Like a Rock: Amidst the Freedom Caucus’ Ballyhoo, Congresswoman Diana DeGette Leads a Sisyphean Struggle for Equal Rights

In 2013, Tea Party-inspired lawmakers shut down the federal government for 16 days. This year, the so-called Freedom Caucus (formerly the Tea Party) played chicken with the funding of the Department of Homeland Security. Most recently, a band of 47 Republicans undermined the president's nuclear negotiations with Iran. They wrote a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to let him know that any deal Iran signs with Obama is at risk of being chucked when he leaves office.

Yes, most Dems hate the Freedom Caucus. So do many Republicans who accuse the minority of tearing the GOP apart. Even Iran's Foreign Minister Dr. Javad Zarif mocked the recent letter to Khamenei. Zarif called it a "propaganda ploy" and schooled the lawmakers on the finer points of international and U.S. constitutional law.

This band of self-professed libertarians has been making 1st District Councilwoman Diana DeGette's job serving as vice chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus in the House of Representatives hard.

"In the last election, the electorate thought that if they had Republicans in control of Congress and the Democrats in control of the White House, there would be more compromise, but of course, what happened was the Republicans took control of Congress and immediately started fighting among themselves," she says.

The infighting and gridlock has made passing equal rights legislation difficult.

Remember Sisyphus, that ill-fated king in Greek mythology doomed to spend eternity rolling a boulder up a mountain only to have it crash back down? From the outside, that's what fighting for equal rights in Congress looks like.

"More and more of the public agree with marriage equality. They agree with ENDA [Employment Non- Discrimination Act]. They agree with all of the issues all of us have fought so hard for," Degette says.

But the public's perspective does not seem to soften the hardline conservatives that still fight against equality.

Take same-sex marriage legislation. Yes, same- sex couples can get married in most states, but not because of Congress, the LGBT Equality Caucus, or DeGette's good intentions. Indeed, Congress still has the anti-equality Defense of Marriage Act on the books. Marriage rights have been secured in federal courts.

"While we don't think any legislation is going to pass immediately, if the Supreme Court rules the way we hope they will, we're going to start seeing marriage equality all around the country, and that will lead to more and more LGBT rights," she says.

With a gridlocked Congress, what can the Equality Caucus actually do? "Congressman [David] Cicilline is working on a bill — a comprehensive nondiscrimination bill. He's trying to look at everything — employment, education, federal funding, public accommodation, a sort of a broader look at equality," DeGette says. She will be one of the bill's original co-signers.
Will the bill pass? Probably not.

"Right now we're drafting this big piece of legislation to try and send the message that we still need equality throughout society," DeGette says.
In addition to drafting unlikely legislation, the LGBT Equality Caucus is serving as a watchdog to ensure that restrictions to equal rights are not passed. "We're ever vigilant to make sure we don't get bad legislation."

DeGette hopes that in the upcoming election, the power will shift back to the Democrats. "The LGBT community has got to realize that as the 2016 election approaches, we're having to make some real fundamental choices here.

"Obviously, I don't know who the Republican nominee is going to be, but I can guarantee you they're not going to be as open to equal rights as Hillary Clinton or another Democratic nominee. When people vote, they need to look at those issues. Those issues are fundamental and important issues.

"So often, people say there is no difference [between the parties]. Look at me right now in Congress trying to pass anti-discrimination legislation. Everybody admits it's not going to pass with this group we've got in charge. People need to look very closely at that when they look at candidates."

As for DeGette, she will be supporting her party's frontrunner Hillary Clinton, whose husband, Bill Clinton, signed the Defense of Marriage Act into effect 19 years ago.