California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris announced today her plans to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Barbara Boxer. “I’m excited to share with you that I’m launching my campaign to represent the People of California in the United States Senate,” Harris wrote in an email to supporters. “Your support has been crucial…
For all the talk of blue and red states, what is truly shaping the 2014 elections is the contrast between people who vote every two years and those who vote every four. Unfortunately for Democrats, many of their voters are in the latter group, making non-presidential years a tough slog. This year is no different,…
The GOP started the 2014 cycle with high hopes and a clear path to the Senate majority. Despite Democratic gains in 2012, Republicans needed only 6 of the 7 Democratic controlled seats in states won by Mitt Romney: Alaska, Arkansas, Montana, South Dakota, West Virginia, Louisiana and North Carolina. Naturally, things have not remained so…
Ben West, one-half of the couple that successfully lobbied to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage in Oregon, is featured in a new commercial touting his support for Republican senatorial candidate Monica Wehby, reports Alexandra Jaffe on TheHill.com. “Marrying my husband was the happiest day of my life. I was proud of Oregon and our…
This morning, the Senate confirmed three federal judges. On the one hand, they are not unique; like all of the President’s judges and judicial nominees, they have the necessary intellect, experience, integrity, and temperament. But they are special in that each of them is a trailblazer on their courts: Judge Darrin Gayles, confirmed to the…
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Senate voted 64 to 32 to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) for the first time in the legislation’s two-decade history. All Senate Democrats joined 10 Senate Republicans to approve the bill. Following passage of the act President Barack Obama issued the following statement: “For more than two centuries, the…
Today, Alan van Capelle, CEO of Bend the Arc Jewish Action, issued the following statement on the Senate’s consideration of the Employee Non-Discrimination Act: “Discrimination and intimidation at the workplace is the adult version of schoolyard bullying. It’s wrong, yet through years of inaction, we’ve allowed it to continue to this day. Firing someone based on their…
Late Monday night, the Hawaii Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor voted 5-2 to advance the marriage bill to the Senate floor. This is a first and crucial step towards winning marriage equality in Hawaii. In the group of over 1800 testifiers, Gov. Abercrombie, who ordered the special legislative session for marriage, the state’s Attorney…
Today, in an historic and unanimous vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed Todd Michael Hughes to the U.S Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, making him the most senior openly gay judge in the U.S. Hughes is the deputy director of the Department of Justice’s commercial litigation branch for the civil division. He received his A.B. from…
WASHINGTON – While the Supreme Court’s decision striking down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act and guidance from the Office of Personnel Management have made clear that federal workers’ same-sex spouses are now eligible for benefits, there are still federal employees who cannot access marriage and thus continue to be denied critical health,…
