ENDA vs. health care reform

In case you missed it...

ENDA introduced in Senate
Supporters optimistic about swift passage in Congress
By Lisa Keen

An inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act is now on the move in the U.S. Senate. Long-time sponsor Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) introduced the bill on Aug. 5 along with Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

The Human Rights Campaign launched a lobby effort today to muster support for the legislation, asking supporters to send e-mails to their senators urging their support. (www.passendanow.org) The e-mail notes that in 29 states, there is no law to prevent an employer from firing someone because he or she is gay and, in 38 states, no law to prohibit an employer from firing someone for being transgender.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the first national gay political organization to push for a federal law to prohibit job discrimination against gays, in 1974, said it hopes the stated support of President Obama will "play a role in assisting with (the bill's) swift passage in both the House and the Senate."

Read all about it here.

I'm just worried that ENDA is going to end up on the back burner and forgotten in light of all the attention that health care reform is receiving. To avoid that, contact your people in Washington and ask them to support ENDA.

the pot calling the kettle black

In this story about a trans being booted off a Bi personal Web site for being trans, "Daryl Herrschaft, director of Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Workforce Equality Project, said that HRC works to educate gay-owned businesses about the transgender community, but he could not recall an instance of a gay-owned business being so blatant in discriminating against transgender people."

That is amusing since HRC is the group responsible for getting trans booted off the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)! Maybe the gay-owned business is just following HRC's lead.