Civil disobedience continues in DC:

[JackBeck]

Activists Stage Sit-In, Tell Pelosi: Move on ENDA

By Michelle Garcia, Advocate.com

A group of activists are staging a sit-in at the San Francisco and Washington, D.C. offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to get the Employment Non-Discrimination Act on the House floor for debate.

The protesters, behind the new lobbying effort GetEqual.org, announced their plan for a sit-in through an email to supporters. GetEqual is part of an initiative taking place on Thursday to get people to contact Pelosi’s office, and urge her to place the ENDA onto the debate schedule.

The message said the group would not “leave until Speaker Pelosi commits to bring the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to the floor for a vote this month — or until they are arrested.”

The bill, introduced by Rep. Barney Frank in June 2009, currently has 198 co-sponsors, but is currently locked up in numerous committees.

http://nclrights.wordpress.com/2010/03/18/activists-stage-sit-in-tell-pelosi-move-on-enda/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NationalCenterForLesbianRights+%28National+Center+for+Lesbian+Rights%29&utm_content=Twitter

[Cyrano]

1. They'll get very little attention. Congress can't walk and chew gum at the same time.

[joycean]

2. It died in committee...

the death knell words of the House of Representatives. If I were in House, I would buy these guys a consolation lunch.

[JackBeck]

3. No, it didn't. In fact, it's ripe and will pass out of committee.

It passed in 2007, without transgender protections, but this time will pass the House as a fully-inclusive bill. There's some minor wrangling with some lawyerly language that is holding it up. 198 co-sponsors is the most any LGBT bill has ever had, and there's 45 co-sponsors in the Senate. This isn't a controversial bill, which is why the pressure has been upped.

Plus, the focus has mainly been on health care. You could sense on the Hill this past Monday and Tuesday that both sides will be happy when HCR has passed, so that business can return to whatever way the Capital defines as "normal".

[JackBeck]

4. Update from inside Pelosi's office:

"US Capitol police try and move in to arrest #GetEQUAL occupants of Speaker Pelosi's office - but we lock the door from inside! *standoff*"

Now,

"The DC Pelosi ENDA 8 are about to be arrested."