Press Release - August 1st, 2009

Washington, DC – July 31, 2009 – Today, Stonewall Democrats applaud the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for their launch of “No Excuses,” a national campaign dedicated to meeting with federal lawmakers about issues of importance to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community and their allies.  For months, Stonewall Democrats has been energizing the grassroots with the message of holding Democrats accountable and we are continuously rolling out new online tools for our members and supporters to take action to do just that.  We are excited to have such a formidable partner in these efforts.

In their email launching "No Excuses," HRC wrote that "enough is enough" when it comes to promises from pro-equality lawmakers.  Stonewall Democrats across the country couldn't agree more, which is why we formally launched our accountability campaign in recent weeks:

www.stonewalldemocrats.org/holddemocratsaccountable

"After this past election Stonewall Democrats shifted our focus to holding Democrats in Washington accountable to advance pro-equality policies and legislation promised on the campaign trail," said Stonewall Democrats Chief Operations Officer Kyle Bailey.  Bailey continued, "Over the past several weeks we have launched a multifaceted campaign to hold Democratic elected officials accountable for promises made on the campaign trail.  Our efforts include bundling campaign contributions for pro-equality Democratic members of Congress who take bold stands for LGBT equality and shining a spotlight on pro-equality Democratic leaders, as well as on those Democrats who seem to have a difficult time finding the courage to stand up for basic fairness for all Americans in hopes we can light their way.  I couldn't be more pleased to see the nation's largest LGBT membership organization follow the lead of our boots on the ground and join us in these efforts with their contribution of encouraging our community to lobby members of Congress for full equality."

National Stonewall Democrats also congratulates HRC for hiring an exceptional member of the Stonewall Democrats family, Michael DiNapoli as a regional organizer for the "No Excuses" program.  DiNapoli has brought passion and commitment to his work with Stonewall Democrats and we know he will be an asset to HRC in mobilizing the grassroots on lobbying work.