President Barack Obama on Sunday called
on Congress to approve the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).
ENDA seeks to ban workplace
discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The
bill cleared a Senate committee with the help of three Republicans in
July and is expected to reach the full Senate on Monday.
With Democrats united in favor of the
bill, passage in the Senate hinges on Republican support.
In an op-ed published in The
Huffington Post, Obama said that it was “wrong” and
“offensive” that LGBT people could lose their jobs “not because
of anything they've done, but simply because of who they are.”
“And it needs to stop, because in the
United States of America, who you are and who you love should never
be a fireable offense.”
“That's why Congress needs to pass
the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, also known as ENDA, which
would provide strong federal protections against discrimination,
making it explicitly illegal to fire someone because of their sexual
orientation or gender identity. This bill has strong bipartisan
support and the support of a vast majority of Americans. It ought to
be the law of the land.”
Obama concluded: “In America of all
places, people should be judged on the merits: on the contributions
they make in their workplaces and communities, and on what Martin
Luther King Jr. called 'the content of their character.'”
(Related: Heritage
Foundation opposes ENDA because being gay, trans is choice.)