Ed Markey on the issues: LGBTQ Rights  Ed Markey is an unwavering supporter of equal rights, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Ed has actively fought for marriage equality and worked to end discrimination against the LGBTQ community. Ed voted against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which discriminates against same-sex couples and denies them federal benefits. Ed has also signed onto an amicus brief arguing DOMA is unconstitutional and should be struck down. He co-sponsored theRespect for Marriage Act that would repeal DOMA and require the federal government to recognize the validity of same-sex marriages. Ed has co-sponsored six bills to ban employment discrimination, legislation to change the tax code to allow domestic partners to qualify for employer-provided insurance, and supported legislation to provide spousal health care, retirement and other benefits to all federal employees in same-sex domestic partnerships. And he cosponsored legislation to provide same-sex partners of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents the same immigration benefits that heterosexual spouses currently enjoy. Ed has a 100 percent rating from the Human Rights Campaign and was endorsed by MassEquality because he will be a strong voice for equality in the Senate. Locate your polling place
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Ed Markey on the issues: LGBTQ Rights 

Ed Markey is an unwavering supporter of equal rights, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Ed has actively fought for marriage equality and worked to end discrimination against the LGBTQ community.

Ed voted against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which discriminates against same-sex couples and denies them federal benefits. Ed has also signed onto an amicus brief arguing DOMA is unconstitutional and should be struck down. He co-sponsored theRespect for Marriage Act that would repeal DOMA and require the federal government to recognize the validity of same-sex marriages.

Ed has co-sponsored six bills to ban employment discrimination, legislation to change the tax code to allow domestic partners to qualify for employer-provided insurance, and supported legislation to provide spousal health care, retirement and other benefits to all federal employees in same-sex domestic partnerships.

And he cosponsored legislation to provide same-sex partners of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents the same immigration benefits that heterosexual spouses currently enjoy.

Ed has a 100 percent rating from the Human Rights Campaign and was endorsed by MassEquality because he will be a strong voice for equality in the Senate.

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Rubio Says It Should Be Legal To Fire Someone For Being Gay

KEYES: The Senate this summer is going to be taking up the Employment Non-Discrimination Act which makes it illegal to fire someone for being gay. Do you know if you’ll be supporting that?

RUBIO: I haven’t read the legislation. By and large I think all Americans should be protected but I’m not for any special protections based on orientation.

KEYES: What about on race or gender?

RUBIO: Well that’s established law.

KEYES: But not for sexual orientation?

Republican rebrand not going so well…http://j.mp/YiyACl The Republican National Committee passed resolutions Friday reaffirming its commitment to defining marriage as between a man and a woman, and calling on the Supreme Court to “uphold the sanctity of marriage” as it weighs rulings on two landmark cases involving gay marriage. At the RNC’s spring meeting in Los Angeles, committee members adopted a slate of resolutions unanimously and without discussion, a committee spokeswoman said. What continues to remain striking here is that support for gay marriage is not just increasing among Americans overall. It’s that support for it is even higher than overall among the very groups among which Republicans themselves say they need to boost their party’s appeal. Take today’s NBC/WSJ poll. It finds support for gay marriage up to 53 percent among Americans overall. According to additional numbers sent my way by Hart Research, which helped do the poll, support for it is at 56-40 among women; among women aged 18-39 those numbers are 69-29. Among Latinos, a plurality of 49 percent support gay marriage, but among young Latinos those numbers are 60-33. You can probably see which way things are going here. Meanwhile, among college educated whites, support for gay marriage is at 60-36. This group is increasingly important to the Democratic coalition; the Democratic Party is less dependent on culturally conservative downscale whites than in previous years, permitting it to evolve more quickly on social issues. (And, interestingly, there’s a wide gap between college educated whites and non-college whites on gay marriage; the latter group opposes it by 47-46.) The picture is overwhelmingly clear. The country is moving forward on gay marriage rapidly, and apparently even more rapidly among the voter groups the GOP can’t afford to alienate over time. Republicans know this — the RNC self-examination itself reflected it, only a couple months before the RNC reaffirmed its opposition to marriage equality as a matter of party dogma.
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Republican rebrand not going so well…http://j.mp/YiyACl

The Republican National Committee passed resolutions Friday reaffirming its commitment to defining marriage as between a man and a woman, and calling on the Supreme Court to “uphold the sanctity of marriage” as it weighs rulings on two landmark cases involving gay marriage. At the RNC’s spring meeting in Los Angeles, committee members adopted a slate of resolutions unanimously and without discussion, a committee spokeswoman said.

What continues to remain striking here is that support for gay marriage is not just increasing among Americans overall. It’s that support for it is even higher than overall among the very groups among which Republicans themselves say they need to boost their party’s appeal.

Take today’s NBC/WSJ poll. It finds support for gay marriage up to 53 percent among Americans overall. According to additional numbers sent my way by Hart Research, which helped do the poll, support for it is at 56-40 among women; among women aged 18-39 those numbers are 69-29. Among Latinos, a plurality of 49 percent support gay marriage, but among young Latinos those numbers are 60-33. You can probably see which way things are going here.

Meanwhile, among college educated whites, support for gay marriage is at 60-36. This group is increasingly important to the Democratic coalition; the Democratic Party is less dependent on culturally conservative downscale whites than in previous years, permitting it to evolve more quickly on social issues. (And, interestingly, there’s a wide gap between college educated whites and non-college whites on gay marriage; the latter group opposes it by 47-46.)

The picture is overwhelmingly clear. The country is moving forward on gay marriage rapidly, and apparently even more rapidly among the voter groups the GOP can’t afford to alienate over time. Republicans know this — the RNC self-examination itself reflected it, only a couple months before the RNC reaffirmed its opposition to marriage equality as a matter of party dogma.

President Obama and the Democratic Party are committed to ensuring all Americans are treated fairly. This administration hosted the first-ever White House Conference on Bullying Prevention and we must continue our work to prevent vicious bullying of young people and support LGBT youth. The President’s record, from ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in full cooperation with our military leadership, to passing the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, to ensuring same-sex couples can visit each other in the hospital, reflects Democrats’ belief that all Americans deserve the same chance to pursue happiness, earn a living, be safe in their communities, serve their country, and take care of the ones they love. The Administration has said that the word ‘family’ in immigration includes LGBT relationships in order to protect bi-national families threatened with deportation.
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