a pioneer as he makes waves by being one of the only “out” race car drivers in the country. His courage and integrity in living and working in his truth is amplified by his desire to act as a role model to inspire young GLBT individuals.

Evan Darling highlights Echelon’s first Auto Industry issue which will be featured as a regular issue each year. This issue marks the first time that our publication focuses on a particular industry and describes some of the positive stories that are occurring in the marketplace. It is encouraging to read about what GM has been doing lately in terms of their GLBT inclusion efforts and GayWheels.com is also making great inroads into this industry.

Like a well-oiled machine, the Human Rights Campaign has churned out a record number of companies scoring 100% in their Corporate Equality Index (CEI). We list each company in this issue specifically to applaud their endeavors and also to illustrate how each and every one of us need to realize how respect for the GLBT community in the workplace is growing. This year’s CEI depicts an increase in the number of companies scoring 100% by 41%. So, depite how well ENDA bades in Congress this season we can rest assured that the business world is recognizing GLBT equality in the workplace. As so many companies are aligning their internal corporate culture with the diverse communities within our country, their efforts will obviously impact their bottom line.


Michael Lamb
Editor-In-Chief
Echelon Magazine

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SYMBOLISM OR SUBSTANCE IN ENDA DEBATE?

By Jody M. Huckaby

When the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) received its first-ever vote in the House of Representatives and passed the Education and Labor Committee on Oct. 18, it should have been a historic - and celebratory - moment for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. But there was a cloud hanging over the vote, with over 300 LGBT and allied groups in the United ENDA Coalition advocating for the original form of the bill introduced earlier this year- one that finally included a ban on discrimination based on gender identity. The House Democratic leadership's decision to strip those protections from the bill, leaving only sexual orientation covered, has turned what should have been a victory into an unnecessarily divisive, disappointing setback for the LGBT movement.

Unfortunately, the mainstream media has characterized this primarily intra-community conflict as the protestations of a "fringe minority of transgender activists" or the "extreme left" of the LGBT population. Nothing could be further from the truth. One look at the list of organizations and the constituencies we represent makes that crystal clear. This is not a conflict between "pragmatic incrementalists" and "all-or-nothing idealists." This controversy goes to the very core of what brings the LGBT community together, and it has forced a much-needed debate to the surface. It is time for some truth-telling and difficult conversations about what it means to be a community advocating for workplace protections.
Our coalition is urging Congress either to restore gender identity protections via an amendment offered by Congresswoman and out lesbian Tammy Baldwin or, if that cannot be accomplished, to drop the effort to pass LGBT anti-discrimination legislation this year. The reality is that this President will not even consider signing such a bill, whether it covers gender identity or only sexual orientation. This gives us the opportunity in the coming months to continue to educate our elected officials - and the public - about how matters of gender affect people of all sexual orientations.

Legal experts have criticized the existing bill as having far too many flaws to provide adequate protections for individuals based on sexual orientation, which often is closely linked to their actual or perceived gender expression. Gay, lesbian and bisexual people who are "straight-acting and appearing" might indeed face a safer future following the passage of this bill, but those who more outwardly transgress gender norms would remain vulnerable under the stripped-down ENDA. Sadly, this has been lost in nearly all of the media coverage of this issue.

Simply put, men who are perceived as effeminate and women who are seen as masculine are often singled out for discrimination in the workplace, and federal case law is not settled as to whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides sufficient protection for such individuals. Take the example of Christopher Vickers, a private police officer at an Ohio hospital. He claimed that he had been discriminated against and verbally and physically harassed on a daily basis after he became friends with a gay man. Much of the harassment focused on questioning Vickers' masculinity and suggesting that his sexual practices were those traditionally associated with women. Just last year, a federal appellate court threw out Vickers' case because it found that Title VII does not forbid this type of discrimination. Keeping gender identity protections in ENDA would help correct such rulings and represent a major advance in the civil rights of all Americans -- lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight.

While under most circumstances we would support efforts to achieve a tactical victory in the House this year, we feel that seriously weakening the bill and dividing the LGBT community represent a price that is simply too high to pay for a purely symbolic exercise. We believe that maintaining an inclusive ENDA, with protections for the entire LGBT community intact, is both the pragmatic and principled way to proceed.

