WASHINGTON, DC – On Saturday night, Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker told attendees at the 16th annual Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Dinner that as Governor of New Jersey, he would sign marriage equality legislation into law.

“I’m going to declare right now that the state of New Jersey—with all of the fiber of my being, with my allies left and right—that we will ensure that marriage equality is signed into law in the state of New Jersey,” said Booker, adding, “And when that bill is signed, I may have a very good seat for it.”

The rising star of the progressive movement reaffirmed remarks he made at this summer’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.—in which he also hinted at a possible gubernatorial run in the Garden State. In February, state lawmakers voted to legalize marriage equality, but the legislation was vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican.

“It is the unconquerable spirit that when some of us in our nation were told you aren’t good enough, this spirit stood and said, ‘Yes I am,’” Booker told the 3,000 attendees at the Washington Convention Center.

“Members of the LGBT community come from different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, religious traditions, and geographic regions. Identification and participation with the LGBT community can also change across the lifespan.”

The guide was inspired by the true life, harrowing experiences of LGBT Americans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005. In one glaring, but by no means unique, instance, a transgender woman was jailed for criminal trespassing charges after using a women’s restroom in a Texas shelter.

The pamphlet from HRC, the nation’s largest LGBT rights organization, notes that “some people may not outwardly identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, but may [nevertheless] be in a same-sex relationship.”

The brochure addresses topics that include LGBT families, same-gender couples, and single LGBT people raising children by themselves. It also describes “chosen families” as “a group of close friends who fill the traditional role of the nuclear and extended family. These are especially common for older LGBT individuals who came of age at a time when rejection.

Producer and comedian Poppy Champlin announced last month that the nation’s largest LGBT rights organization, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), had signed on as the tour’s 2012 sponsor.

Vickie Shaw

For the South Florida run, Champlin tapped comedian Vickie Shaw to headline the tour’s performances. Shaw, a mother, grandmother, and favorite on Olivia Cruises, says of her origins, “I’m from Texas where the speed limit is a suggestion.”

Barb Neligan, a former writer for the CMT cable network, brings her native Tennessean sensibilities to the hilarious stories she recounts about growing gay in a traditional Irish Catholic family in the Deep South. Accompanied by her banjo, Neligan informs audiences, “I’m from Nashville. It’s the law.”

Says producer/performer Poppy Champlin: “This show is just what the doctor ordered: it is working all over the country and getting people to come together. Gay men and women both enjoy these shows. [Through] HRC, 10 percent of sales go towards fighting for our LGBT rights.” She adds: “Fighting with laughter: I like it.”

Barb Neligan

Performance times for the Queer Queens of Qomedy: Saturday, April 7 at 8:00 p.m. at The Palladium in St Petersburg; Sunday, April 8 at 8:00 p.m. at the Ft. Lauderdale Improv (Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino); Monday, April 9, 8:30 pm, Miami Improv; Tuesday, April 10, Palm Beach Improv, West Palm Beach.

For more information, visit queerqueensofqomedy.com.

NEW YORK, NY – The growing support for LGBT rights among American corporate leaders is turning into tangible results for the nation’s LGBT workers, with a growing number of blue chips and other companies offering non-fiduciary benefits and other forms of compensation to their LGBT workforces, and their partners: married, domestic, or what have you.

For example, Ernst & Young, one of the nation’s largest accounting firms, is one of about three-dozen companies that now compensate their LGBT employees because of a provision in the tax code that requires them to pay income taxes on their partners’ health benefits—an amount that straight married couples are not required to pay. Approximately three-dozen companies now offer the so-called “gross-up benefit,” which, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) reports, is close to three times as many that offered the benefit just twelve months ago.

HRC reports that other companies that began offering the benefit as of Jan. 1 include American Express, Bank of America, Microsoft, and Yahoo. Both HRC and legal experts say that the tax requirement is a federal issue, and therefore trumps even laws in states that recognize gay marriage. “Four letters,” says Chris J. Mancini, a Broward County attorney who has represented many LGBT clients on domestic partnership issues. “D-OM- A.” Mancini, a former federal prosecutor, notes that the federal Defense of Marriage Act does not recognize same-sex couples as being married, even in the eight states that have legalized marriage equality.

“Under DOMA and its federal spousal definitions, a man on his wife’s health plan doesn’t pay federal taxes on his share of benefits, but a man on his husband’s plan does,” Mancini explains.

“Big Five” accounting firm Ernst & Young has offered benefits to same-sex domestic partners since 2002. The matter of the tax inequity came up during a town hall meeting held in November by the company’s diversity department. According to HRC estimates, the gross-up benefit provides an extra $1,200 on average to an employee’s family. Competitors KPMG and Pricewaterhouse Coopers have likewise added the gross-up benefit gay employees and their partners.

