WASHINGTON — Prominent LGBT members of Congress assailed the Obama administration on Wednesday for including Brunei and Malaysia — two nations deeply hostile to gay communities — in major trade talks.
In a letter to President Barack Obama, five co-chairs of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus — Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) — posed sharp questions about why countries that promote the execution or imprisonment of gay people should be granted trade perks from the United States. Brunei recently imposed a Sharia penal system punishing gay sex with execution, and Malaysian law allows LGBT people to be caned and imprisoned for up to 20 years.
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Obama is seeking so-called fast-track authority from Congress, which would strip the legislative branch of the power to amend trade agreements negotiated by the administration. Most experts believe that TPP will not be approved without the authority.
Read the full letter here.
