Lawmakers vote down LGBT rights measure, By Patricia Zengerle, 5/20/16, Reuters
Shouts of "Shame, shame, shame,"
erupted in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday as Republican
lawmakers narrowly defeated legislation to protect the civil rights of lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender employees of government contractors.
The measure, an amendment
to a veterans and military construction spending bill introduced by New York
Democrat Sean Maloney, initially had enough "yes" votes to pass,
according to the count in the House chamber.
But House Republican
leaders extended the time allowed for the vote as they urged enough party
members to change their positions to defeat it by a vote of 213 to 212.
All 183 Democrats who
voted backed the amendment, joined by 29 Republicans. All 213 "no"
votes were from Republicans. Eight House members - three Republicans and five
Democrats - did not vote. Lawmakers are allowed to change their vote in the few
minutes between voting and the result being declared.
LGBT rights have been a
hot-button issue during the 2016 election season. National politics have
featured debate over whether making cakes for same-sex couples violates bakers'
religious freedom or whether the government should decide which public
bathrooms are used by transgender people.
Democrats chanted
"Shame, shame, shame," at Republicans. "House Republicans are so
committed to discriminating against LGBT Americans, that they broke regular
order to force their members to reverse their votes and support Republicans'
bigotry," Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, said in a statement.
Republicans who backed the
provision said it was necessary to protect the religious rights of military
contractors and not intended to be discriminatory.
Thursday's
emotionally-charged vote came hours after the House late on Wednesday passed a
$602 billion defense authorization bill that included "religious
freedom" language that critics said would allow contractors to
discriminate against LGBT individuals.
The House Rules committee
had angered Democrats by voting along party lines late on Tuesday not to allow
a vote on an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would
have eliminated that language.
The House also backed by
265-159 a separate Democratic amendment to the spending bill that limits the
display of the Confederate battle flag on flagpoles at federal veterans'
cemeteries.
The measure angered some
conservative Republicans from southern states, who argue that the flag is a
symbol of their heritage.
Some lawmakers have been
seeking to limit displays of the Confederate banner since a racially motivated
murder of nine black parishioners at a church in Charleston, S.C. last year.
(Reporting by Patricia
Zengerle; Editing by Tom Brown and Alistair Bell)
Comments
This
passed in the Senate and failed in the House by one vote. We are dangerously close to a Democrat
majority in the House because of the Liberal Republican votes.
We need a
“wait and see” / “live and let live” approach on LGBT before we give them the
right to file lawsuits and fines against the rest of us. There is ample evidence to suggest that it’s
a mistake to jump on this now.
If States
are allowed to solve the bathroom issue, it will likely result in one
additional “any use” bathroom and shower with an inside lock for these mental
patients.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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