Bank of America offered domestic partner health benefits beginning in 1998: the company added the tax benefit this year for both domestic partners of employees and eligible children.

“It’s settled law in Massachusetts. Quite frankly, everybody’s moved on,” said Brown on the March 19 broadcast of “Piers Morgan Tonight.”

In the past, Brown has said that he opposes marriage equality, but he has never made it a campaign theme. The Republican split with his party in supporting President Obama’s repeal of the Pentagon’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy.

“We’ve moved on. I encourage everyone else to move on,” Brown told the CNN host. “It should be decided state by state basis. I’m focusing on those other things.”

Democrats say that Brown’s record on LGBT rights leaves much to be desired. They point to his opposition of non-discrimination legislation for LGBT persons, and his refusal to take part in an anti-bullying video.

“If Scott Brown thinks marriage equality is settled law in Massachusetts, he should talk to the thousands of gay couples whose marriages aren’t recognized by the federal government,” said Kevin Franck, spokesman for the Massachusetts Democratic Party.

Brown is in a re-election race for his U.S. Senate seat, the one formerly held by the late Ted Kennedy.

His presumed Democratic opponent, Harvard law professor and former U.S. Treasury Department official Elizabeth Warren, has been endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign.

Of the 20 largest American companies by revenues, ten got scores of “100,” meaning they met all of the HRC’s Corporate Equality Index criteria for providing an inclusive, discrimination-free work environment. The top-rated big companies cover a range of industries, from finance to automobiles to technology and health care. Ford Motor, Cardinal Health and IBM also got top ratings.

The index looks at discrimination policies that protect employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity, at insurance and other benefits for same sex partners, and at companies’ abilities to recruit and retain LGBT workers.

This is the tenth year HRC has done the survey, which has expanded from rating the 500 biggest U.S. companies to evaluating a total of 850 businesses, including more than 200 law firms. A decade ago, just 13 businesses got a top score. This year, 190 did.

HRC made its evaluation more stringent than in years past, rating companies on 40 different policies and practices, 32 of which were new or stricter. For instance, this year for the first time, companies had to include insurance coverage for gender reassignment surgery in order to get a top rating. Among the big companies that earned a score of 100, a spokeswoman at Citigroup says that its coverage of transgender insurance benefits is new this year. JP Morgan Chase has offered the coverage since 2009. A total of 207 companies surveyed are offering the gender reassignment coverage or will do so as of next year.

ExxonMobil had the poorest showing, with a rating of negative 25. A representative of the HRC explained that in 1999 when Exxon acquired Mobil Oil, Exxon did away with Mobil’s non-discrimination policy that included sexual orientation and it offered domestic partner benefits. Exxon has since opposed shareholder resolutions to restore the old policy and benefits.

Solmonese will remain at the helm of the organization until the completion of his contract to ensure a smooth leadership transition.

At the same time, the co-chairs announced the formation of a search committee to be co-chaired by board members Joni Madison of Hillsborough, N.C., and Dana Perlman of Los Angeles.

“Joe Solmonese is an outstanding leader,” said Anne Fay, who co-chairs the Foundation Board of Directors with Andy Linsky. “While we will miss his extraordinary leadership, we enter this next phase, thanks to Joe, in the best place the organization has ever been. Not only has our community secured historic victories, but our membership is larger and more active than at any time in our history, and our financial health is secure even in these difficult economic times.”

“From the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ to the recent passage of marriage equality in New York, Joe has made sure that HRC is an effective and strategic force for positive change,” said Tim Downing, who co-chairs the HRC Board of Directors with Rebecca Tillet.

“Over the course of his tenure, he’s set the tone for delivering real reform that matters in peoples’ everyday lives.”

“Leading HRC has been an inspiring experience and a complete privilege,” said Solmonese. “I could not be more proud of our staff, our volunteer leadership and of the extraordinary progress we’ve made together as a community.”

Solmonese’s leadership has taken the organization from 750,000 members and supporters to more than 1,000,000. Additionally, he oversaw significant expansion of HRC’s public education and outreach programs, including the launch of the Healthcare Equality index, a more robust Religion and Faith Program and wider reach and success of the Corporate Equality Index. The HRC Foundation also launched the Welcoming Schools program to address family diversity, gender stereotyping, bullying and name calling in schools, as well as the All Children All Families initiative that helps open up adoption agencies to prospective LGBT parents. The grassroots field operation also expanded – most recently mounting the largest state-level campaign in LGBT movement history resulting in the passage of marriage equality in New York.

legislation for same-sex couples in the State of New York. The statement from the former president was issued to the New York State lawmakers as they returned to session last week. Supporters of marriage equality are pushing for a vote during this legislative session which ends in June.

