North Carolina's Senator Kay Hagan: Legislator of the Day
Filed by: Dr. Jillian T. Weiss
October 7, 2009 10:30 AM
Senator Kay Hagan is likely to be supportive of ENDA. The only problem is, she hasn't said anything 
one way or the other.
We need 60 votes in the Senate, and we need to know they're there, or else the Senate leadership won't even bring this to a vote.
Will Senator Hagan publicly support ENDA?
I'm off in Madrid for the International Bar Association conference, where I was scheduled to give a talk today about US transgender workplace law. I can't twitterize from there, so would you please send this around to your friends?
Senator Hagan voted for the hate crimes bill, and sponsored an inclusive state ENDA bill in 2007. She's probably supportive.
But no doubt she needs encouragement to come out with her support of ENDA.
Please call and ask if her office can confirm her support for S1584. You may get a staffer who is unaware of the Senator's position on ENDA. Take a moment to explain what it is, and to ask if he or she can get some information on the Senator's position. Tell us what they said in the comments below.
Senator Hagan: 202-224-6342 (Click here for email)
Share
Like what you read? Subscribe to The Bilerico Project by Email.
Want others to read it too? Use the buttons and links here to share this entry with others. (Move your cursor over a button or link to learn more about it.)
2 Comments
« Back to school in Maine | Home | Did the Army spin the AIDS vaccine story? »
I spoke to a staffer in Sen. Hagan's office. He confirmed that she is still studying ENDA and has not made a decision. He seemed to suggest that she may decide to support ENDA based on her past sponsorship of similar legislation in North Carolina but it was nothing definite.
Terry McCorkell | October 8, 2009 4:28 PM
Reply to this comment
Here's what Sen. Hagan has written to several constitutents recently on ENDA: "...I would have voted for the employment non-discrimination measure passed by the House of Representatives in
2007...I am committed to carefully considering all options and the potential impacts of implementing new laws or regulations..."
In plain English, this means that she would have voted for a sexual-orientation only bill, but she will have to "carefully consider" before voting for an inclusive ENDA.
This is exactly what happened in 2007 - weak kneed politicians who fold when crunch time comes. If we let her continue to avoid taking a position, then there won't be 60 votes for a whip count, and they will take out gender identity from the bill.
I will write a strong post on Tuesday about Sen. Hagan's message here, and I hope people will look up from their daily grind long enough to get on the phone to her office.
Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | October 9, 2009 9:57 AM
Reply to this comment