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Published On: Tue, Mar 22nd, 2016

Republicans Mark Kirk, Bob Dold endorsed by LGBT group for commitment to equality, funding Planned Parenthood

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has backed two GOP members of Congress against their Democratic opponents, noting the support for legislative priorities of the LGBT movement.

HRC announced its first set of endorsements, which included Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois and Rep. Bob Dold, who took Kirk’s old seat in the House, received support due to their “strong commitment” to LGBT issues on Capitol Hill.

Kirk and Bold have made to the LGBT agenda is their co-sponsorship of the “Equality Act,” which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of federally protected demographics. Dold was the first Republican in Congress to back the Act, while Kirk’s support makes it just his latest effort to push the homosexual agenda.

Senator_Mark_Kirk_official_portrait“From supporting nationwide marriage equality, to co-sponsoring the Equality Act, these members of Congress have demonstrated a strong commitment to equality during their terms,” said HRC President Chad Griffin in a press release. “These members of Congress are standing with the bipartisan majority of Americans who believe that everyone, including LGBT people, should be able to have a fair chance to earn a living, provide for their families, and live free from fear of discrimination. HRC is proud to support them in their re-election campaigns.”

Kirk is facing Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-IL, in what many say could be the toughest Senate fight of the year. Duckworth has a higher scorecard ranking with HRC, which “scores” how members vote on different pieces of legislation, but a spokesperson for the group said in an email to The Hill that “Mark Kirk has had a strong record and scores during his time in Congress, including votes for ENDA and HIV/AIDS funding. The scorecard is one of several criteria used to evaluate members of Congress, but doesn’t capture their full record.”

“Because the scorecard reflects the particular mix of votes and cosponsorships that occur in each chamber during a particular Congress, House and Senate members are not rated on the exact same issues,” said the spokesperson.

All of the endorsed incumbents back legally redefining marriage. Kirk was one of two Republican senators to file support with the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to redefine marriage, which it did last year.

Both Kirk and Dold also support federal funding of Planned Parenthood. A prominent same-sex couple wrote in a recent op-ed that “LGBT rights and abortion rights are inseparable” because the same privacy rights the Supreme Court found in Roe v. Wade were the harbinger of the sodomy privacy laws found by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003.

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About the Author

- Catherine "Kaye" Wonderhouse, a proud descendant of the Wunderhaus family is the Colorado Correspondent who will add more coverage, interviews and reports from this midwest area.

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