Clinton’s statement read:

“Our nation’s permanent mission is to form a ‘more perfect union’ – deepening the meaning of freedom, broadening the reach of opportunity, strengthening the bonds of community. That mission has inspired and empowered us to extend rights to people previously denied them. Every time we have done that, it has strengthened our nation. Now we should do it again, in New York, with marriage equality. For more than a century, our Statue of Liberty has welcomed all kinds of people from all over the world yearning to be free. In the 21st century, I believe New York’s welcome must include marriage equality.”

Clinton’s endorsement comes as a record 58 percent of New Yorkers support committed gay and lesbian couples getting married. This unprecedented level of support comes from every region of the state, every age group and is clearly bipartisan. Prominent New York business leaders recently wrote a letter making the case that marriage equality is good for business.

People ask me all the time, “How do you do so much?” My response is “It’s not so much, I really enjoy it. Along with good time management and a fine-tuned calendar, I make it work.” In this column, I would like to shed light on how “Giving Back” is enjoyable and profitable for your business.

Several years ago, my partner and I got involved with HRC (The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality.). It was our first time doing something for a cause greater then ourselves. Our participation started with the Winterfest Boat Parade Party, which we later co-chaired. Being on the board for HRC gave me skills I found helpful later in my career. I found enjoyment, long time friends and raised money for a great organization. I hired a caterer, Primavera Restaurant, who believes in giving back to the community. They created a delicious menu for a fantastic price that more than suited our needs and left everyone satisfied. Because of the relationship I formed with Giacomo at Primavera, I later signed him up with a merchant account. Our charitable work together lowered his business expenses and brought me a new client. Giving back is profitable!

My first networking group was The Business Professional Group. BPG believes that building long-term relationships between community members enhances personal and business growth. I learned the intricacies of networking and the benefits of belonging to a networking group. I was asked to join the board as the Social Director (I know – perfect fit, huh?) which I happily accepted. Joining the board raised my involvement with the group and created a level of respect and trust with its members. To this day, I use many of their services. I have made many friends and clients throughout my years with BPG. Joining the board and giving back became profitable.

When the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce formed the Gay and Lesbian Business Exchange, I signed up. GLBX recognizes the positive contributions of the Gay and Lesbian Community within our city and surrounding area as being a major driver to our local economy. I joined the “GLBX Leads Group” to expand my networking contacts. Later, my good friend Chris Caputo from Metro Media Works suggested we join the board. That one decision completely changed me in a way I did not expect.

Once on the GLBX board, I quickly realized the opportunities I have to contribute to our business community and the difference I could make. When the Business Development Executive (membership sales) position opened up at the Chamber, a light went on for me. I realized I could create a new career out of the enjoyment I find in networking. In addition, I will create many new business relationships, colleagues and friends along the way. Currently, the GLBX board is developing a new interactive website that we hope will unify our business community. Giving back to the community through GLBX created a profitable new career for me.

Then, along comes Rainbow Business Coalition. RBC’s primary mission is to unite the LGBT community by leadership and advocacy. When I was asked to join RBC, I didn’t really get what they did but I joined anyway. I didn’t understand how I was going to get business from RBC, but I was willing to give it a try. I was told it’s not a networking group and I didn’t understand why it was called a Business Coalition. As time when on, I got the big picture and a better understanding. The main purpose of the RBC is to publicize the greater Fort Lauderdale area as the best place to live and visit if you are an LGBT person. Along with me on the board are many of the very successful LGBT business owners/managers of our community. I am sitting with the movers and shakers of our community. We are sitting together working through our differences and creating real opportunities for our community. I found myself creating real friendships and new business partners with people I truly respect as leaders in our community. Currently, the RBC is organizing a free concert (including recording artist Kristine W.) and trade show to be held in Hagen Park for the IGLTA (International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association) on May 13. Giving back to the Greater Fort Lauderdale LGBT community through RBC has turned out to be profitable for me in the end.

I know it looks like a lot – and it is. My life is full of good friends, great colleagues, customers and acquaintances — all of whom I depend on in many ways. My life would not be as complete if we hadn’t seen the value in giving back. So thanks to all who cross my path for making my life more enjoyable. Special thanks to Kevin, who joins me in everything I bring his way.

Drew Miller is a business and networking consultant. He can be contacted at Drew@DrewMiller.biz.

