GOP Mum On LGBT Executive Order

Anti-gay and Christian groups have been screaming their heads off about President Obama's signing of the executive order protecting the LGBT employees of federal contractors from workplace discrimination. But the GOP hasn't uttered an official peep.

Perhaps nobody better illustrated this point than House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). HuffPost asked him Thursday if he had any reaction to Obama's LGBT executive order. "Nope," Boehner said at his weekly briefing. "The president signs a lot of executive orders." Asked if he supports the principle of workplace protections being extended to LGBT employees, he punted again. "Listen, the president is going to make his decisions. He can," Boehner said. On the other side, Human Rights Campaign spokesman Fred Sainz said he considers Republicans' silence golden. "While I would far prefer they speak on behalf of the equality their constituents support, it's definitely evidence of our progress when some say nothing," Sainz said. One factor may be that Republicans simply aren't keeping up with the flurry of LGBT rights advancements. Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.), one of the eight House GOP co-sponsors of ENDA, said Thursday that he didn't know about Obama's executive order. But he emphasized that if it has the same goal as ENDA -- which it does, except that ENDA has far broader implications -- he supports it.

Rep. Jared Polis Preparing Discharge Petition For ENDA?

Democratic House Representative Jared Polis is preparing to initiate a discharge petition for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, according to the Washington Blade. A discharge petition, in short, is a means of bringing a bill directly to the floor without consideration from committee or direct input from the House leadership. Considering Speaker John Boehner’s steadfast refusal to allow discussion of ENDA, a discharge petition could be one of the few remaining opportunities to introduce the legislation.

Polis, ENDA’s chief sponsor, has filed two new resolutions that would open ENDA up for House floor consideration. The second of Polis’s resolutions, H.Res.678, comes in light of widespread backlash from LGBT organizations as they dropped support for ENDA’s religious exemption clause.

H.Res.678 would bring a version of ENDA to the floor with an exemption clause modeled after that written into Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Though Polis’s logic is political logic is sound, the process of actually enacting a discharge petition is fraught with logistical difficulties. From the Washington Blade:

To start a discharge petition on a bill, 30 legislative days must have passed since the legislation was referred to committee. In this case, the Senate-passed version of ENDA was referred to the House Judiciary Committee on January 8, 2014.

Additionally, seven legislative days must have passed since a resolution to consider the legislation was referred to the Rules Committee. As such, the process for collecting signatures a discharge petition on the Senate-passed could begin at any time in the House, but the same process for a discharge petition for a bill with an amended religious exemption couldn’t begin until July 31.

Polis’s plans directly mirror allusions made by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi last fall after Boehner first blocked ENDA, which at the time was backed by almost 200 members of the House.

“I would think it would be ‘once burned, twice learned,’ and that they would, shall we say, save some time by taking it right to our committee and to the floor,” Pelosi lamented at the time. “Ending discrimination is what we are all about as Americans, and we should not have discrimination in the workplace because of gender identity.”

69 Religious And Civil Rights Groups Ask Obama To Exclude Religious Exemptions From Executive Order Banning LGBT Discrimination

Sixty-nine religious and civil rights organizations have signed a letter asking President Barack Obama not to exempt “religiously affiliated contractors” from a planned executive order protecting LGBT employees of federal contractors.

Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, American faith leaders and 140 religious leaders have asked Obama for “a robust religious exemption” stating “it would be wrong to require [religiously affiliated federal contractors] to violate those legally protected convictions in order to be eligible to receive federal contracts.”

The aforementioned letter against religious exemptions — signed by the American Civil Liberties Union, GetEQUAL, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), PFLAG, the National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force — reads in part:

“Religious freedom is one of our most cherished values, a fundamental and defining feature of our national character. It guarantees us the freedom to hold any belief we choose and the right to act on our religious beliefs within certain limits. It does not, however, provide organizations the right to discriminate using taxpayer dollars. When a religiously affiliated organization makes the decision to request a taxpayer-funded contract with the federal government, it must play by the same rules as every other federal contractor. 

