Family Research Council: ENDA Is A Form Of Economic Terrorism

ENDA Reintroduced In U.S. Senate

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act will be reintroduced in the Senate today.

U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Mark Kirk, R-Ill., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, announced that they introduced the fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit most employers across the country from discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workers. The bill, known as ENDA, would make it illegal under federal law for employers with at least 15 employees to discriminate against, harass, or fire anyone due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. While surveys show that over 60 percent of Americans overwhelmingly support workplace protections for LGBT people, it still remains legal in more than half the country for employees and job applicants to be discriminated against based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

While ENDA has a slim chance of success in the Senate, it is doomed in the House, where it was reintroduced last week.

Robert Gibbs Dodges ENDA Question

The same reporter who earlier this week grilled White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs about DOMA today returned with similar questions about ENDA. With a similarly waffle-filled result.

GOProud Issues 2011 Agenda

GOProud prefaces the release of its 2011 agenda with this message:

The so-called “gay agenda” is defined by the left through a narrow prism of legislative goals. In contrast to the approach of the left, GOProud’s agenda emphasizes conservative and libertarian principles that will improve the daily lives of all Americans, but especially gay and lesbian Americans.

On their list of 2011 legislative goals: The repeal of healthcare reform, opposition to gun control, defense of constitutional originalism, cuts in corporate taxes, support for school vouchers, and opposition to federal marriage reform. Not stated is GOProud's opposition to ENDA, which we presume has not changed.

ENDA Named #1 "Anti-Christian" Event Of 2010 By Christian Anti-Defamation Group

Even though the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) was never voted on, much less passed, the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission has named it the most anti-Christian event of 2010. Six of the group's ten "worst" events are related to LGBT rights. In their press release below, of course, the "Commission" completely LIES about ENDA, which specifically and broadly exempts religious institutions.

10. 88 Pro-Lifers were arrested for protesting President Obama’s participation at a leading Catholic university, Notre Dame, and await trial for standing up for true Christian values.
9. Southern Poverty Law Center; A liberal ACLU-like organization that has continued to label many Christian organizations that hold traditional values as “hate groups” in lists that include violent racists groups.
8. Larry Grard; Christian journalist fired from his job for sending an e-mail from his personal account on his own time in support of traditional marriage.
7. Stephen Ocean and Tite Sufra; two young men who were murdered in Boynton Beach, Florida while out sharing the gospel in their neighborhood.
6. Chai Feldblum; a liberal law professor and open lesbian, appointed to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Feldblum stated that in any conflict that might arise between religious liberty and homosexual “rights” she would have a hard time coming up with any case in which religious liberty should win; or “Gay’s win; Christians lose.”
5. Michigan Muslims attack AGAIN; Christians attacked, denied their civil rights and falsely arrested for disorderly conduct at a public festival for peacefully sharing the gospel. This happened the previous year, too. They were again acquitted of all charges.
4. Elena Kagan; President Obama’s radical appointment to the Supreme Court bench. While serving under the Clinton Administration, Kagan successfully corrupted unfavorable evidence on partial birth abortion to deceive the Supreme Court. Read more here.
3. Julea Ward and Jennifer Keeton; two women expelled from their respective Master’s programs in counseling at two different universities because they wouldn’t deny their faith and affirm the validity of the homosexual lifestyle.
2. Vaughn Walker; California judge who overturned Proposition 8, a State Constitutional Marriage Amendment, and the will of the people by making homosexual marriage legal.
1. Employment Non-Discrimination Act; a proposed federal bill that would force ministries to hire people who oppose their beliefs or who live in open defiance of their values.

The group's #1 "anti-Christian event" of 2009 was the passage of the Hate Crimes Act, something that actually did happen.

UTAH: Gay Rights Come To Grand County

In a continuance of the march to full LGBT rights for small town and rural Americans, yesterday Grand County, Utah granted housing and employment protections to its gay and transgender residents. The Salt Lake Tribune reports:

That means one in four Utahns, living in 10 communities from Moab to Logan, are protected from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Advocates for the statutes hope that groundswell of support will push the Utah Legislature to protect all Utahns. “Each of these local governments has set an example for their residents and for business owners and property owners,” said Brandie Balken, executive director of Equality Utah. “They’ve also set a good example for our Legislature.” Sen. Ben McAdams, D-Salt Lake City, plans to introduce a bill in the upcoming legislative session that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to existing housing and employment laws banning discrimination based on characteristics such as race, religion or national origin. Two-thirds of Utahns support such a law, according to a January poll by The Salt Lake Tribune.

Pride In Utah cautions that the GOP head of the Utah state Senate has hinted that his party may attempt to overturn local anti-discrimination laws by statewide edict. In the meantime the effort to institute a state version of ENDA in Utah continues.

Barney Frank On The Radical Homosexual Agenda: Two Down, Two To Go

Mississippi Sheriff: Even If We Fired Cop For Being Gay, There's No Law Against It

In October we learned that the ACLU is suing a Mississippi sheriff's department over the firing of police officer Andre Cooley, who was outed after calling for help in a domestic dispute with his partner. The Forrest County Sheriff's Department has is now denying wrongdoing because there's no state or federal law against what they did.

