U.S. Rep. Susan Davis spoke at the San Diego LGBT Community Center’s (The Center) monthly LGBT Community Coalition Breakfast last Friday about recently proposed pro-GLBT legislation in Washington.

“I think you probably would like to know what’s going on in Washington…. People often ask me, ‘well are you accomplishing anything?’ and I have to tell you that we are. There are some major pieces of legislation that have come through,” Davis said.

Davis has co-sponsored several recently introduced pro-GLBT rights legislative bills on federal crime, employment and military service, including the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), and the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (MREA). She also co-sponsored the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act.

“We want to be sure that the government overall is protecting people…whether it’s based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability,” Davis said.

Currently, federal law denies openly GLBT citizens from serving in our military, does not protect GLBT citizens from employment discrimination, and does not recognize crimes motivated by sexual orientation, gender, or disability as hate crimes.

In terms of hate crime legislation, the Federal Hate-Crime Law of 1969 only extends to crimes motivated by actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin. The Matthew Shepard Act, passed last May in the House, would expand the Federal Hate-Crime Law of 1969 to include gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim.

“A threat or intimidation to any group is not acceptable….It threatens our democracy and affects the very fabric of our American security….That really is what this push for hate crimes legislation I think has been,” Davis said.

Federal law also doesn’t protect GLBT people from employment discrimination. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), introduced into the House last April and sponsored by openly gay congressmember Barney Frank, D-Mass., would prohibit discrimination against employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

“We know that discrimination in employment strikes at a fundamental American value [of] the right to work without discrimination,” Davis said.

Davis said the California Fair Housing and Employment Act, which was amended in 1999 to protect Californians against discrimination in housing and employment based on sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation, should apply to all U.S. citizens. “California can lead but it’s not enough. We need to make sure that those rights are secured under federal statute as well,” Davis said.

In addition, GLBT people are prohibited from disclosing their sexual orientation while on active military duty. The policy, known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” prohibits lesbian, gay and bisexual people serving in the U.S. armed forces from disclosing their sexual orientation or speaking about their homosexual relationships.

The legislation was a compromise measure taken in 1993 by former President Bill Clinton.

The Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2005, reintroduced in the House last February, would eliminate the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Davis, who chairs the Personnel Committee of the House Armed Services Committee, said, “I think this country is ready…to abolish the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy,” but she also mentioned that there wouldn’t be any changes to the ban until the next president takes office.

The audience was generally in support of what Davis had to say.

“Susan covered a range of issues, … and also other important issues like [those affecting] our veterans…. She was great,” said Shaun Travers, director of the UCSD LGBT Resource Center.

However, some were more critical. Tony Prost, a local attorney said, “Same ol’, same ol’. It’s what I expected her to say. You know she says she’s a friend of the gay community…. But she’s not aggressive enough. Clearly the will of the people is for [our Democratic congressmembers] to be more aggressive and they’re not doing it, and I don’t know what they’re afraid of. It’s a real big puzzle to me.”

While Davis did not discuss it during her presentation, she has endorsed Todd Gloria, her congressional district director, for his race for San Diego’s District 3 City Council.