Indeed, taxpayer-funded discrimination, in any guise, is antithetical to basic American values. Polls consistently show that Americans overwhelmingly understand and agree that when tax dollars are in play, discrimination is wrong. If an organization requests and receives government funding, it should not be allowed to discriminate against qualified job applicants based on who they are or what their religious beliefs may be. Yet, exempting religiously affiliated organizations that contract with the federal government from prohibitions on discrimination by federal contractors would do just that.”

Chris Geidner from Buzzfeed Politics adds that the letter also asks Obama “to reverse a Bush order that expanded the religious exemption under the existing federal contractor order… [which] permits religiously affiliated organizations that receive government contracts to discriminate in hiring based on religion.

Such religious exemptions are what compelled the National Gay and Lesbian Task forced to drop its support for the current Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

Have Gay Groups Set Their Own Trap With a Religious Exemption in ENDA?

In the wake of the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision, and while the White House is still drafting an executive order banning anti-LGBT discrimination among federal contractors, a lot of people are wondering if LGBT groups and members of Congress set a trap for themselves and the rest of us by backing a broad religious exemption in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

Back in November, the week ENDA passed the Senate, I noted that it was stuck in a '90s time warp. If passed by the House and signed into law, ENDA would ban discrimination against LGBT people in employment but with the same broad religious exemption it had in the early '90s -- a pre-marriage equality era when many would have accepted any protections of any kind.

ENDA was never updated to a time when we should have a full civil rights bill, banning discrimination not just in employment, but in public accommodations, housing and credit, with no broad religious exemptions. ENDA would allow a Catholic hospital or school to fire a lesbian nurse or janitor or cafeteria cashier simply on the basis of her sexual orientation. That is a much broader exemption than allowed for any other group under the 1964 Civil Rights Act. And it's abhorrent.

A lot of other people were speaking out about the exemption during the debate in the Senate over ENDA at the time. The New York Times editorialized against it. The ACLU warned about it as did the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and Lambda Legal. Meanwhile, groups like the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Freedom to Work defended the exemption (and continue to do so). Groups that warned about the exemption didn't go so far as to pull support for the bill. ENDA got over the 60-vote threshold, passing with 64 votes, with the help of several Republicans who voted for it because of the exemption, like Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).

Now we have anti-gay religious leaders like Rick Warren writing letters to the president urging him, in the wake of the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision, to include the broad religious exemption that is in ENDA in the order the White House is drafting banning discrimination among federal contractors. Yes, they're actually asking the government to allow them to discriminate with taxpayer dollars. Because of that, HRC is publicly saying that an exemption in the executive order is far different and should not be included.

But, while NCLR and some other groups have now said they won't back ENDA any longer with the religious exemption (a brave stance, since many are afraid of HRC), HRC still supports it and is presumably still lobbying Republicans to support it. That sends the wrong message to the White House, implicitly saying that we will tolerate some discrimination.

Let's be honest: If HRC truly still supports the exemption in ENDA, it will be that much harder to keep it in while pushing for a vote in Congress -- and get ENDA passed with Republican support, which it would need -- if the president doesn't include it in the executive order. HRC may want a win on federal legislation, like all lobbying groups, because it brings in dollars, no matter the cost. But the cost of having the religious exemption is too high. After Hobby Lobby, you could even imagine the Supreme Court deciding the same thing on LGBT discrimination that it did in the Hobby Lobby case: that the administration already gave an exemption to non-profit religious groups on some forms of contraception, so why not allow the same for "closely held" for-profit companies?

Tobias Barrington Wolff, the esteemed professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School who was an advisor to the Obama campaign in 2008 (and got a shout out last week from the president during the White House LGBT Pride Reception), has been very vocal in recent days, speaking out against the exemption. Hopefully the president is listening to Wolff's wise counsel and not to those inside or outside the White House who might be advising him to support religion-based discrimination.

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Withdraws Support for ENDA

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force said Tuesday that it is dropping support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) over its religious exemption.

Writes NGLTF in a press release:

The decision comes as broad religious exemptions, such as the one in ENDA, are creating gaping legal loopholes to discriminate in federal, state and local legislation.

