Last week, ThinkProgress identified seven anti-LGBT Republicans in the US House of Representatives who sponsored or co-sponsored five or more of the ten most anti-gay bills introduced so far this Congress. But while they and 137 colleagues were promoting discrimination, 183 Representatives have signed on as backers of at least one of 27 pro-LGBT proposals over that time.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) has sponsored or cosponsored 23 of the bills, making her statistically the most pro-LGBT member of Congress. An eighth-term representative from the Bay Area, Lee authored the proposed Real Education for Healthy Youth Act of 2011 (an LGBT-inclusive sex education bill) and the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2011 (a bill to improve tracking of health data for LGBT people and other minority groups). She is listed as a co-sponsor on 21 other proposals including measures to ban employment discrimination, to stop bullying in schools, and to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. Her official House website includes a page highlighting her support for LGBT equality and highlighting her status as a founding member of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, of which she is currently a vice chair.
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) equaled Congresswoman Lee’s score, also backing 23. But because residents of the District of Columbia are not given full representation in Congress, she is only permitted to vote in committees. All six non-voting delegates to Congress backed at least two pro-LGBT measures.
The 11 Most Pro-Gay U.S. Representatives
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Seeded on Tue Jul 3, 2012 7:44 AM

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