IDAHO: 25 Activists Arrested In Another "Add The Four Words" Protest

Via the Associated Press:

Gay rights activists once again returned to the Idaho Capitol to protest lawmakers' refusal to pass anti-discrimination protections, this time by refusing to leave the state's bill-drafting offices. Idaho State Police made 25 arrests, including six people who were arrested twice, Monday for trespassing in the Statehouse. Protesters staged three different demonstrations Monday. Activists taking part in the protest warned in a statement that they would not voluntarily leave until legislators consider adding four words -- sexual orientation and gender identity -- to the Idaho Human Rights Act. Republican lawmakers killed legislation earlier this year that would have amended the state's Human Rights Act, which currently bans workplace and housing discrimination based on race, gender or religion.

In February 43 activists were arrested at the Idaho Senate entrance in a similar protest.

Tony Perkins Cheers Idaho Rights Vote

"In Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas, Republicans are moving quickly on measures that would penalize any government employee caught issuing same-sex 'marriage' licenses -- regardless of the courts' orders. Meanwhile, Utah, North Carolina, and South Carolina are desperately trying to give cover to anyone with religious objections to same-sex 'marriage' by drafting bills that would give government officials the ability to opt out of licensing or officiating same-sex couples. The brushfire over religious liberty continues in places like Idaho, where citizens are finally standing up to the government's anti-faith bullies. After three days and hundreds of testimonies (including FRC's Peter Sprigg's), the state's heated debate came to a sudden end when Idaho's House committee downed a Houston-type special rights ordinance that would have punished people with natural views on human biology and sexuality. By a 13-4 vote, Republicans succeeded in killing the measure. In the end, conservatives made it clear to the Left's Add the Words campaign that the only words that matter are the First Amendment's. Congratulations to our friends in the Gem State, who are adding their voices to those across the country who have the courage to fight back against these fierce assaults to our most basic freedoms." - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, via email.

IDAHO: State House Committee Kills "Add The Four Words" LGBT Rights Bill

Via Boise Public Radio:

After more than 20 hours of public testimony, the Idaho House State Affairs Committee decided to kill the "Add the Words" bill that would ban discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Idahoans. In the nine years that LGBT activists have been fighting for it, this is the furthest the bill has come. Some of the debate among committee members this morning was emotional. "My heart has been touched by this hearing," said Rep. Linden Bateman, R-Idaho Falls. "I've gotten to know you, and I know from this point on forever I will be kinder and I will be compassionate to those who bear a heavy burden." 190 people testified since the hearing began this Monday. According to the Eye On Boise blog, 134 people spoke in favor of the bill, 54 spoke against and two were neutral.

The vote was 13-4 along party lines. Among those testifying on Monday was Family Research Council vice president Peter Sprigg, who has publicly called for "criminal sanctions against homosexual behavior."

RELATED: Yesterday the above sticky note appeared on the front page of the Idaho Statesman and other local newspapers.

Lance Wells, who placed the ad, says he is not in favor of making the change to add “Sexual Orientation” and “Gender Identity” to the Idaho Human Rights Act. “Coverage has been slanted in one direction for most sources," Wells said. Wells says he is just standing up for his right to speak against adding the words. He says, so far, the feedback has been negative. "The majority of those were negative, some pretty aggressively so. Couple of words I can’t really repeat,” he said. Wells would not say how much he paid for the ad but he says it was worth every penny if it gets his message out there.

His website is here.

Idaho House Committee Hears Testimony On "Add The Words" LGBT Rights Bill

On Monday, the Idaho House State Affairs Committee heard public testimony on the bill that would add the words "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the state's Human Rights Act. Via the Associated Press:

Overall, lawmakers were largely silent during the hearing, asking only a handful of follow up questions and withholding comments. The committee — made up some of the Statehouse's most conservative lawmakers and only a handful of Democrats— met twice Monday and expected to convene Tuesday morning to listen to testimony. Idaho's gay rights supporters not only face opposition among the state's staunchly conservative legislators but also from Idaho's deeply religious population. Some at the hearing testified on Monday that they fear the bill, commonly known as "Add the Words," will infringe on their rights as individuals and business owners. "Don't make laws that protect (against) laws against nature and sexual deviant acts," said Paul Thompson of Twin Falls. "Regardless of sexual orientation, it is a law that makes a mockery of all that is created and to our creator." State Rep. John McCrostie of Boise, currently Idaho's only openly gay state lawmaker, responded that he, too, was a Christian and asked if Thompson's beliefs were greater than his own. "I respect an individual's desire to want to live out their lives as they feel compelled to do so," Thompson said. "But I owe myself authority to the written word of God."