"The morning after the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling, we all woke up in a changed and intensified landscape of broad religious exemptions being used as an excuse to discriminate. We are deeply concerned that ENDA's broad exemption will be used as a similar license to discriminate across the country. We are concerned that these types of legal loopholes could negatively impact other issues affecting LGBT people and their families including marriage, access to HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention and access to other reproductive health services. As one of the lead advocates on this bill for 20 years, we do not take this move lightly but we do take it unequivocally – we now oppose this version of ENDA because of its too-broad religious exemption. We cannot be complicit in writing such exemptions into federal law," said Rea Carey, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund.

Carey is urging support for treating LGBT people similarly as other protected classes under federal non-discrimination law, with a reasonable religious accommodation.

"The campaign to create broad religious exemptions for employment protections repeats a pattern we’ve seen before in methodically undermining voting rights, women's access to reproductive health and affirmative action. It is time for fair minded people to block this momentum, rather than help speed it into law. We need new federal non-discrimination legislation that contains a reasonable religious accommodation. LGBT people should have the same protections as those contained in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Legal equality is federal law."

"The truth is that those who seek to deny full equality are succeeding by using religion to create a quasi-moral, completely legal mechanism to discriminate. We can’t let them succeed. We can’t let them ignore the vast majority of people — and millions of people of faith — who think that discrimination is completely immoral and should be completely illegal," said Carey.

Mr. President, Discrimination by Any Other Name…

July 4, 2014

Dear President Obama,

I certainly don’t have the kind of influence and power as the ministers who recently wrote you about their concerns over not being allowed to discriminate against LGBT folk, but since I am a citizen, I do believe my voice matters as much as theirs. I thank you for taking the time to listen to it and to consider my words.

Like many of them, I am an ordained minister (Presbyterian Church, USA), but I am not in agreement with them. In their letter to you they say, “We must find a way to respect diversity of opinion.” I disagree with them, because I have cause to believe that extending equality to all people is not something about which we get to have an opinion — or at least not an opinion that should affect policy. That which gives me “cause to believe” is the Constitution.

As it turns out, my religious holy texts also encourage me to see all people as being created equally in the image of God.

And while I do not support the setting of policy based on one religion’s beliefs, I do find it comforting to see the Constitution reiterating this basic humanitarian perspective: We all deserve to be treated equally under the law.

The authors of the letter also said, “Americans have always disagreed on important issues, but our ability to live with our diversity is part of what makes this country great, and it continues to be essential even in this 21st-century.”

Yes, we have always disagreed on important issues — like slavery and women’s rights, just to name a few. I, for one, do not believe we should allow those kinds of “disagreements” to dictate access to equality for anyone. We’ve seen how that works before, and we’ve seen the lingering, generational effects of laws that accommodate those “disagreements.” (And it’s not pretty.)

It also turns out that my religious texts encourage me to stand up for justice by speaking out for those whose access to equality is being limited, but they have very little interest in the question of same-sex relationships. On the other hand, the Christian scriptures practically get pedantic in talking about extending love, justice and grace to all people.

It’s difficult to trust the judgment and the intent of those who wrote you when they say, “We have great appreciation for your commitment to human dignity and justice, and we share those values with you,” while, in the same breath, saying it is essential that they be given an exemption from extending human dignity and justice to a specific group.

As one of my personal heroes, the Rev. Dr, Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

This is one of those shifting lines in the sands of equality. The recent Supreme Court ruling on the Hobby Lobby case has already to begin to blur that line in a way that has the potential to pull this nation backwards in its movement towards improved equality— back to a time when access to power entailed being white, male, straight, rich and Christian. I implore you, Mr. President, do not let the line be further blurred.

I applaud you for your intent to take a clear stand on all forms of discrimination. Congress had an opportunity to do the same and chose to allow discrimination to continue in the hiring practices of federal contractors. The exception that Rev. Rick Warren and his co-signers are asking for quite simply allows one group to actively discriminate against another. It really is not as complicated an issue as they would like others to believe. It would be yet another step backward in American history, back to a time when discrimination and injustice were thought permissible by means of divine judgment.

Back to a time when you could not have been President. Maybe that is what they want.

This is not a question of religion, nor should it be. This is a question of basic human dignity and basic human rights. This is a question of continuing to become a nation of true freedom and true justice, the principles that we celebrate on the Fourth of July.

