Giannoulias Hits the Right Notes on LGBT Equality. Mark Kirk? Eh…

Illinois Democratic nominee for Senate Alexi Giannoulias has a pretty face and poses with flags. Check off two boxes for a successful candidacy. But wait, there’s more to gaining political office, isn’t there? Hang on a moment, it’ll come to me…

… oh, right. It’s policy. You’ve got to have positions and stuff. On issues of equal rights for gay and lesbian people, Giannoulias hits so many of the right notes that he could almost sign up for membership in the LGBT Equality Caucus today:

Marriage Equality

While marriage as a religious institution should be governed by people’s faith and the tenets of their religion, marriage as a civil institution should be governed by principles of fairness.

Civil marriage should be equal for all people and provide the same protections under the law, with all legal rights and responsibilities.

Alexi supports the right of individual states to give same-sex couples the right to marry, and would work to ensure that the federal government recognizes these marriages by supporting the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.

Repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Brave men and women who are willing to fight and die for our country should be asked only one question: can they do the job? That is why Alexi supports the repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

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Promote Employment Non-Discrimination and Tax Equity

Workers should be evaluated on their ability to do a job, not on their identities. Alexi supports efforts, modeled after existing civil rights and disabilities legislation, to prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. As State Treasurer, he ended years of a misguided policy in his office by extending health coverage to domestic partners. As a U.S. Senator, he would also work to end the double taxation of couples.

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Ushering an era of fairness and equality into the Treasurer’s office, Alexi extended medical, dental and vision benefits to the domestic partners of office employees in June 2007. The Treasurer’s Office had been the only constitutional office not to give health benefits to same-sex partners of state workers since the Governor extended the benefits in May 2006. Alexi pledged to fix the inequity during his campaign and made the option available during the first health insurance enrollment period under his administration.

If equality under law for Americans is a primary issue for you, then Alexi Giannoulias would seem to a candidate you could support.

Mark Kirk has a notable record… for a Republican. As current member of the U.S. House, he has actually cosponsored H.R. 3017, a bill to prohibit job discrimination against gay and lesbian Americans. Expect representatives for Mark Kirk to quietly point this fact out to members of the Illinois LGBT community. But Kirk has also voted to honor the Boy Scouts of America, an organization that openly discriminates against gay and lesbian teens. Most notably, Mark Kirk has refused to support over a dozen other bills in the LGBT Equality slate, bills to grant lesbian and gay Americans equal status under law regarding military enlistment, immigration of partners, federal employee benefits, tax status, in health provision, and in adoption or foster care.