A Letter in Response to Critics of the HRC

I found several blogs recently that have been questioning (to put it politely) the validity and efforts of the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC’s) efforts in the face of the past election where constitutional amendments passed in 3 stated banning same-sex marriage.  Prop 8 in California, Amendment 2 in Florida and Amendment 102 in Arizona.  Below is an excerpt from a blog posted by Andrew Sullivan entitled; The Day The Music Died For The Human Rights Campaign.

Like so many other models of political organization, like the top-down Clinton campaign, the special interest group politics of an institution like the Human Rights Campaign is finished. They are no longer even faintly relevant to the struggle for gay equality. Markos Moulitsas:

The Human Rights Campaign … is being rendered irrelevant by current events, and with irrelevance, it will shrivel up and die on its own. … The anti-Prop 8 campaign was an exercise in frustration. What we’re seeing now … is brilliant. … These nationwide protests are a watershed moment of sorts — the moment when the gay community realized that it had the power to fight for change on its own, and didn’t require any of its so-called, self-appointed ‘leaders’ to give them permission to engage.

I’ve been dreaming of the death of this useless, fearful, money-vacuum ever since I saw the potential for marriage equality and they wouldn’t. Rex Wockner:

You don’t have to listen to the gay “leaders” who failed you anymore, you don’t have to give them any more money, you just have to figure out what you want to do next with the power that now is yours — to get what you want: Full equality.

I decided to contact the HRC, as I have been a dedicated supporter for years in order to get their response to such criticism.  Below is their reply.

Dear James,

Several bloggers have questioned the leadership of the campaign as well as organizations involved in various aspects of the campaign. A few bloggers who have posted comments criticizing the Human Rights Campaign specifically are individuals who have had a long standing anti-HRC stance. They are indeed entitled to their opinions about the organization, but we believe it is important to make sure that our community has a full accounting of the facts behind critics’ claims, especially when it comes to such an important issue as the Prop 8 campaign and HRC’s work for full marriage equality.

Below are several general questions raised that are directly or indirectly asked of HRC and our responses:

Q1. The protests that sprung up across the country were created from the grassroots and not organized by any national or state organization. Our larger institutions did little or nothing to support these protests, other than highlight them after the fact. How can our larger institutions claim to be leaders?
A1. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is proud to be our nation’s largest organization working for LGBT equality.

We are a membership-based organization that relies on a volunteer structure that has always believed that the power of our community lies in the strength of LGBT individuals and their allies throughout the country. HRC has almost three dozen volunteer-led committees across the country, each helping to engage and fight for LGBT equality in their own unique way.
HRC’S local committees seek to support HRC’s federal work at the local level, as well as working with local LGBT and allied groups to support local efforts that impact their LGBT community.

The HRC website, along with an email letter from HRC President Joe Solmonese to our entire membership, promoted the Join the Impact protests that happened last Saturday. We actively encouraged our members to attend and, in some cities, HRC’s volunteer structures helped organize the protests.

After the protests, on Monday morning HRC’s Backstory blog ran pictures and personal accounts from protests held throughout the country.

And just as we, like all supporters of Equality for All, had our resolve strengthened by seeing the tens of thousands of activists take to the streets across the country in the aftermath of the vote on Prop 8, HRC was also proud to not only see but have had a leading role in helping to organize and mobilize 44,000 Californians who volunteered on the No on Prop 8 campaign over the preceding nine months.

Q2: Why didn’t HRC and other organizations fund the campaign earlier and with more money?
A2: The simple fact remains that our movement is, and has always been, underfunded when compared to the right wing. In fact, if you look at the major right-wing organizations like the Family Research Council, the Heritage Foundation and others you will see that their annual budgets dwarf the size of HRC’s. When you add in worldwide religious denominations like the Mormon and Catholic Churches, it isn’t really a fair fight. We certainly wish this wasn’t the reality we lived in, but unfortunately it is.

That being said, the Human Rights Campaign was the second largest funder overall for the No on 8 campaign. We were one of the first organizations to put forward $100,000, as well as six field staff, early on in the signature gathering process to try and stop the amendment from reaching the ballot. When the campaign against Prop 8 was formed, HRC’s early contribution of $1 million helped provide the campaign with one-third of the cost of their first media buy. Because it was an early buy, the campaign was able to purchase premium television spots at efficient rates. When all was said and done, HRC contributed $3.4 million directly to the Equality for All campaign.

By the end of the campaign the No on Prop 8 campaign raised more money than our opponents.

Q3: Why were our leading organizations not focusing enough on California and the fight for marriage in general? Did HRC do a poor job in this campaign?
A3: HRC has been and remains in the forefront of the battle for partnership recognition and marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples, both at the national and local levels.