This is a question of continuing to bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice. It does not bend easily. It does not bend un-aided, but it does bend and we must be its guide and protector in the face of such needless, relentless opposition.

Peace,

Rev. Mark Sandlin

Study: Better Qualified LGBT Applicants Face Discrimination From Federal Contractors

A new study by Freedom to Work and the Equal Rights Center demonstrates that better qualified LGBT applicants are 23% less likely than applicants who don’t identify as LGBT to get a call back from some federal contractors, reports Vox.com.

Last month, President Barack Obama announced that the White House is preparing an executive order banning employment discrimination based on gender identity for federal employees.

The study, titled Federal Contractors Show Anti-LGBT Hiring Bias, sent two fictitious resumes - one of which mentioned a leadership role in an LGBT organization - to 100 positions across eight federal contractors including ExxonMobil and General Electric.

ExxonMobil has a history of repeatedly rejecting LGBT workplace discrimination policies and have even been taken to court for anti-gay discrimination.

The LGBT resume always included a higher grade point average and stronger work experience. Despite the stronger credentials, the LGBT applicant was much less likely to get called back.

A report infographic demonstrates one example of the application process through ExxonMobil.

The report concludes that both the ERC and FTW applaud Obama’s executive order which will finally give LGBT employees legal recourse to address work discrimination.

On June 25, 140 religious leaders petitioned for an exemption from the pending executive order.

Right Wing Lather Over Anticipated Executive Order Protecting LGBT Workers

Tony Perkins  

The political and religious right has long been up in arms over what it says is an excessive number of executive orders signed by President Barack Obama, but the anticipated signing of an order that would bar discrimination by government contractors against LGBT workers is generating even more heat.

Tony Perkins, the famously anti-gay head of the Family Research Council -- a group that purports to represent the interests of American families, but seems to exclude, and indeed target, families headed by same-sex couples -- issued an email in which he derided the expected executive order as "coercion," and shunned LGBT workers as being "sexually confused."

The email was the subject of a posting at gay news site JoeMyGod. Perkins also slammed Gay Pride Month.

""After 30 days of nonstop, in-your-face celebration, the White House is capping off ’gay pride’ month with its biggest gift yet," Perkins railed. "Next Monday, the pot of gold at the end of this President’s rainbow is an executive order giving special workplace benefits to the sexually confused.

"For the far-Left, it caps off a long fight to get the administration to do what Congress has not: order employers to put aside their profits, principles, and practices in the name of political correctness," the blast from Perkins thundered on. "The President’s order implementing part of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) -- once considered ’too radical’ even for his own party -- forces government contractors and subcontractors to hire gays, lesbians, transvestites, and transsexuals -- regardless of their legally protected morals."

GOP Congresswoman Throws Cold Water on ENDA 'Discharge Petition'

Advocates have long suggested that a discharge petition, used when a committee leader refuses to bring a measure up for consideration, is the only way to move ENDA forward in the House of Representatives, but at least one GOP sponsor says that won't be happening, the Washington Blade reports:

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), an original co-sponsor of ENDA in the U.S. House, said through a spokesperson that she would not sign a discharge petition to force House leadership to move the bill to the floor.

“Rep. Ros-Lehtinen will not be signing a discharge petition as it is a partisan political tool,” said Keith Fernandez, a Ros-Lehtinen spokesperson.

The Washington Blade reached out to all seven Republican co-sponsors of ENDA in the U.S. House to ask whether they’d be willing to sign a discharge petition, but Ros-Lehtinen’s office was the only one that responded. In addition to Ros-Lehtinen, the Republican co-sponsors are Reps. Richard Hanna (N.Y.), Charlie Dent (Pa.), Jon Runyan (N.J.), Michael Grimm (N.Y.), Michael Coffman (Colo.) and Chris Gibson (N.Y.).

ENDA discussion picked up this week after Vice President Joe Biden told the Huffington Post that he sees no downside in the President signing an executive order protecting LGBT people in the workplace.

