Whitehouse speaks to LGBT Rhode Islanders
United States Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse met with LGBT Rhode Islanders on Nov. 12 to discuss gay rights issues.
Whitehouse, 54, is a former Rhode Island Attorney General who voters elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006. Whitehouse is a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, the Judiciary Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence. Jodi Glass, who conducts hate crimes trainings all over the state, praised Whitehouse for his support of the recently passed Matthew Shepard Act, which expands federal hate crimes laws to include victims of anti-LGBT violence.
Glass described Whitehouse "more than a friend to all of us."
Whitehouse has been a longtime supporter of gay rights, having scored the highest possible rating from the Human Rights Campaign for his record of supporting legislation that combats discrimination against LGBT Americans.
Whitehouse co-sponsored the Tax Equity for Domestic Partners and Health Plan Beneficiaries Act that would extend the income tax exclusion for health benefits, now available only to spouses, to cover domestic partners as well; and the Uniting American Families Act, which would amend immigration law to give permanent same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual citizens to sponsor their spouses to become legal permanent residents in the United States.
Whitehouse also condemned Gov. Don Carcieri’s recent veto of a bill that would’ve allowed gays and lesbians to make funeral arrangements for their same-sex partners.
"It was a callous and reprehensible decision", Whitehouse said. "I’m sorry (Carcieri) made that decision."
When asked about a boycott of the Democratic National Committee by a group of progressive bloggers angered by a lack of action on the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the Defense of Marriage Act and other LGBT issues, Whitehouse said he believes the effort was counterproductive and may have the opposite effect of what they may have intended.
"Politics is both incremental and hard work and it’s particularly hard work when the Republicans are being procedurally obstructive as they are right now," Whitehouse said. "So the danger is that people’s impatience becomes self-destructive."
Whitehouse said there were many other issues which needed to be taken care of first: health care reform, repairing the nation’s battered economy and addressing climate change. He added, however, he thinks a DADT repeal would not occur until at least 2011.
Regarding the belief of some LGBTs the Democratic party was taking their support for granted, Whitehouse noted he feels they are not alone in waiting for action to be taken on issues which are important to them.
"The progressive community across the board has an array of grievances," Whitehouse noted as he referred to torture investigations and the restoration of civil liberties lost during the Bush administration.
Whitehouse remains optimistic, however, change will happen as he noted the majority of Americans under 30 remain supportive of LGBT rights.
"Time is on our side," he told the crowd. "We are going to win."
