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Senate Bill 1323

Senate Bill 1323, the bill that would extend employment and other discrimination protections to persons based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, was printed early this session.  Since then it has languished in the desk of Sen. Curt McKenzie (R-Nampa), chairman of the Senate State Affairs Committee.

Despite a recent survey indicating 63 percent of Idahoans agreeing that it should be illegal to be fire someone for being gay or lesbian, he declined to even hold hearings on the matter saying that he doesn't see that it has the support to get passed.

Ever have a day when, no matter how many attempts you make, the words just don't capture the feelings you have for an issue?  Today and this issue is one of those times.  I've written, and discarded as inadequate, several attempts at explaining what passage of this bill would mean to me.  Instead I'll just say this:  This bill would not directly affect my employment, but the issue does affect people that I love and is the reason I'm writing this blog anonymously.

Please, join those asking for a hearing on this bill at a rally tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. on the south side of the Capitol Annex.

Update 3.26.08 15:41:  Eye on Boise has a report on the rally.

Update 3.27.08 10:41:  Rep. Nicole LeFavour (D-Boise) has a picture and a few notes on the rally on her blog.

March 25, 2008 at 04:21 PM in 2008 Legislature |

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Comments

Wordsmith@ work

McKenzie? McKenzie? Is this the same stupid f* that said something stupid about PERSI and divesting in Sudan?

(Please note asterik!)

Posted by: Wordsmith@ work | March 25, 2008 at 07:23 PM

MountainGoat

McKenzie was the chairman of the committee hearing that as well. I think the quote you're talking about is, "...if we go down that road, I don’t know where we stop.”

Asterisk duly noted; thank you.

Posted by: MountainGoat | March 25, 2008 at 08:52 PM

Wolke

How can the legislature move so fast?

First of all , when you file for United States Senator , Idaho does not know this. You file with the feds.

So, how does the Secretary of the State know who files for United States Senate?

Then , How does the Secretary of State put a objection in bill form in 48 hours and have it voted on in this years congress?

Who is running this State?

How do just a few people have so much power in the State of Idaho?

How do we the people allow this?

Posted by: Wolke | March 26, 2008 at 05:45 AM

MountainGoat

Wolke, I have no idea how any of that relates to S 1323, but each person running for federal office in Idaho has to file with the Idaho Secretary of State to be on ballot. Click my name for the filing requirements.

Posted by: MountainGoat | March 26, 2008 at 08:58 AM

notesfromthefloor

Some races, like Senator McKenzie's have no Democrat running, or Republican challenger or anyone opposing them. With a simple form being filed and 10 votes in the Primary on May 27 a person can run against any of these candidates in the November general election. With many voters in the state being independents and many being frustrated that the Republican majority in this state is not making progress on health care, education, human rights and other issues that matter, it is a mighty good time to run if you are willing to work hard! There is training available too.
To see what races are open and who in Canyon County and elsewhere has no one challenging them go to: http://www.idsos.state.id.us/ELECT/candidat/08candpri.pdf

Posted by: notesfromthefloor | March 26, 2008 at 10:45 AM

notesfromthefloor

Some races, like Senator McKenzie's have no Democrat running, or Republican challenger or anyone opposing them. With a simple form being filed and 10 votes in the Primary on May 27 a person can run against any of these candidates in the November general election. With many voters in the state being independents and many being frustrated that the Republican majority in this state is not making progress on health care, education, human rights and other issues that matter, it is a mighty good time to run if you are willing to work hard! There is training available too.
To see what races are open and who in Canyon County and elsewhere has no one challenging them go to: http://www.idsos.state.id.us/ELECT/candidat/08candpri.pdf

Posted by: notesfromthefloor | March 26, 2008 at 10:47 AM

Wolke

Thank you for the list of candidates.

I called the Secretary office and the lady indicated she did not get involved in Federal Office Candidates.

Thanks Mountain , that is not true.

What my comment meant for S 1323 is that all in concerned of this bill has to meet at the capitol to
get the bill heard.

The bill has no value to McGee or whomever is stalling.

When a person takes time to change their name to Pro Life and it would not work right with the republicans , they stop what they are doing and act on it in 48 hours.

Why is not this legislature listening to the people it represents?

What happens for the republicans is this, they vote republican and then they see Pro Life so they vote for Pro Life and the ballot is no longer valid.