DNC TREASURER ANDY TOBIAS EXPRESSES FRUSTRATION ABOUT LACK OF 'ENDA' EXECUTIVE ORDER

Add Democratic National Committee Treasurer Andrew Tobias to the growing list of individuals expressing concern over why President Obama has yet to issue an executive order barring LGBT discrimination among federal contractors, calling its absence “frustrating and perplexing.”

The Washington Blade reports that Tobias made the comments in an off-the-record listserv for LGBT donors:

“I agree 100% with those who say it should be signed, 100% with those who believe we should keep pressing, and 100% with those who say it’s frustrating and perplexing,” Tobias wrote. “But I think we would be crazy to let it diminish our efforts to hold the Senate, get Nancy her gavel back, and lay the groundwork for a huge LGBT supporter to win the White House in 2016. (All our plausible 2016 nominees are huge LGBT supporters.)”

Tobias, who’s gay, confirmed to the Washington Blade the email indeed came from him as did other individuals on the listserv, who said the message came from his email account on Wednesday. Notably, these individuals said Tobias told LGBT donors in his email that listserv members should feel free to quote him as expressing those views. Tobias also told the Blade to quote him as such.

The paper notes that the remarks are striking for Tobias, who has a reputation for tamping down criticism and concern over the Obama administration and the DNC for not doing enough on LGBT rights.

Earlier this month, a prominent gay activist accused DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-FL) of discouraging Democratic lawmakers from signing a letter asking President Obama to issue the executive order.

Boehner Tells LGBT Caucus There's 'No Way' ENDA Will Get a Vote in 2014

House Speaker John Boehner told members of the LGBT Equality Caucus last week at a historic first meeting that the Employment Non-Discrimination act had no chances of seeing a vote in 2014, the Washington Blade reports. 

 

The information was relayed to the Blade through Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA):

“A number of us did meet with, actually the caucus met with Speaker Boehner,” Takano said. “He said no way was it going to get done in this session.”

Calling the discussion between Boehner and the lawmakers “a historic sort of meeting,” Takano later clarified he was referring to the LGBT Equality Caucus, a 113-member group of lawmakers committed to advancing LGBT rights, and said the meeting took place “a few days ago” or last week.

A “session” of Congress is equivalent to one of the two years in which a particular Congress meets before a new Congress is seated, so Takano’s account of the meeting indicates ENDA won’t see a House vote in 2014.

Rep. Michael Grimm Becomes Sixth House Republican to Sign on as Co-Sponsor of ENDA

Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, has become the sixth House Republican to co-sponor the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, The Washington Blade reports:

 

Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), who’s gay and lead sponsor of ENDA, commended Grimm for supporting the bill, which would bar employers from discriminating against or firing workers based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“I am happy to welcome Rep. Grimm as the 200th cosponsor of the bipartisan Employment Non-Discrimination Act,” Polis said. “This is common sense legislation that is supported by a majority of Americans and was passed overwhelmingly by the United States Senate. I look forward to working with Rep. Grimm and all of the co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle to pass this bill and protect all Americans from discrimination in the work place.”

Grimm’s office didn’t immediately respond to the Blade’s request to comment on the New York Republican’s decision to sign on as an ENDA supporter. 

Legislative director for Freedom to Work Christian Berle praised Grimm’s decision, saying:

Politifact To Religious Right: You’re Lying About ENDA

ENDA just got a major boost from the fact checkers at Politfact. The controversial journalists made big news last week and were heralded by conservatives and Republicans upon awarding President Barack Obama the “Lie of the Year” for his “you can keep your doctor” Obamacare claim.

But now, Politifact is likely back in the GOP doghouse after handing religious conservatives, including the president of the conservative anti-gay certified hate group, Traditional Values Coalition (TVC), a “false” rating for her comment attacking Democratic Senator Mark Pryor over ENDA.

“There’s a reason why Pryor is attempting to run as a Christian in Arkansas,” TVC’s Andrea Lafferty had said in a fundraising email. “It’s because Pryor has voted for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in Washington, a bill that discriminates against Christian daycare, Christian parents, Christian business owners, and the rights of religious freedom.”

Politifact rightly says that claim is “false”.