· HRC was involved in many of the marriage amendment battles across our country over the years;

· The Human Rights Campaign has spent millions of dollars to effectively defeat a Federal Marriage Amendment, twice;

· HRC provided the first funds for the then fledgling Massachusetts state group – MassEquality – and over several years contributed over $1 million, as well as staff, to help preserve marriage equality in that state. HRC is proud of our close partnership with MassEquality and provided support to them – while not directing them;

· In 2006, HRC was proud to have been the largest organizational donor to Arizona Together, helping them become the first group to defeat a marriage-related ban. We funded them early and like MassEquality, worked in close partnership without directing them;

· In California, HRC funded the Equality for All Coalition. We were proud to partner with them and to fund them early, be one of the leading funders throughout the campaign and to have staff on the ground donated to the campaign. However, HRC did not direct their work.

As a national organization we work hard to find the correct balance between our entire membership’s interests and giving proper deference to local leadership.

Q4: Will there be a post-mortem done on this campaign so the public can see for itself how resources were allocated and when?
A4: We could not agree more that there should be a full accounting of the way the Prop 8 campaign was waged and it is our understanding that the campaign will seek out an independent audit.

Q5: What did HRC do to help elect Barack Obama? Was it enough?
A5: HRC is proud of its strong support for Barack Obama for President. Several HRC leaders held key positions in the campaign and/or were Obama delegates to the convention. In addition, every election year HRC spends significant resources on mobilizing our members to volunteer on campaigns as well as getting out to vote. On top of this, HRC helped raise over $1.6 million directly for the Obama campaign.

HRC conducted 17 Camp Equality campaign activist trainings this year, arming over 500 campaign activists with key campaign skills and sending them to targeted campaigns throughout the country. Camp Equality locations included the swing states of CO, IN, MN, NV, NM, NC, OH, and VA.

HRC sent more than 50 full-time staff in the final week (or more, in some cases) to many states including the swing states of FL, MN, MO, NV, NH, NM, OH, PA and VA. While most of these staff members worked for congressional candidates, turning out HRC members and other progressive voters helped the Obama campaign as well.

Q6: Why did HRC not give money from its general fund, but solicited donors to contribute to the campaign? How did the Mormon church raise so much?
A6: We established the HRC California Marriage PAC to raise funds specifically for defeating Prop. 8, as required by California law. HRC solicited contributions, both small and large, specifically for the initiative, and all of the $3.4 million we raised went directly into the No on 8 campaign. State law limits our use of general funds from donations and membership dues for California political purposes. However, we did supplement the many contributions made to our California PAC with certain HRC income that we were legally permitted to use for this purpose.

HRC donated staff time to the No on 8 campaign, including 8 staff who spent significant amounts of time on the ground throughout California. Some staff were on the ground for several months. Tracking and calculation of expenses associated with Prop. 8 was done by in-house counsel and accountants, and reported in accordance with California law, which requires the disclosure of in-kind contributions of goods and services.

Note: The LDS church did not make any cash contributions to Prop 8 nor did the church directly raise money via its own PAC as HRC did. The Mormon church encouraged its members to contribute to the campaign.

Q7: How could HRC take credit for one of their donors who gave $1 million to their California fund?
A7: Almost all the money HRC raises, either for our general work or for California-specifically, comes from our donors. We are just as proud to take credit for our members who contribute $10 as we are of members who can afford much larger contributions.

Q8: Has HRC just dropped the ball on the fight for marriage equality?
A8: From our work in Vermont, helping to re-elect Governor Howard Dean in his razor-thin re-election victory shortly after signing the historic civil unions bill into law, to helping to build and maintain the group that defended historic marriage equality in Massachusetts, to providing seed money and becoming the largest organizational donor to the historic successful defeat of a marriage-related ban in Arizona to our $3.4 million contribution to the California effort, HRC is deeply proud of our strategic work to move our country forward to equality for all.

While the stripping away of marriage rights is a gut-wrenching blow, we are not down. We lost the similar California battle of Prop 22 in 2000 by 22 percentage points. Earlier this month we lost by four points. We are making progress and HRC is committed to doing all that it can to win back the right to marry in California and win that right in key states over the next several years.

One of those key states is New York. HRC spent $120,000 there this fall to help elect a fair-minded state Senate that we hope will lead to the Empire State becoming the first in our nation to enact marriage equality purely through legislative means.

We are winning, slowly, but surely. By working together, we will see victory sooner.