So Mountain good luck on your bill and your march...

Hopefully we are on the same page.

Posted by: Wolke | March 26, 2008 at 12:30 PM

MountainGoat

Wolke, I think we are on the same page. I agree, it's amazing how quickly the Legislature can work when they want to.

Posted by: MountainGoat | March 26, 2008 at 02:32 PM

MountainGoat

After some of the surprising positions McKenzie has taken, it is amazing that no one filed to challenge him. It would be nice for voters in Dist 12 to have a choice in November.

notesfromthefloor writes:

"With a simple form being filed and 10 votes in the Primary on May 27 a person can run against any of these candidates in the November general election."

Is there a link with more info on this? Is this referring to running as a write-in candidate?

Posted by: MountainGoat | March 26, 2008 at 05:42 PM

slfisher

yeah, that's news to me and should be more widely promulgated.

Posted by: slfisher | March 27, 2008 at 06:57 PM

The comments to this entry are closed.

MountainGoat
MountainGoat

Quotes For 2010

  • "The main thing is to keep everybody going down that road as we try to find the answers and solutions to all these problems. It'll be fun! We'll get it done." — Majority Leader Mike Moyle (R-Star) when asked in an Idaho Reports broadcast how the State House will handle making tough budget decisions this year, 1.29.10.

Quotes For 2009

  • "[Some politicians] wouldn't recognize the Constitution if it fell in their laps and called them Daddy." — Rep. Lenore Hardy Barrett (R-Challis) at a tea party tax protest.
  • "Just, you know, putting beans on the table." — former Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) when asked by Nate Shelman (670 KBOI) what he's doing these days.
  • "I said yesterday we hope and pray things will get better before they get worse. It's obvious to me some of you need to do a better job of praying." — Sen. Dean Cameron (R-Rupert), Joint Finance-Appropriation Committee co-chair on the grim economic forecast facing the committee.
  • “We’ve been called a lot of things but we’ve never been called sneaks before.” — Rep. Maxine Bell (R-Jerome) in a budget dispute with the governor's staff over legislators' computer funding.
  • "I’m not wearing rose-tinted glasses. But I am a glass-half-full kind of guy." — Gov. C. L. "Butch" Otter attempting to remain optimistic while delivering tough economic news in his State of the State/Budget message.

Quotes For 2008

  • "I am not ashamed that we use a lot of energy in this country. It has made us the most prosperous Nation on the face of the planet. ... Using energy makes us prosperous." — Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) during debate on an energy bill that, among other things, invested in alternative and renewable energy sources and repealed tax subsidies for large oil companies. (H.R.6899)
  • "If [Oversight Committee Chairman] Henry Waxman was interested in doing more than just showboat, we'd be there in a heartbeat. It's political grandstanding." — spokesman Wayne Hoffman explaining why Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) was absent from congressional oversight hearings into the financial crisis where, among other things, it was learned that AIG executives indulged in a lavish retreat a week after the bailout.
  • "You know what, campaigns are fast and furious, I accept responsibility that we don't have the right citation there, but the facts I stand by - we are correct about that." — Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) reacting to a campaign commercial fact-checking report.
  • "There are people out there without health care, and we need to address that, but it's not as big of a problem as some people would make it out to be" — Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) in a Lewiston, ID debate
  • "People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power." — President Bill Clinton in a speech at the 2008 DNC
  • "To my supporters, to my champions, to my sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits, from the bottom of my heart, thank you." — Senator Hillary Clinton in a speech at the 2008 DNC
  • "The America that we know, that the founding fathers envisioned, will cease to exist." — Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) speaking at the state GOP convention about the possibility of a Democratically controlled White House and Congress.
  • "Sometimes the problems have to get larger before you can solve them. We can still drive around the potholes, so they must not be big enough." — House Speaker Lawerence Denney (R-Midvale), explaining that lawmakers still need to be convinced about the extent of road maintenance problems before they'll agree to tax or fee increases.
  • "Those people that believe in shooting animals through the fences . . . ought to turn the rifle the other way." — Former Governor Cecil Andrus, at sportsmen's rally, decked out in full camouflage, urging opposition to "shooter bull" operations on domestic elk farms.
  • "GARVEE is like swallowing a raw egg - it seems to be one of those things that's really hard to stop in the middle of." — Rep. Marv Hagedorn (R-Meridian), in comments on a package of transportation bills introduced by House GOP leaders at an emergency committee meeting.
  • "I'm a professional dairyman. I have milked and milked everything I can possibly milk." — State Police Maj. Ralph Powell, arguing that the state crime lab's bare-bones operation has reached its limit and now costs the state money as testing is sent to private labs.
  • "Idaho is ranked last in the nation in protecting the safety of children in day care centers." — Sen. Kate Kelly (D-Boise), in support of an unsuccessful move by Senate Democrats to force a daycare standards bill out of committee.
  • "This [anti-discrimination bill] is something we will propose every year until it passes." — Rep. Nicole LeFavour (D-Boise), responding to the latest BSU Public Policy survey in which 63 percent of Idahoans think it ought to be illegal to fire someone for being gay or seeming to be gay.
  • "I assumed it would be a bunch of radical college students, so to fit the part, I grew a goatee, got a revolutionary T-shirt and put on some ratty jeans." — Rep. Curtis Bowers (R-Caldwell) in an Idaho Press-Tribune opinion explaining how he disguised himself to uncover alleged communist plots.

