President Barack Obama is facing more
criticism over his decision to not sign a gay protections order.
Senior Obama administration officials
last week said the order which would ban federal contractors from
employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender
identity was not forthcoming. The order had reportedly already been
approved by the Departments of Labor and Justice.
On Thursday, The
Washington Post editorial board called on the president to
sign the proposed executive order.
White House spokesman Jay Carney
“struggled for some eight minutes but was unable to give a
satisfactory answer. That's understandable, because there is no
principled reason for refusing to extend such workplace protections
to millions of Americans,” the board wrote.
“The president, Mr. Carney argued,
'is committed to lasting and comprehensive non-discrimination
protections,' but those protections would be best achieved through a
'legislative solution,' such as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act
(ENDA). ENDA, which would extend prohibitions against sexual
orientation discrimination to all but the smallest private-sector
employers, is a worthy piece of legislation, but its passage appears
remote and likely will remain so if conservatives control either
chamber of Congress or if the GOP candidate captures the White House
in November.”
Also calling on the president to
reverse his decision is the National
Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil
rights and advocacy group in the United States.