Senate's Newest Member Gets Praise From Gay Groups

[davidinalameda]

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/01/011806menendez.htm

Robert Menendez was sworn in Wednesday becoming the newest member of the Senate. The New Jersey Democrat was appointed by Gov. Jon Corzine to serve out the remaining year in Corzine's Senate term.

Corzine resigned his Senate seat to run for governor. Menendez was a seven-term member of the House prior to his appointment to the Senate.

As a Congressman he had a strong record of fairness on LGBT issues, according to the Human Rights Campaign's congressional scorecard. He received a congressional career rating of 91 percent on the HRC scorecard, "siding with equality and fairness 43 out of 47 scored votes, co-sponsorships and pledges."

The most serious "negative" came in 1996 when he voted for the Defense of Marriage Act - a law signed by President Clinton that purports to allow states not to recognize same-sex couples married in another state, as well as block federal benefits for those unions.