Here's (my) problem: ROS-LEHTINEN is on "our" side on 1 thing (transgender offspring) but

Exile/CIA/Rethug on everything else.



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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ileana_Ros-Lehtinen
[font size=5]Ileana Ros-Lehtinen[/font]
In September 2011, Ros-Lehtinen became the first Republican member of the U.S. Congress to co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.[3] In July 2012, Ros-Lehtinen became the first Republican in the House to support same-sex marriage.[4] Also, she said she would propose legislation making U.S. funding for the UN contingent on extensive reform. Her bill will also call for the United States to withdraw from the UNHRC, as "Israel is the only country on the council's permanent agenda, while abuses by rogue regimes like Cuba, China, and Syria are ignored".[5] ....

Ros-Lehtinen was raised Catholic and is now an Episcopalian.[6][7] Ros-Lehtinen's maternal grandparents were Sephardic Jews, originally from the Ottoman Empire, who had been active in Cuba's Jewish community.[8] Her maternal grandfather left the city of Kırklareli for Cuba in 1913, fleeing the devastation and economic collapse caused by the First Balkan War.[9] Her mother later converted to Catholicism to marry her father. ....

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has two children, Rodrigo (born Amanda), a transgender LGBT rights activist, and Patricia Marie.[14] She is also step-mother to Katherine and Douglas Lehtinen. ....

Ros-Lehtinen is considered conservative on foreign and economic policy. Ros-Lehtinen supported President George W. Bush's surge policy in Iraq, a supports of Israel and supports continued sanctions against Cuba. She also supported the de facto government in Honduras, headed by Roberto Micheletti, that emerged after the military coup against President Manuel Zelaya. She has said of the decision to invade Iraq: "Whether or not there is a direct link to the World Trade Center does not mean that Iraq is not meritorious of shedding blood. The common link is that they hate America." ....

Although Ros-Lehtinen voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996,[49] she began to support LGBT issues over the following decade. Her district includes large LGBT populations in South Beach in Miami Beach and in the Florida Keys. She was one of three Republican members of the LGBT Equality Caucus, of which she is a founding member and a vice-chairperson. While she is not a co-sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act, she supports anti-hate crime laws, anti-discrimination bills, believes gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the armed forces, is a sponsor of the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, and voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment.[50] Ros-Lehtinen was one of fifteen Republican House members to vote in favor of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, and was the first Republican cosponsor of the bill.[1][51][52] In September 2011, Ros-Lehtinen became the first Republican member of the U.S. Congress to co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act, and signed on to a letter to IRS Commissioner Schulman requesting that the IRS provide clear guidance for LGBT taxpayers.[3][53] The letter asks the IRS to ensure that tax law is being applied fairly to all individuals. In July 2012, she became the first Republican in the House to fully support same-sex marriage.[54] In 2013, Ros-Lehtinen was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.[55]

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