It is the second time the lobbying effort known as Clergy Call has been held on Capitol Hill - the first event was held two years ago. Both have been sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign.
Conservative Christian groups have regularly fought all efforts to pass LGBT legislation. Wednesday’s Clergy Call is an effort to show that not all religious leaders support that agenda.
The 325 religious leaders taking part in Clergy Call this year represent Christians, Buddhists, Jews and Muslims.
At the top of the list of legislation being pushed by the clergy is an expansion of federal hate crime law which would include sexual orientation, gender identity and disability. The legislation was passed by the House last week and is pending in the Senate.
HRC spokesperson Harry Knox said the clergy is “here out of a pastoral concern for real people in their congregations who have to deal with the ramifications of hate violence.”
They also are pushing for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing and employment. A bill is expected to be introduced later this summer.
Additionally, they support repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” the ban on gays serving openly in the military, and the repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which bars the government from recognizing same-sex relationships.
President Obama has signaled his support of all four bills.
Among the clergy on the Hill is Gene Robinson, the openly gay Episcopal bishop from New Hampshire, who delivered the invocation during a kickoff concert at the Lincoln Memorial for President Obama’s inauguration.In launching Clergy Call on Monday night at Calvary Baptist Church in downtown Washington, Robinson said that religious conservatism “still presents the greatest obstacles we face in full equality.
“Ninety-five percent of the oppression that we know in our lives comes from the religious community,” he said.
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