2009: pushed to overturn military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
After returning from Iraq, I moved to Arizona and quickly became politically active on LGBTQ issues. In 2006, I worked on the campaign against an Arizona ballot initiative that would have amended the Arizona constitution to prohibit the state from
recognizing same-sex marriages or civil unions. Our campaign was successful and Arizona became the first state in the nation to defeat a same-sex marriage ban.
I have a long history of working with the Human Rights Campaign, joining HRC and Voices of Honor in 2009 to push the Obama administration to overturn the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Since being elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2010, I have co-sponsored bills granting Marriage Equality in Arizona and creating a state version of the Employer Nondiscrimination Act. I have a 100% rating from Equality Arizona.
I joined the Marine Corps & served in Iraq with Lima 3/25, a unit that saw one of the highest casualty rates of the war. My unit was so hard hit because Congress had failed to allocate resources for the armored vehicles we needed.
We were rolling around Iraq in amphibious assault vehicles that offered no protection to roadside bombs. We knew it and the insurgents knew it, but Congress wasn't doing anything about it.
Source: 2014 Arizona House campaign website, GallegoForArizona.com
, May 31, 2014
Funding wars separately is gimmick against sequestration.
Gallego voted NAY National Defense Authorization Act
Congressional Summary: HR 1735: The National Defense Authorization Act authorizes FY2016 appropriations and sets forth policies regarding the military activities of the Department of Defense (DOD), and military construction. This bill also authorizes appropriations for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO), which are exempt from discretionary spending limits. The bill authorizes appropriations for base realignment and closure (BRAC) activities and prohibits an additional BRAC round.
Wikipedia Summary: The NDAA specifies the budget and expenditures of the United States Department of Defense (DOD) for Fiscal Year 2016. The law authorizes the $515 billion in spending for national defense and an additional $89.2 billion for the Overseas Contingency Operations fund (OCO).
Opposition statement by Rep. Gerry Connolly (May 15, 2015): Congressman Connolly said he opposed the bill because it fails to end sequestration, and pits domestic investments
versus defense investments. Said Connolly, `This NDAA uses a disingenuous budget mechanism to circumvent sequestration. It fails to end sequestration.`
Support statement by BreakingDefense.com(Sept, 2015): Republicans bypassed the BCA spending caps (the so-called sequester) by shoving nearly $90 billion into the OCO account, designating routine spending as an emergency war expenses exempted from the caps. This gimmick got President Barack Obama the funding he requested but left the caps in place on domestic spending, a Democratic priority. `The White House`s veto announcement is shameful,` Sen. John McCain said. `The NDAA is a policy bill. It cannot raise the budget caps. It is absurd to veto the NDAA for something that the NDAA cannot do.`
Legislative outcome: House rollcall #532 on passed 270-156-15 on Oct. 1, 2015; Senate rollcall #277 passed 70-27-3 on Oct. 7, 2015; vetoed by Pres. Obama on Oct. 22, 2015; passed and signed after amendments.
Source: Congressional vote 15-HR1735 on Apr 13, 2015
Combat international and domestic Islamophobia.
Gallego voted YEA Combating International Islamophobia Act
H.R.5665: Combating International Islamophobia Act: This bill establishes within the Department of State the Office to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia and addresses related issues. The bill requires annual reports to Congress about human rights and religious freedom in foreign countries to include information about Islamophobia, such as:
acts of physical violence or harassment of Muslim people,
instances of propaganda in government and nongovernment media that attempt to justify or promote hatred or incite violence against Muslim people, and
actions taken by a country`s government to respond to such acts. The office shall coordinate and assist in preparing these portions of the reports.
Rationale to vote NO (Rep. Zeldin, R-NY, 12/14/21)::: Lee Zeldin, one of two Jewish Republicans in Congress, announced that he will vote against H.R. 5665, a partisan resolution: `Rep. Ilhan Omar`s bill that is supposed to combat Islamophobia does not even
define `Islamophobia`. In fact, the way the bill is worded intentionally plays into Omar`s calculating game that any criticism about any topic relating to her, even if it has absolutely nothing at all to do with her religion, could be defined as `Islamophobia`. That is absurd and I will vote `no`!`
Rationale to vote YES (NY1.com, 12/15/21)::: `Our country`s commitment to defending freedom of religion and belief goes back centuries, and the Administration strongly believes that people of all faiths and backgrounds should be treated with equal dignity and respect around the world,` a statement of support issued by the White House read. The bill comes after Republicans in Congress have targeted the three Muslim members of Congress as members of a `jihad squad.`
Legislative Outcome: Passed House 219-212-3 on 12/14/2021, Roll no. 448)` introduced in Senate on 12/15/21 and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations; no further Senate action during 2021.
Source: Congressional vote 21-HR5665 on Oct 21, 2021