Advocates of the stripped down ENDA have said that insufficient education has been done concerning transgender Americans and broader issues of gender identity. However, they appear to have overlooked the dramatic, recent gains made in adding gender identity protections to state and local law. Twelve states, the District of Columbia and more than 90 counties and municipalities now protect transgender people from workplace discrimination. Together, these jurisdictions contain more than 100 million people, about 37 percent of the U.S. population. While more states and localities have sexual orientation protections (representing just over 50% of the U.S. population), the gap is narrowing rapidly.
Since 2003, every state and nearly ever municipality that has enacted sexual orientation protection has also covered gender identity. In large measure, this progress has been the result of the growing unity, solidarity and cohesion of the LGBT community.

United ENDA's primary goal is to keep our community and our allies united behind an inclusive ENDA until progressive forces have strengthened their position in Congress and there has been a change for the better in the White House. Our coalition represents not only LGBT people, but their parents, family members and straight allies who understand the importance of keeping the community united rather than pulling it apart. Watering the bill down now and dividing the LGBT community for a victory that is more apparent than real is a dangerous distraction and the wrong precedent to set.

If members of Congress need more education on gender identity issues, let's continue to increase our work to do that now. Let's make sure they know that surveys show that 60 percent of transgender respondents have either no source of income or earn less than $10,000 a year, demonstrating the desperate need for employment protections for transgender people. Let's make sure they know how frequently lesbians, gay men and bisexuals are subjected to discrimination based not on their sexual orientation but also because of attitudes about how "real" men and women are "supposed" to look and act. Let's work together to pass the right bill, one that unites LGBT people, their families and straight allies together, not an inadequate bill that fails protect everyone equally.


Jody M. Huckaby, Executive Director, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) National. PFLAG is one of nearly 350 organizations that are part of www.UnitedENDA.org

ENDA: Spelling it Out!

Dear Congressman Wamp:

I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my request that, in your representation of me and other Tennessee citizens, you vote to uphold those qualities that make America such a wonderful place; namely: equality, opportunity, and self-sufficiency.

I am also thrilled to see that you are of the opinion that the Constitution affords each person equal standing in the eyes of the law. I take your statements in the message below to mean you will not be voting for any constitutional amendments that may restrict personal liberties or equalities. I would also read your response to mean that you will vote in favor of providing same sex partners with rights equivalent to those of their heterosexual counterparts.

Congressman Wamp, as an American who is educated, pays taxes, and holds a professional job in your district, please let me assure you my right to earn a living and my ability to pay taxes are threatened by ignorance in the workplace every day. This does not mean I, or others, should run and hide or fear retribution for who God made us. While we do not yet have definitive proof, all genetic studies point to the fact that homosexuality is determined by a specific genome coding, activated by endocrine triggers.

Now, I can not choose whether or not I like men or women, nor can I choose the color of my skin, but I can choose to fight for the rights of every American, whether they be black, white, hispanic, gay, straight, male or female. And sometimes minorities in society require— and deserve— the aid of the blind, impartial law.

I can not, with any greater urgency, encourage you to speak with citizens in your district who fight discrimination in the work place daily. Many of them, in fact, work in government offices and departments. For your argument against voting for equality in the workplace, you sight that the law and constitution is already on my side; if so, why is it not protecting the very people who work for the government directly?

Congressman Wamp, I am happy to speak with you regarding this or any other subject. I sincerely hope that I may be able to help sustain a dialogue so that all of your citizens are represented equally and fully.

Best regards,
Chris Dutton


Subject: Message from Congressman Zach Wamp
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:58:14 -0400


Dear Chris:

No one should ever have to face discrimination for any reason. Federal, state, and local laws provide protection of life and liberty for all United States citizens. The Constitution guarantees protections for each of us, and the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of these protections over and over again.

A society free from discrimination is a goal we share even though we may differ on what is necessary to achieve it. Unfortunately, passing more laws does not guarantee intolerance. The law and the constitution are already on your side.


WarmestRegards,
Zach Wamp
Member of Congress