There are some in Congress, like Representative Barney Frank, who want to keep the movement for equality hidden in the Congressional closet, taking place in whispered tones with paid lobbyists behind closed doors. The extreme antipathy of some members of Congress, such as Louie Gohmert, demonstrates that a soft, meek, deferential approach has not been enough.

U.S. Representative Barney Frank may have advised that equal rights activists need to keep their message quiet, with behind-closed-doors lobbying, but the new generation of activism is unashamed and out in the open on the National Mall.

Thanks to William Lacy Clay and Judy Chu for doing the right thing, to protect the legal rights of all Americans. Shame on the many Democrats who have yet to cosponsor the Respect for Marriage Act.

These 92 cosponsors of the Respect for Marriage Act only make up 37 percent of the Democrats in the House of Representatives. Nearly two-thirds of House Democrats are withholding their support for this marriage equality legislation.

Jonathan Tasini is the only candidate for New York’s junior Senate seat to have signed the Dallas Principles for speedy recognition of LGBT rights.

Jeremy Cloward‘s own position on Prop 8 is clear: “We support overturning Proposition 8, and recognize that people who are 18 years old or older should be allowed to marry who they want to.”

Bill Owens is under no pressure to oppose marriage equality legislation. The Republican in the race, Dede Scozzafava, has announced that she supports marriage equality.

Illinois Green Party congressional candidate Matt Reichel’s position on LGBT rights: “I will do all in my power as congressman to prevent any future Proposition 8’s from occurring, while also striving to guarantee full marriage benefits for gay, lesbian and transgender couples.”

Today we update our That’s My Congress report on the activity of the LGBT Equality Caucus in the House of Representatives. Our report evaluates the 79 members of the LGBT Equality Caucus against the standard set by the caucus itself: a slate of 12 bills standing in promotion of the caucus agenda “to promote lesbian, [...]

It’s a piece of legislation that denies the constitutional right of equal protection under the law to same-sex couples, but also interferes with the ability of D.C. residents to express their values through representative government.