Respectfully,
The Human Rights Campaign

Metlife Recognized by HRC for 6 Consecutive Years

For the sixth year in a row, MetLife has received a perfect score of 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s (HRC) 2009 Corporate Equality Index, a rating system for how major U.S. corporations treat their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) employees and consumers.
The HRC Corporate Equality Index rated companies on a scale from 0 to 100 percent on several factors, including a written non-discrimination policy as well as employee benefits, training programs, support networks, advertising and marketing and contributions to the GLBT community.

In addition, Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders (SAGE), presented its Certificate in Excellence in Leadership to the MetLife Mature Market Institute for its groundbreaking November 2006 research, “Out and Aging: The MetLife Study of Lesbian and Gay Baby Boomers.” The study was produced in conjunction with the American Society on Ageing’s Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues Network.

The first such study of its kind, “Out and Aging” raised important questions for the wide range of professionals who work with older adults, employers, policymakers and everyone interested in ensuring dignity, independence and the highest possible quality of life for the boomer generation as it reaches mid-life and older age.

“We are so honored that the HRC and SAGE have recognized MetLife’s commitment to the GLBT community,” said Denise Singleton, vice president of the Office of Diversity for MetLife. “It’s a testament to our efforts to create an open, inclusive environment for our employees and to provide sound financial advice to the broader GLBT community.”
In the workplace, MetLife offers its U.S. employees and their domestic same- and opposite-sex partners a variety of health and other benefits, including adoption assistance and supplemental life insurance. MetLife also has a recognized GLBT affinity group, as well as a company-wide diversity council, which consists of senior members from across the company and is committed to ensuring that diversity is built into all of MetLife’s business practices.

To better serve the needs of the GLBT marketplace, MetLife has a GLBT Advisory Council and Resource Committee, made up of financial services representatives and members of MetLife’s advanced market and financial planning teams. The Advisory council provides support and guidance for MetLife’s ongoing GLBT marketing strategy, while the Resource Committee recommends best practices and strategies to increase recruiting in the GLBT market.

Arkansas Puts Cruel Ballot Measure Up for Vote

There’s been a lot of attention to anti-marriage ballot initiatives in Arizona, California and Florida this year.  But you might not have heard about a terrible anti-family ballot initiative in Arkansas.  It’s called Initiated Act 1, and it’s a first-of-its-kind ballot initiative that would ban unmarried couples living together – both gay and straight – from becoming foster or adoptive parents.

At a time when thousands of Arkansas children are in foster care, many waiting for permanent homes, this right-wing initiative seems particularly cruel.

Read the rest at hrc.org.

UPDATE:

From ThePhoenix.com:

A new poll — which shows McCain leading Obama by 13 in Arkansas, a poor omen for my  35-state prediction — shows 55% opposing a ballot initiative aimed at preventing same-sex couples from adopting, or being a foster parent. The initiative’s chances are probably not helped by the broad wording, which tries to avoid the appearance of homophobia by prohibiting couples cohabiting outside of a legally valid marriage.

GLBT Americans Have a Friend in Obama

Want to know what kind of president Barack Obama would be for gay Americans? Just listen to his longtime gay friends. That was the thinking of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) PAC, the political arm of the nation’s largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender group.

So after endorsing Obama, HRC sent a camera crew to Chicago to interview gay folks — like activist Gail Morse — who knew him well way back before the rest of us.

“We’re going to have a partner in the White House. We’re not going to have an enemy,” Morse says in the “Friends” video. “He sees us as people with issues that government can address.”

Like Obama, HRC has a lot of gay friends. And on the night Obama accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, HRC emailed the “Friends” video to nearly 900,000 of its friends and urged them to forward it to their own friends.

Read more at alternet.org.

Out in the Workplace Part I - A GayAgenda Series

The year was 2003 and the day was June 23rd. I was living in Tampa, Florida and was working a 9 to 5 as a service manager trying to save enough money to go back to school.  It was about 10:00 a.m. when the general manager, called me into his office.  There across the desk from the GM, very relaxed, sat the manager of another department.  Something seemed odd, but before I had too much time to think about it the General Manager blurted out the question, “Are you gay?”  At first I didn’t answer. The situation seemed so surreal.  It was only seconds later however when I was snapped back into reality.  My supervisor quickly reiterated the question and without hesitation said, “and don’t lie, because I know the answer.”  So, without prolonging this seemingly pointless conversation, I simply replied, “yes”.  It was at that exact moment, I knew something was wrong as the room became not only silent, but also very still, much like the calm before a storm.  A few seconds later (which seemed to be hours) the silence was broken by the words, “well….you’re fired”.  I know it must have been the look on my face that prompted the GM to begin some rhetoric about how the company didn’t endorse or support that lifestyle.  I really don’t remember exactly what was said at that point, it all sounded like blah, blah, blah, blah, blah to me.  I do remember however, the GM telling me he would have security accompany me to my office to clear out my desk of any personal belongings and I would be paid through the end of the day.  Then, a very strange thing happened.  The general manager extended his hand outward as to shake my hand.  I’m not really sure how what happened next actually happened.  It must have been some odd involuntary muscle contraction, but my right arm folded at the elbow, my hand extended up towards the ceiling and my middle finger immersed from the rest.  Without saying a word, I turned, walked back to my office, gathered my things, and left.  After I left, my initial state was shock.  Then I became sad, then I became angry, then I became very thirsty…and all within about one hour.  So, I put the top down on my jeep, put a six-pack in a cooler and headed for the beach.

