Just how pro gay is Gillibrand?

[dsc]

We know she has an 80 rating from HRC which sounds fine and good until we look a little more closely. HRC graded 11 actions. 6 votes and 5 co sponser ships. They don't give a formula but apparently the votes counted 12.5 while the co sponserships counted 5 with rounding to the nearest 5. She voted the right way on all 6 votes and did one co sponsership. That earned her the 80.

Here is the problem. The votes were all on fairly simple stuff. Two ENDA votes, two hate crime votes, one needle distribution vote (with DC's own money), and one vote to prevent Head Start sites from engaging in religious discrimination. The co sponserships were of ENDA (she did this), allowing gays to get the same health care deduction straight couples get, ending DADT, allowing gays to emigrate with their partners, and permitting state medicaid programs to cover HIV patients before the patients develop AIDS. The last four are her problem votes.

So her current HRC rating tells us she is in favor of ENDA, hate crimes legislation, needle distribution with local money (and this could have been a DC should do what it wants vote), and against religious discrimination. Good public policy to be sure, but hardly a gay rights stallwart. I would expect about the same from Kay Hagan.

I don't know her actual position on the bills she didn't co sponser. Until I do, I won't say she is bad for gays but I am decidedly unimpressed.

http://www.hrc.org/documents/Congress_Scorecard-110th.pdf

[GodlessBiker]

1. Ending DADT and allowing gay people to emigrate with their partners are good.

How is she on gay marriage? No, don't bother. I can almost guess, but maybe I will be pleasantly surprised.

[dsc]

3. she is against marriage equality but in favor of civil unions

I don't know her positions on the things she wouldn't co sponser.

[TechBear_Seattle]

5. So, she is yet another Democrat who supports Jim Crow

Imagine that. :eyes:

[GodlessBiker]

6. Thanks. That's what I thought. I wish Paterson picked Tom Duane.

[Dennis Donovan]

2. IIRC, she's okay with civil unions, but not on equal marriage rights...

[xchrom]

4. kinda like many contemporary pols -- use us when they can --

ditch us when it's useful.

[dsc]

7. kick

[lame54]

8. Wasn't he in Brokeback Mountain?

[dsc]

9. kick