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GayPASG Note:
As we have been preaching for years, The
Employment Non-Discrimination Act
must make it clear that RELIGION DOES NOT
TRUMP BASIC CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS.
John
Crowell Campbell
The New York Times
Gay Activists Hopeful
on Job Bias Ban
By AP from
nytimes.com on the Web, September 17, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Gay rights
advocates expect Congress will soon move closer to approving a federal ban on
job discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender workers.
Rep. Barney Frank, a leading proponent, predicts the ban will win House approval
in coming weeks.
But he and other gay rights supporters are less optimistic about the fight ahead
in the narrowly divided Senate, where they would need 60 votes -- rather than a
simple majority -- to overcome anticipated GOP stall tactics, such as a
filibuster.
''You don't know if anything can pass the Senate,'' said Frank, D-Mass., one of
two openly gay members of Congress. ''No predictions are possible about
the Senate.''
Conservative activists, too, are bracing for a Senate showdown.
''We know it's going to be very close,'' said Matt Barber, policy director for
cultural issues for Concerned Women for America.
It is legal for employers in 31 states to fire someone for being gay, the ban's
supporters said.
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would make it illegal for employers to
make decisions about hiring, firing, promoting or paying an employee based on
sexual orientation or gender identity. Churches and the military would be
exempt.
Federal law bans job discrimination based on factors such as race, gender and
religion. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have laws against
sexual orientation discrimination.
Ban opponents say it could undermine the rights of people who oppose
homosexuality for religious reasons.
''It would force Christian, Jewish, Muslim business owners to leave their
faith at the workplace door,'' Barber said.
(Because their religion does not trump Civil Rights)
Critics say gay rights advocates are exaggerating the extent of anti-gay
discrimination in hopes of boosting their political agenda.
''It is affording extra protection to a group that has not been disadvantaged,''
said Tom McClusky, vice president of government affairs for the Family Research
Council, a socially conservative group.
GOP Senate leaders are expected to oppose the measure, McClusky said. President
Bush has not said where he stands.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., plans to introduce Senate legislation this month
proposing a discrimination ban.
''It's always harder to pass bills in the Senate than in the House, but until we
pass this bill, there will be a gaping hole in federal civil rights
legislation,'' said Kennedy, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights
group, said the ban's Senate supporters would have momentum if the House
approves the bill.
The Log Cabin Republicans, a gay-Republican group, said the ban is an easier
sell than more controversial issues such as gay marriage.
''It's a matter of basic fairness that the overwhelming majority of the American
people and Republicans support,'' said Log Cabin president Patrick Sammon.
''We're on firmer ground on this issue, so I think we've got a stronger case to
make to Republican members of Congress.''
Gay rights supporters were heartened when Democrats won control of Congress last
fall.
A bipartisan bill was introduced in April by Reps. Frank; Christopher Shays, R-Conn.;
Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio; and Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat who is openly
gay. There are 167 co-sponsors, including a handful of Republicans.
A ban was first proposed in the House in 1994. Republicans had not permitted
votes on similar measures while they controlled the House in past years.
In the Senate, a bill failed by one vote in 1996.
Sammon said even if ban backers fall short of the 60 votes needed to break
procedural roadblocks expected from Senate opponents, it would mark progress.
''Let's have a vote, let's have a count and see where we're at,'' Sammon said.
''If we end up getting 54 or 53 or even 48, we know where we stand and we can
figure out how to get more votes in the future.''
The House earlier this year voted to expand hate crime categories to include
violent attacks against gays and people targeted because of gender.
Similar legislation is pending in the Senate. The White House has
threatened a veto.
On the Net: Read the House bill, H.R. 2015, at
http://thomas.loc.gov/
(Emphasis Added)
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