Cooley claims the firing was because of his sexual orientation. But in an answer to Cooley's lawsuit, the sheriff's department argued that no federal or state statute exists in regard to firings over sexual orientation, and that Cooley was an at-will employee who worked "solely at the pleasure of the Forrest County Sheriff." Cooley filed the lawsuit in federal court. He is seeking punitive damages, court costs, attorney fees and an injunction reinstating him as a corrections officer. Bear Atwood, one of Cooley's American Civil Liberties Union attorneys, said a significant body of case law exists that protects public workers. "What it fails to do is give any legitimate reason why he would've been fired," she said of the response filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Hattiesburg. "It basically says that it would have been OK to fire him because he's gay."

At the time of the firing, Cooley's boss said that cops who get into domestic disputes "don't speak well for people in law enforcement." We can only presume that female cops that get battered by their spouses are immediately fired too.

Pelosi Wants Lame Duck ENDA Vote

According to Politico, outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated during a conference call today that she is planning for a vote on ENDA during the lame duck session. Politico's Ben Smith characterizes ENDA as an "easy lift" compared to other LGBT rights legislation. That's probably true in the House as a high percentage of Democrats have signed on as co-sponsors. (199 of the needed 216 for passage, according to the last count I recall seeing.)

ENDA has been introduced in nine of the last ten Congresses, but only the trans-exclusive 2007 version passed in the House (with a mostly partisan vote of 235-184), but not before a creating a huge rift among LGBT groups due to its lack of gender identity protections. (35 GOP reps voted yes, Blue Dog Democrats mostly did not.) The bill did not survive its Senate committee. And back in April of this year, when it last seemed like we were close to an ENDA vote, we still had 16 Senate Democrats unwilling to sign on as co-sponsors. It doesn't seem likely that much has changed there since then, but let's hope.

HomoQuotable - John Berry

"In under two years, President Obama and his record number of LGBT appointees have accomplished so much for LGBT Americans. His and Congress’s historic achievement of securing health care reform finally cements the most important protections for those in our community who need them most – especially those living with HIV and AIDS.

"Hospital visitation rights for all Americans, expanded benefits for the same-sex domestic partners of Federal workers, enactment of the hate crimes law, increased coverage for those living with HIV/AIDS, Federal support for LGBT community-based organizations, anti-bullying programs enacted in schools, support for our aging LGBT population, and so much more. These are real, concrete achievements that are saving and improving the lives of countless LGBT Americans right now.

"I realize that this subtle – but dramatic – change is hard to appreciate when full equality is in sight. It’s understandable. I’m not taking my eyes off the goal or asking you to. Indeed, the President is the first to say that change hasn’t come fast enough. But he has called on all of us to charge full speed ahead. The Tree of Liberty grows only by adding rings. From the Revolution to the Civil War, to women’s suffrage, the Civil Rights Movement, and onward, our entire nation has been enriched by every added ring. Now is our time to complete our ring."

"All Administration officials, me included, are accountable to that goal; to the principles upon which our Republic was founded – liberty and justice for all. We will not rest until discriminatory laws like Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act are ended once and for all. And because no one should be denied a job because of discrimination, a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act must be enacted as well.

"So hold us to account. Let us know when we’re right, be the wind in our sails when our momentum flags, and pull us back to the path when we go astray. But whatever you do, don’t turn away. Don’t give up. Don’t relent." - Office of Personnel Management director John Berry, the highest-ranking openly gay Obama appointee, in a coming issue of Philadelphia Gay News.

NEBRASKA: Omaha Rejects LGBT Rights

Yesterday the city council of Omaha, Nebraska voted to continue to allow businesses to fire someone for being gay, to deny someone service in restaurants for being gay, and to deny housing to someone for being gay.

The measure failed on a 3-3 vote. Councilman Franklin Thompson, who has called for a public vote on the issue, abstained. Councilmen Ben Gray, Pete Festersen and Chris Jerram voted in favor of the ordinance; Jean Stothert, Garry Gernandt and Thomas Mulligan were opposed. Gray, author of the ordinance, proposed that gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people be a protected class under city code — protection they don't currently have under state or federal law. He amended the proposal to exclude religious organizations, but members of the Omaha business community also opposed the ordinance. The council held a public hearing Tuesday on Thompson's proposal to put the issue to a public vote, in the form of an amendment to the City Charter. The vote on Thompson's measure is expected next week. “I find it offensive that we would equate this with civil rights,” Pastor Cedric Perkins, pastor of Pilgrim Baptist Church said. “Those rights were based upon a person's color of their skin, which they could not change.”

If you were planning on any business or personal travel to Omaha, let the Chamber of Commerce know if this news changes your plans.

