Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor on Tuesday
said he would vote for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA),
putting the legislation just two votes shy from passage in the
Senate.
According to the Arkansas
Times, Michael Teague, a member of Pryor's staff, responded
to an inquiry on the legislation: “He'll vote yes on ENDA.”
On Monday, Florida Senator Bill Nelson
signed on as a co-sponsor of ENDA.
The moves leave Senator Joe Manchin of West
Virginia as the final Democratic holdout in the Senate.
LGBT rights advocate Freedom to Work is
campaigning for Manchin's endorsement of the bill.
“Senator Manchin is now the last
remaining Democrat who has not stated whether he will stand on the
right side of history,” Tico Almeida, founder and president of
Freedom to Work, said in an emailed statement.
“ENDA simply says a corporation can't
fire you just because of who you are or who you love, and growing
numbers of West Virginians have signed this petition urging Senator
Manchin to support commonsense LGBT workplace protections,” he
added, pointing
to the group's petition asking Manchin to support the legislation.
ENDA, which seeks to prohibit workplace
discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,
cleared a Senate committee in July. Three Republicans – Senators
Mark Kirk of Illinois, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Orrin Hatch of
Utah – joined all Democrats on the committee in sending the bill to
the full Senate. A vote in the Senate is expected before
Thanksgiving.
(Related: Harry
Reid announces Senate vote for gay protections bill ENDA.)