The folks at eQualityGiving have declared there must be a better way. So they wrote an Equality & Religious Freedom Act, dumping all those concerns into one giant bill (while reassuring the Fundies they can remain bigoted). Jared Polis, a gay freshman representative from Colorado, has begun to talk about being its sponsor.
LGBT organizations have long been pushing the incremental approach, with not all that much success. Given what happened more than a year ago with the bill that bans workplace discrimination for gays when transgenders were stripped out in hopes of getting the bill to pass, one can understand if they get a little twitchy on the subject.
But why not introduce an omnibus LGBT rights bill? Put it another way, is there any ham in it? If it is defeated have we made things worse for the incremental approach? We do know it will be a mountain to climb. But we already have that with the incremental approach.
The cons of an Omnibus Bill
* A bigger bill has to work its way through more committees with a more difficult navigation problem.
* LGBT organizations have to educate the public on many issues at once.
* It is easier for our foes to find arguments to use against us.
* Historically, our progress has been incremental.
The pros of an Omnibus Bill
* The less we ask for the less we get.
* We're either equal or we're not. This is a way of telling America just how unequal things have been. It underscores that all of these things are about eliminating discrimination.
* Hair-splitting on individual issues looks weak when compared to the whole.
* Even if the omnibus bill doesn't pass it provides a benchmark for the incremental approach.
* Obama wants to change how things are done in Washington. This does it.
It is good to see most of the comments say "Go for it!"
i say introduce it, it will fail but it initiates discussion
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