Among those testifying was Family Research Council vice president Peter Sprigg, who has publicly declared that there should be "criminal sanctions against homosexual behavior." Sprigg's ugly anti-gay rant begins at the 45-minute mark in the clip below, but I recommend starting a couple of minutes earlier and listening to the story of a gay Idaho man. An excerpt from Sprigg:

"A business that places unfound prejudice" ahead of serving customers will be punished by the forces of the free market itself. There is no need to bring the heavy hand of government down upon it. We should have faith,that the people who know best how to run a business are the people who own and operate it -- not lawyers, government bureaucrats, or even legislators. And we should have respect for the freedom of businesses, schools, and non-profit organizations to hold to their own, deeply-held beliefs, and to act on such beliefs. Yet this bill would substitute the judgment of government officials for that of private businesses and organizations regarding what qualities or characteristics are most relevant to a particular job, and regarding how to operate their business."

IDAHO: Legislature To Hear Arguments On "Add The Four Words" Campaign

Via the Boise Statesman Review:

After years of denying a hearing for proposals to ban discrimination against gays, Idaho legislators decided Wednesday to let a committee debate the issue. On a 6-1 vote, the Idaho House’s leadership committee agreed Wednesday to introduce the “Add the Words” bill, a measure to amend the Idaho Human Rights Act to add the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to ban discrimination on those bases.

The vote clears the way for a full hearing on the measure, which is expected to be scheduled in the House State Affairs Committee the week of Jan. 26. Proponents have sought a hearing on the anti-discrimination bill for the past nine legislative sessions without success.

House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, who presented the bill to the committee and voted for it, said, “It’s merely a question of fairness, freedom and equal treatment for all Idahoans.” House Assistant Majority Leader Brent Crane, R-Nampa, cast the only dissenting vote. “I campaigned on traditional values and supporting traditional marriage. I promised the voters,” he said afterward. “I think I got 74 percent of the vote in my legislative district based on this being one of my campaign platforms.”

Local outlets are saying that the bill's hearing reflects a change of heart on the part of the Republican leadership. Last year dozens of local activists were arrested in "Add The Four Words" protests. According to a poll released last week, 67% of Idahoans support the bill.

The Next Big LGBT Rights Battle

Via the New York Times:

As barriers to same-sex marriage fall across the country, gay rights advocates are planning their next battle on Capitol Hill: a push for sweeping legislation to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination, similar to the landmark Civil Rights Act that President Lyndon B. Johnson signed in 1964. Plans for a so-called comprehensive lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights bill are still in their infancy, and advocates say the campaign could take a decade or longer. With Republicans taking control of the House and the Senate in January, they say the measure has little chance of passing in the next two years. “This will not be an easy struggle,” said Representative David Cicilline, Democrat of Rhode Island, who intends to introduce legislation this spring. “It forces a much larger conversation about our values as a country. Are we going to be a country in which we prohibit discrimination of any kind against individuals based on their sexual orientation?” [snip]

[L]awyers for an array of gay rights and civil rights groups — including the A.C.L.U., the Lambda Legal Defense Fund and the Human Rights Campaign — have been meeting for the past six months to work on a proposed bill. The Human Rights Campaign has been convening focus groups to gauge public opinion on the plan. On Thursday, it issued a report making the case that a broad civil rights bill would “make ours a more equal nation,” as Chad Griffin, the president of the group, wrote. The Center for American Progress, a liberal research organization, will issue its own report next week. The push signals a major change in strategy. For the past 20 years, gay rights advocates have tried, unsuccessfully, to pass much narrower legislation banning discrimination only in employment. Now, with analysts predicting that the Supreme Court will soon legalize same-sex marriage in all 50 states, movement leaders have coalesced around the broader approach.

Hit the link and read the full piece.

IDAHO: "Add The Four Words" Protesters Given Light Sentences By Cheering Judge

Via Idaho's Spokesman-Review:

The last of more than 100 Idahoans arrested this year in gay-rights protests at the state Capitol were sentenced in a four-hour-plus hearing Monday, and the judge had this message for them: “I respect your courage in doing what you did.” The protesters took part in “Add the 4 Words” demonstrations during this year’s session of the Idaho Legislature, standing silently, hands over their mouths, and refusing to leave until lawmakers agreed to hold a hearing on legislation to amend the Idaho Human Rights Act – or until they were arrested. No hearing was held. The protesters want the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” added to the types of discrimination banned by the act. Lawmakers have refused to hold a hearing on the proposed legislation for the past nine years.

The vast majority of the protesters, who were arrested only once, had their charges dismissed. Another two dozen activists who had been arrested multiple times were fined $10 per arrest plus court costs. (Tipped by JMG reader Javier)

RELATED: The entire national LGBT movement should heed the actions of our heroes in Idaho. Adding those four words (sexual orientation and gender identity) to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is our only way forward after the crumbling of ENDA.