The
only
open
lesbian
in
the
U.S.
House
of
Representatives
predicts
that
in
the
next
session
of
Congress,
bills
related
to
employment
non-discrimination
and
hate
crimes
will
have
a
better
chance
of
passing
than
legislation
aimed
at
repealing
the
Defense
of
Marriage
Act
or
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell.”
Rep.
Tammy
Baldwin
(D-Wisc.)
made
the
comments
last
week
at
a
Center
for
American
Progress
forum
geared
toward
highlighting
the
importance
of
the
Domestic
Partner
Benefits
&
Obligations
Act,
which
would
grant
the
partners
of
gay
federal
employees
the
same
benefits
that
are
available
to
the
spouses
of
straight
counterparts.
Sen.
Gordon
Smith
(R-Ore.)
joined
Baldwin
in
the
panel
discussion.
Other
speakers
at
the
event
included
former
Secretary
of
State
Madeleine
Albright
and
former
U.S.
Ambassador
to
Romania
Michael
Guest,
who
resigned
his
26-year
career
as
a
Foreign
Service
officer
last
year
in
protest
of
federal
employment
practices.
Baldwin
said
she
is
“very
optimistic”
that
ENDA
and
a
hate
crimes
measure
would
pass
Congress
next
session,
particularly
if
Democratic
presidential
hopeful
Sen.
Barack
Obama,
who
has
supported
the
initiatives,
takes
the
White
House.
She
also
said
she
expects
progress
on
the
Domestic
Partner
Benefits
&
Obligations
Act,
which
has
not
moved
this
session
from
the
House
and
Senate
committees
to
which
it
had
been
assigned.
But
Baldwin
said
the
success
in
“repealing
discriminatory
laws”
already
on
the
books
“is
a
little
less
clear.”
“I
think
we
will
see
more
discretion
on
those
—
whether
or
not
it
can
move
to
next
level
of
repeal
will
be
a
challenge,”
she
said.
Baldwin
said
in
an
interview
that
she
did
not
“have
a
perfect
crystal
ball”
for
what
would
happen
in
the
next
Congress,
but
said
she
thinks
it
would
be
easier
to
“hit
the
ground
running”
with
ENDA
and
a
hate
crimes
measure
as
opposed
to
other
initiatives.
She
noted
that
Congress
has
already
taken
some
action
on
ENDA
and
hate
crimes
this
session,
so
lawmakers
are
familiar
with
those
issues
and
more
willing
to
take
up
the
matters
again
next
year.
Baldwin
also
said
there
are
difficulties
in
repealing
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell”
and
the
Defense
of
Marriage
Act
because
some
of
the
lawmakers
who
voted
for
the
measures
in
the
1990s
are
still
in
Congress.
Smith,
who
is
up
for
re-election
in
Oregon
this
year,
expressed
similar
sentiments
that
ENDA
and
a
hate
crimes
measure
would
pass
Congress
when
a
new
president
takes
over
in
2009
—
but
the
senator
asserted
these
acts
would
pass
whether
the
new
chief
executive
is
Obama
or
Republican
candidate
Sen.
John
McCain.
Smith,
who
was
recently
endorsed
by
Log
Cabin
Republicans,
said
McCain
has
“been
with
[him]
on
a
number
of
gay
and
lesbian
issues,”
but
did
not
during
the
panel
discussion
mention
any
issues
they
agreed
upon.
“I
know
John
McCain’s
heart,”
he
said.
“I
just
never
found
John
McCain
really
hard
over
on
these
issues
—
or
ideologically
driven
on
these
issues.”
Smith
also
struggled
with
words
when
trying
to
defend
his
support
for
benefits
for
the
partners
of
gay
federal
employees
as
well
as
his
previous
support
for
the
Federal
Marriage
Amendment.
The
senator
said
he
voted
for
the
FMA
because
he
didn’t
want
“federal
judges
to
impose
it
on
other
states
that
were
voting
differently.”
“If
states
want
to
democratically
go
about
it,
then
that’s
what
they
should
do,
but
I
do
not
want
a
federal
judge
imposing
it
on
other
parts
of
the
jurisdiction,”
he
said.
Smith
noted
he
has
been
a
“devout
Mormon”
for
33
years
and
said
if
the
government
starts
redefining
marriage
it
could
have
detrimental
consequences
for
some
groups.
He
added
that
“tinkering”
with
the
definition
of
marriage
as
between
one
man
and
one
woman
would
have
implications
that
“are
much
broader
than
the
gay
and
lesbian
community.”
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