Quotes For 2007

  • "Divorce is just terrible. It's one of Satan's best tools to kill America." — Rep. Dick Harwood (R-St. Maries) describing the work of the Idaho Legislature's Family Task Force.
  • "I am not gay; I never have been gay." Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) in a statement responding to news of his arrest and subsequent guilty plea to disorderly conduct after an incident in an airport men's room.
  • “Most of the hospitals in this country have Christian names. If you think Hindu prayer is great, where are the Hindu hospitals in this country? Go down the list. Where are the atheist hospitals in this country? They’re not equal.” — Rep. Bill Sali (R-ID-01) to the Idaho Press-Tribune editorial board in response to criticism of his views regarding Hindu prayer in the Senate.
  • "We are all Nintendo warriors today. Remember that game, that electronic game, a few years ago, push buttons zim, zam, boom and it was all over with? That is not the way you fight war, although we as a society have grown to believe that." — Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) during debate on an amendment to a bill providing for defense authorization.
  • "While we are Democrats and Republicans, in our hearts we are all Idahoans." — Sen. Clint Stennett (D-Ketchum), reaching out to Republicans while outlining the Democratic agenda for the 2007 legislative session.
  • "One of the hardest things we've had to do here is taking off our party hats." — Rep. Marv Hagedorn (R-Meridian) on a proposal to restrict Idaho's primary elections.
  • "This is outrageous. The people of Idaho are entitled to have their representatives base their votes on the merits of a bill, not on who backed the loser in a speaker's contest." — Former GOP Gov. Phil Batt responding to accusations of political retribution taken by House Speaker Denney (R-Midvale) on other members.
  • “There was one of those six projects that was removed altogether. Why? Because the senator and the representatives from that district were from the wrong political party. We need to take a step back" — Sen. Dean Cameron (R-Rupert) to the Senate when debating the GARVEE bill.
  • "I'm prepared to bid for that first ticket to shoot a wolf myself." — Gov. Butch Otter, speaking to a hunters' rally at the Statehouse.
  • "To get a kick out of smoking industrial hemp, it would take a cigar the size of a telephone pole." — Rep. Tom Trail (R-Moscow), downplaying the relation between hemp and its cousin marijuana
  • "I guess I would just make a plea saying we need the money. You know we need the money on roads." — Rep. JoAn Wood (R-Rigby), on proposed bill to collect gas tax from sales on Indian reservations.
  • "No one wants to carry the canoe bill." — Rep. Eric Anderson (R-Priest River), agreeing with Gov. Otter that non-motorized boats should also pay registration fees, but noting any such proposal will be a tough sell.
  • "I don't think we should let the threat of a lawsuit force us to implement something that's not well thought out." — Abbie Mace, Fremont County Clerk, testifying against a "modified-closed primary" bill being pushed by GOP leaders.
  • "There's a lot of things that I pointed out in my State of the State (address) that haven't passed. Unfortunately, I can't think of one that has." — Gov. Butch Otter, addressing reporters on the legislative session so far.
  • "I say let's have a hearing and take our clothes off and go after it." — Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, trying to get lawmakers to print his bill.
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