The Traditional Values Coalition’s ENDA disapproval is shared by other Christian groups, like the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. They expressed their view in an Oct. 31 press release:

“The USCCB continues to promote the dignity of both work and marriage and to oppose unjust discrimination on any grounds, including those related to homosexual inclination or sexual identity. But we cannot support a bill, like ENDA, that does not justly advance the dignity of all workers and authentic non-discrimination.”

Politifact then slams home the actual facts:

Churches and other institutions with religious purposes (like schools and daycares) are exempt from the ENDA rules, just as they are from the religious discrimination portion of the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s Title VII.

Under Title VII, and therefore under ENDA, religious organizations, which need not be church-run, would be exempt. Additionally, all businesses with fewer than 15 employees are exempt, whether they’re religious or not.

The bill’s religious exemption indicates that churches, church-run initiatives and other religious businesses need not comply by employing people of all sexualities and gender identities. And there’s no special negative treatment for Christians. Businesses of any religion could qualify for the exemption. Individuals of any faith who oppose sexuality would have to abide by the law, so no religion is singled out.

Politifact did their homework, but they should have gone further, examining the anti-LGBT hate and lies about ENDA spewed from other anti-gay hate groups, like the Family Research Council and the American Family Association.

School Fires Gay Teacher After He Applies For Marriage License

This is why ENDA is so important!

An openly gay teacher who was on staff at the Holy Ghost Preparatory School in Pennsylvania for 12 years was suddenly fired from his job yesterday - the same day he and his long-time partner applied for a same-sex marriage license. 

WPVI reports:

Michael Griffin says he emailed the principal of Holy Ghost Prep earlier in the week saying he may be late Friday, that he was applying for a marriage license. After an in-service day he says he was called into the office of School President Father James McCloskey, along with Principal Jeffrey Danilak. Griffin explains, "He said, 'It's not really a secret here that you're gay.' I said, 'Correct.' He said, 'I assume this is a same sex marriage.' 'Yes.' He said if I go through with it, he had no choice but to terminate my position."

In tears, he left. His over a decade-long tenure at Holy Ghost was over. "I really didn't think that it would happen. At our school we talk about it's a community our motto is 'One heart, one mind.'"

His partner, Vincent Giannetto, tells Action News, "We applied this morning and on the same day he's fired from his job. So it kind of flipped things upside down for us."

Holy Ghost is an all boys Catholic high school located in Bensalem, Pennsylvania.

Griffin has started to receive support from all across the country. He took to his Facebook account to show his appreciation :

“Thank you to everyone for all of your messages of love and support since yesterday. It is so overwhelming and my heart aches over everything that has happened. Holy Ghost helped form me to be the person that I am today. Even though I am no longer employed there, I wanted to share their mission and philosophy, because I feel like I have tried to make it my life's philosophy as best I can, even now. I am trying to move forward with a peaceful heart and wish nothing but the best to my colleagues and students who mean the world to me.”

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Votes to Endorse ENDA

A resolution proposed by Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act was approved by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Wednesday. The Washington Blade reports:
 

In a statement, Sanchez, vice chair of the caucus, called ENDA "an important, long overdue civil rights law."

"Equality shouldn't wait," Sanchez said. "We need to break down the barriers of intolerance and bigotry that have kept too many talented people out of the workplace. The vast majority of Americans believe that job performance is what should determine whether you get hired, fired or promoted. It's time for the House to pass ENDA and end workplace discrimination."

House aides said two-thirds of the caucus voted to endorse ENDA, but wouldn't disclose the way each of the 26 members of the caucus voted. According to aides, a majority vote is necessary for approval.

Freedom to Work, the only LGBT advocacy organization working exclusively to end anti-gay employment discrimination, praised the caucus's decision. Said president Tico Almeida:

"Freedom to Work applauds the Congressional Hispanic Caucus for its tremendous support for LGBT workplace fairness, and especially Rep. Linda Sanchez with whom we worked on the recent ENDA field hearing in Los Angeles to delve into the findings of the 'Broken Bargain for LGBT Workers of Color' report by the Movement Advancement Project and a coalition of civil rights organizations," Almeida said.

