HRC Blog

The Week Ahead

July 6, 2009

It's going to be a busy week so here's a snapshot of a few things to keep on your radar: Tuesday:

The District of Columbia will begin recognizing marriages of same-sex couples performed in other jurisdictions when the law officially goes into effect Tuesday. A recent Board of Elections decision backed up by a subsequent court decision allows the recognition law to go into effect, barring Congressional action.

Wednesday:

The Human Rights Campaign will launch a national tour to encourage repeal of the failed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in conjunction with Servicemembers United. The kick off event will be a National Press Club Newsmakers press conference on July 8th at 10 a.m. in the Zenger Room, 13th floor, National Press Building, 529 14th St., N.W. Speaking at the event will be U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), a veteran of the Iraq war; Eric Alva, the first wounded veteran in the Iraq War; Jarrod Chlapowski, a former U.S. Army Korean linguist who opted to not re-enlist because of DADT and is currently a public policy advocate at the Human Rights Campaign; and Alex Nicholson, a U.S. Army veteran fluent in Arabic discharged under DADT and current executive director of Servicemembers United.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia will hold a hearing on the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act (H.R. 2517) on Wednesday, July 8th at 2pm. Scheduled witnesses include: Representative Tammy Baldwin; OPM Director, John Berry; Former Ambassador, Michael Guest; Carol Wright, VP for Corporate Human Resources, American Airlines; Lee Badgett, The Williams Institute; Candy Holmes, GAO employee, testifying on her own behalf; and a representative from the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS).
The House Education and Labor Subcommittees on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education and Healthy Families and Communities will hold a hearing on Strengthening School Safety Through the Prevention of Bullying on Wednesday, July 8th at 10am in 2175 Rayburn. Scheduled witnesses include: Sirdeaner Walker – mother of the 11 year old boy who committed suicide in Massachusetts after anti-gay bullying; and other witnesses TBD.