Networking Calendar of Events

Networking lunch Meeting in Sunrise
May 15, 11:30am- 1:30pm, $25
The Lobster House
3521 N. Pine Island Rd, Sunrise, FL
(NW corner of Oakland Pk & Pine Island)

Chima Brazilian Steakhouse Biz to biz
Wednesday, May 4th, 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Chima Brazilian Steakhouse
2400 East Las Olas Blvd, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

SoLita Las Olas Biz to biz
Wednesday, May 18th, 5:30pm – 7:30pm
SoLita Las Olas
1032 East Las Olas Blvd, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

BPG Business Professional Group
Meets every Thursday morning 8 to 9 am
4351 NE 12 Terrace, Oakland Park, FL
Hugh’s Catering, 4351 NE 12 Terrace
Oakland Park, FL

NonProfit Committee Meeting GFLCC
May 11, 2011, 9:30 am – 10:30 am
Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of
Commerce, 512 NE 3rd Avenue
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

GLBX Leadsgroup GFLCC
May 4, 2011 and May 18, 2011, 8 – 9 am
Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of
Commerce, 512 NE 3rd Avenue
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

GLBX Afterhours GFLCC
May 12, 2011, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
The Manor, 2345 Wilton Drive
Wilton Manors, FL

New Member Orientation – FTL GFLCC
May 20, 2011, 8 – 9 am
Greater Ft Lauderdale Chamber of
Commerce, 512 NE 3rd Avenue
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Downtown Council Breakfast GFLCC
May 26, 2011, 8 am – 9:30 am
Tower Club Atop Regions Bank Bldg
100 SE Third Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL

GLBX Afterhours GFLCC
May 26, 2011, 7 pm, Location: TBD

Board of Directors/Trustee
Luncheon GFLCC
May 27, 2011, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
B Ocean, 999 N Ft. Lauderdale Beach Blvd
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Net@Noon GFLCC
May 27, 2011, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of
Commerce, 512 NE 3rd Avenue
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

By DMITRY RASHNITSOV

A new analysis of healthcare equality by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation found that the vast majority of U.S. healthcare facilities don’t have fully inclusive policies toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, according to the 2010 Healthcare Equality Index (HEI).  In a bit of good news for the LGBT community, sweeping new changes will soon dramatically alter how LGBT people interact with the healthcare system.

The results in South Florida are mixed but more encouraging, especially after the fiasco that occurred at Jackson Memorial hospital nearly three years ago where a lesbian and her children were denied the chance to see her partner on her death bed.

In Fort Lauderdale at Broward General, the hospital does have written sexual Orientation protections in their Patients’ Bill of Rights but nothing about gender identity. They also do not have written policies pertaining to equal visitation rights for same-sex patients or equal visitation rights for same-sex parents. The same exact criteria applies to Joe DiMaggio Children’s hospital in Hollywood and the five Memorial Hospital System hospitals in Broward County.

In Miami, a different story is seen. At the three Jackson Health System hospital throughout Dade County, patients bills of rights include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity.

Also, same-sex partners have equal visitation rights and same-sex parents can freely go see their kids. At Jackson, these policies were recently changed because of the bad publicity the hospital received when Janice Langbehn was denied the chance to say goodbye to Lisa Pond as she lay dying at the hospital in 2007.

The HEI 2010 comes following President Obama’s memorandum in April directing Health and Human Services (HHS) to make rules that require all hospitals that receive federal Medicare and Medicaid funding – nearly every hospital in America – to protect the visitation and healthcare decision-making rights of LGBT people. It also comes as the Joint Commission, which accredits and certifies healthcare facilities, has announced new, fully inclusive patient non-discrimination standards as part of their accreditation process.

Together, these developments mean that LGBT healthcare equality is going to improve nationwide.

“The healthcare landscape for LGBT patients and their families is about to change dramatically,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the HRC Foundation. “We all know horror stories of loved ones torn apart, already heart-wrenching decisions made even harder, and basic human rights denied.  Bold action by the President and the Joint Commission mean many of those stories will be a thing of the past – and not a moment too soon, because as of right now huge challenges remain on the books.”

The HEI 2010 independently reviewed a representative sample of 200 of the largest healthcare facilities nationwide. The report found that in all 50 states – and even in historically LGBT-friendly cities like San Francisco and New York – there are facilities that do not fully protect LGBT people from healthcare discrimination.  Ninety-three percent of healthcare facilities included in the study do not have fully inclusive policies toward LGBT people, and 42 percent don’t include “sexual orientation” in their Patients’ Bill of Rights/non-discrimination policy.

In addition, the healthcare reform bill passed by Congress and signed by the President, while a step forward for all Americans, failed to address important issues facing LGBT people.  It did not end the unfair taxation of employer-provided domestic partner health benefits, it did not permit states to offer early HIV treatment under Medicaid and it did not mandate collection of critical health data on LGBT people.

For more information on the report, visit: www.hrc.org/hei2010.