ENDA received bipartisan approval in the Senate earlier this month and, more recently, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers urged Speaker John Boehner to allow a floor vote for ENDA. Boehner, however, remains stubbornly unwilling to allow the vote to take place, saying that "people are already protected in the workplace" and that ENDA would result in frivolous lawsuits.

John Boehner: 'I See No Basis or Need' for Legislation Protecting LGBT People in the Workplace

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) was asked today by the Washington Blade's Chris Johnson about whether he'll allow a vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which was passed in an historic Senate vote last week.

Said Boehner:

"I am opposed to discrimination of any kind, in the workplace and any place else. But I think this legislation that I’ve dealt with as chairman of The Education & The Workforce Committee…is unnecessary and would provide a basis for frivolous lawsuits. People are already protected in the workplace. I’m opposed to continuing this. Listen, I understand people have differing opinions on this issue, and I respect those opinions. But as someone who’s worked in the employment law area for all my years in the State House and all my years here, I see no basis or no need for this legislation."

Currently, people can still be fired simply for being gay in 29 states.

I wonder if he'd be opposed to legislation that allowed people to be fired for being orange?

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to Announce He'll Bring ENDA to the Floor Before Thanksgiving

Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid, who promised in a Pride statement earlier this year that he would bring the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to a vote "soon" will do so before Thanksgiving, and will make that announcement today according to tweets from Buzzfeed's Chris Geidner and the HuffPost's Amanda Terkel.

Adds Terkel:

The Senate will convene Monday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. At that time, Reid will announce his plans to bring up ENDA during the current work period, which ends the week before Thanksgiving. Reid has long been a supporter of ENDA, cosponsoring it as early as 1997.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced the bill in the Senate on April 25, and it currently has 54 cosponsors. Every single Democratic senator has signed on, with the exception of Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.).

"I thank Majority Leader Reid for committing to bring ENDA to the floor this work period," Merkley said in a statement to The Huffington Post. "Americans understand that it’s time to make sure our LGBT friends and family are treated fairly and have the same opportunities. Now it's time for our laws to catch up. People should be judged at work on their ability to do the job, period.”

Cindy McCain Petitions John McCain to Support ENDA

An HRC organizer nabbed Cindy McCain at a Staples in Phoenix, and got her to sign a petition on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), and send it to her husband, the Washington Post reports:

Arizona is a key state, since activists are targeting both McCain and his fellow Republican Sen. Jeff Flake; McCain has opposed the bill in the past, while Flake has not voted on the issue since taking office in January...

...At the moment, it does not appear that Cindy McCain has changed her husband's mind. In an e-mail, McCain's spokesman Brian Rogers wrote, "Senator McCain enjoys and appreciates having discussions on the important issues of the day with all the members of his family, and he respects their views."

Some bigots are really hard to turn.

White House Talks ENDA, Olympic Boycott Over Russia's Gay 'Propaganda' Ban

In a conversation with the Washington Blade's Chris Johnson on Friday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney reiterated Obama's preference for legislative passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) when asked about a possible executive order to bar LGBT workplace discrimination among federal contractors.

Says Carney: 

"I will not argue with you when you say there are obstacles that ENDA faces to becoming law, but the fact is, this was a good week in progress towards passing ENDA and the president strongly supports the efforts undertaken by Senate Democrats and some Senate Republicans to encourage the passage of this legislation, and we'll continue to work with the Congress to see it done," Carney said. 

Carney also said he's unaware of some LGBT rights advocates' call to boycott the upcoming 2014 Olympics in Sochi over Russia's gay "propaganda" ban.

"I'm not aware of the calls," Carney said. "I can tell you that the president and this administration makes clear to our allies and partners and nations around the world that LGBT rights need to be respected everywhere, but I don't have a specific - I haven't discussed this with him."

Senate Committee Passes ENDA, Now Heads to Full Senate for a Vote

Long-sought protections for LGBT Americans from discrimination in employment took a first step forward today as it was passed through a Senate committee on a bipartisan vote.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, 15 to 7, advancing the bill that would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The bill, which does not contain religious exemptions, now heads to the full Senate, where it has a solid majority in favor with 53 cosponsors. But a majority doesn't guarantee passage in the Senate since so many bills are now filibustered, requiring 60 votes to break.