The answer to this question is threefold: (1) what has been actually accomplished, (2) what still needs to be done, and (3) what are voters' expectations?
What has been accomplished
In terms of what has actually been accomplished for LGBT equality, Andrew Tobias, the openly gay treasurer of the Democratic National Committee, has compiled a list of 21 items that are listed here: http://www.eQualityGiving.org/Accomplishments-by-the-Administration-and-Congress-on-LGBT-Equality.
The highlight of the list is, of course, the signing into law of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act by President Barack Obama on October 28. This was the first pro-LGBT federal legislation to be enacted in the history of our country. A similar bill was approved in 2007 by Congress but never presented to President George W. Bush for his signature (or veto). This new legislation has a real impact on the lives of LGBT people independently of their state of residence.
Clearly, in less than one year, the current administration and Congress have accomplished more than the Bush administration and Congress in the prior eight years.
What still needs to be done
Of course, many things still need to be done by this administration.
Policies and executive orders
A list of policies and executive orders that could be put in place by the administration without approval from Congress was compiled by a group of 19 organizations. The list includes 82 proposals arranged by agency. The list is maintained by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force at www.thetaskforce.org/newadmin/newbeginning_scoresheet.html. So far, only one proposal is marked as accomplished out of the 82, which is to more accurately include same-sex couples in the 2010 census data collection and reporting.
Critical measurement: The federal LGBT Legal Equality Index
While issuing executive orders and changing policy is a step in the right direction toward equality, achieving full equality under the law will require the passage of federal and state legislation.
Our group, eQualityGiving, has identified 13 major areas of federal law that refer to equal rights. In all of these areas (except hate crimes, which was signed into law in October 2009), LGBT individuals are not treated equally under federal law in the United States of America. These areas of the law are: 1) Employment in the public sector, 2) Employment in the federal government, 3) Housing, 4) Public accommodation, 5) Public facilities, 6) Credit, 7) Federally funded programs and activities, 8) Education, 9) Disability, 10) Civil marriage, 11) Hate crimes, 12) Armed forces, 13) Immigration.
The Federal LGBT Equality Index, developed by eQualityGiving and updated daily, shows the percentage of the 12 areas now lacking LGBT equality that have been covered by federal legislation since the inauguration of President Obama. With the passage of hate crimes legislation in October, one of the original 13 areas has been accomplished, or 8 percent.
You can review the index as well as up to date information about the status of LGBT legal equality at www.eQualityGiving.org/Status-of-LGBT-legal-equality-under-the-law.
Improving the states with federal law
Although the topic of this op-ed is what has been accomplished at the federal level, there is an interrelationship between the federal level and the state level. EQualityGiving has developed a States of Equality Scorecard, which measures the status of legal equality in each state based on six areas of state law where gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals are not treated equally. Each state is given a score from zero to six. Currently, no state has a perfect six, although California did achieve this before same-gender marriage was revoked there. Currently, Vermont, Iowa, New Jersey, and California lead all states with a score of 5.5. See the eQualityGiving states scorecard at www.eQualityGiving.org/States-of-Equality-and-Gay-Rights-Scorecard.
Before enactment of the federal hate crimes prevention act on October 28:
- 19 states did not have legislation protecting against hate crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity/expression
- 17 states had hate crimes protections based only on sexual orientation
- 14 states and the District of Columbia had had hate crimes protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression
After the enactment of this federal legislation, all states and the District of Columbia are now covered by the hate crimes prevention act based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. The passage of this bill automatically improved the scores of 19 states and moved six states from a score of 0.5 to a score of 1.5. Enacting an inclusive, federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act will automatically improve the score of 38 states.
Voters' expectations
We hope that the information provided helps each reader to understand what has been accomplished for LGBT equality and what still needs to be done.
The president and the leaders of Congress have clearly indicated that much more needs to be accomplished. Everybody is in agreement. During his campaign, the president emphasized change, and not small change. He has set certain expectations among his constituents. Now that equality-friendly politicians control the House, the Senate, and the White House, many believe that this is a real opportunity to obtain passage of equality legislation.
Given the data that you have about what has been accomplished and what is still missing, does this satisfy your expectations about where should we be at this point? Each individual holds the answer to this question. If you want to vote on this go to: www.eQualityGiving.org (right column). You can also view the results to see if voters' expectations have been met.
Juan Ahonen-Jover, Ph.D., and Ken Ahonen-Jover, MD, are the founders and funders of eQualityGiving, Act on Principles, and the conveners of the Dallas meeting that resulted in the Dallas Principles.