Fortunately, my skills were pretty marketable, and I actually secured a better paying job within 2 weeks.  I never fully realized the negative economic impact that could have arisen from this situation.

Shortly thereafter, something began to change inside of me.  The anger I felt began to manifest.  It grew quickly, but not with the negative implications that so often accompanies anger. Instead, I became determined.  Determined to never again be complacent.  I felt violated.  I thought, how is it, in this day and age, in 33 states, you can still be fired for being a member of the GLBT community? I also wondered why we have no legal recourse to rely on? I vowed right then and there, to fight for equal rights.  I would fight for human rights.  I would challenge those who oppose the GLBT community. But most of all, I vowed to never put myself in this situation again.

So many times, members of the GLBT community are forced to hide in the closet at work.  We are not afforded the same comforts such as a portrait of our partner on our desk.  We’re forced to listen to our co-workers speak of their families and what they did over the weekend, and yet, we are not at liberty to share.

I have heard from several people in the GLBT community how they don’t feel it’s important to be out at work.  I have heard people say that their personal lives don’t intertwine with their jobs.  Well, I strongly disagree.  For one, when your work supports your personal life, as it does in every case, then yes, it intertwines.  Secondly, I have a strong feeling those who don’t feel it is important to be out at work, don’t really feel that way.  Perhaps they are just afraid what happened to me will happen to them?  Even if they’re not fearful of being fired, perhaps they feel another form of discrimination will pounce upon them.  Maybe they will be passed up for a promotion, or even ostracized by co-workers.  Unfortunately, these fears are very real. Just as unfortunate however, staying in the closet will never help to improve the situation.

I completely understand when you rely on your paycheck to live (and that includes most people) then perhaps it’s in your better interest to not place your livelihood in jeopardy by unveiling your sexual orientation.  However, when looking at the other side of that coin, if everyone who is in GLBT community would come out, a lot of people who would have to be fired.  Bottom line, unless you absolutely love your job (and if that’s the case then you’re probably out at work) then you should consider seeking employment in a gay friendly environment.

There are several resources such as the HRC, to help you locate those companies.  Always have a plan B.  Even if you don’t think it will happen to you, it could. In the competitive job market today, many members of the GLBT community have the upper hand.  Not only are we statistically more educated than our straight counterparts, but also many of us don’t have the restrictions of a family, which allows us to be more attentive to our work, miss less days of work, and be closer to fully vested.

I feel pretty safe in stating equality is something everyone should have.  Unfortunately we (the GLBT community) are not there.  As I’ve mentioned before, it doesn’t always take grand gestures to make great impacts.  So often we feel we’re not capable of making a difference because we are only one.  That’s far from reality however.  You can make a difference.  You don’t have to organize rallies, or make speeches to promote awareness and change (although that would be great) but you can start by sharing with one person.  A dear friend of my once said during an awards ceremony, “Whether your know it or not, someone you love is gay.  Whether you know them or not, someone gay is fighting for rights for which we will all benefit.”  You too can be that person fighting for rights.  Challenge a co-worker who makes a derogatory remark about being gay.  Lead by example and speak about gay rights.  Talk to your boss about equal rights.  Find out how you can have an activist speak at your place of employment.  Stand up for what you believe.  Also, the best time to come out is when you’re interviewing for a job.  Ask point blank the companies policy on GLBT issues.  If they are a good employer, it won’t be an issue and they won’t mind. If they are a good employer, they will think better of your for being honest about what you stand for.  If you are able to show that degree of honesty with a potential employer, chances are it will be a positive reflection of your person.  It truly is the small efforts that produce grand results.  Do what you can to dispel the stereotypes, and break the chain of silence. The world can be better, one person at a time.

This is just the beginning.  This is Part I of the GayAgenda series, “Out in the Workplace”.   Check back as you’ll get to read GA exclusive interviews with people such as former NBA star John Amaechi and Tucson’s openly gay Vice-Mayor Karin Uhlich as well as stories from readers like you.

If you have a story about job related discrimination or being out at work (good or bad) that you would like to share, please submit it in writing to james@vibemedia.net.

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