Quote Of The Day - Sheriff Billy McGee

"He got in a fight with his boyfriend, and the police were called to his house for a domestic disturbance. Those kinds of incidents don't speak well for people in law enforcement." - Sheriff Billy McGee, explaining why he fired gay corrections officer Andre Cooley. We can only presume that McGee will also fire any female officer beaten by her husband. The ACLU is suing McGee's agency. Mississippi, like all of the South, has no state-level employment discrimination protection for LGBT citizens.

(Tipped by JMG reader Ashton)

MISSISSIPPI: Sheriff's Department Sued By ACLU Over Officer Fired For Being Gay

The ACLU is suing Mississippi's Forrest County Sheriff's Department for firing a corrections officer after learning he is gay.

On June 14, while at home and off-duty, Cooley called 911 after his boyfriend became physically violent. Among the officers who responded to the call was Chief of Corrections Charles Bolton, one of Cooley’s supervisors. After Cooley’s boyfriend told Bolton that he and Cooley were in a relationship, Bolton told Cooley not to return to work before speaking with his immediate supervisor. The next day, Staff Sergeant of Jail Operations Donnell Brannon informed Cooley that he was being permanently terminated. Cooley asked Brannon if he was being fired because he was gay, and Brannon responded, “Yes.” Cooley has never received a written explanation for his firing. He has never been charged or disciplined in connection with the domestic violence precipitated by his former boyfriend the day before he was fired. The official police report of the incident identifies Cooley as the victim. After firing Cooley, the sheriff’s department attempted to deny him unemployment benefits by alleging that Cooley had engaged in unspecified “inappropriate conduct and behavior while off duty, unacceptable for an officer.” But after a hearing, an administrative law judge concluded that the sheriff’s department failed to show that Cooley committed misconduct of any kind.

Another prime example of why we need ENDA.

GetEQUAL Rips On The DNC

Last week GetEQUAL issued a call to end all LGBT donations to both major parties. DNC Vice Chair Raymond Buckley wrote them back. Watch the clip.

HomoConQuotable - Christopher Barron

"Despite our name, GOProud is not a partisan organization; we do not hold ourselves out as an auxiliary of the Republican Party. We are not an organization seeking to 'change' the Republican Party into the party of Dede Scozzafava or Chris Shays. We are conservatives, committed to the conservative movement. We believe strongly that what matters are principles not partisanship.

"Our agenda is unlike the agenda of any other gay organization. Instead of fighting to expand the federal government through hate crimes laws or federal employment non-discrimination legislation, legislation that only impacts a sliver of gay people, we instead focus on issues like taxes, healthcare, retirement security, and the economy — we offer gay Americans pragmatic, common-sense conservative approaches to these issues that will improve their lives, as well as the lives of all Americans.

"We believe strongly that the federal government doesn’t have all the answers to the challenges facing gay and lesbian families. Indeed, we believe that often the federal government is the problem — not the solution." - GOProud head Christopher Barron, restating his group's opposition to LGBT rights in an essay for the right-wing Daily Caller.

UPDATE: Barron responds to this post via Twitter.

VIDEO: GetEQUAL's ENDA Protest In SF

Twelve arrests were made.

BREAKING: GetEQUAL To Close Down Castro & Market In ENDA Protest

GetEQUAL plans to close down the intersection of Castro and Market streets in San Francisco this afternoon in a protest over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's inaction on ENDA. The group similarly shut down the Las Vegas strip in August during Netroots Nation. Today's action is scheduled for 5pm local time. Via press release:

"We pay taxes, contribute to the economy, and create American-paid jobs that provide products and services world-wide. Yet we continue to be treated unequal and Speaker Pelosi has the power to bring us one step closer to being fully-protected American citizens - and workers," said Dan Fotou, a California GetEQUAL supporter and participant in today's rally. "As Speaker Pelosi and other members of Congress are out campaigning to keep their jobs, they should know we have every intent of continuing our campaign to keep our jobs, too. Speaker Pelosi has said that 'our impatience is justified' - but what isn't justified is the unfulfilled promises she continues to make to the LGBT community. It's time for Speaker Pelosi to do the right thing and schedule an immediate vote on ENDA."

"GetEQUAL has promised that, as long as people's lives and livelihoods are at stake, we will not stop standing up for those LGBT workers in dozens of states across this country without a voice, without any job security," said Heather Cronk, managing director of GetEQUAL. "With the launch of our 'ENDA Summer' campaign, we told politicians that while they are back home campaigning to save their jobs, we intend on reminding them that their employment isn't the only one on the line. Millions of LGBT workers punch a clock every single day unsure if today's timecard could turn into tomorrow's discriminatory pink slip. The time to pass ENDA is now."

Another protest is underway at this writing in the offices of Rep. Chris Carney (D) in Pennsylvania. Zach Ford has more and photos of the sit-in.

WASHINGTON: GetEQUAL Activists Arrested At the U.S. Capitol Rotunda

About 20 members of GetEQUAL staged an ENDA protest at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda this morning. An unknown number of the group was arrested. Via Kerry Eleveld at the Advocate:

“In March, GetEqual held a sit-in in Pelosi’s office asking her to bring ENDA to the floor for a vote. At that point, we said we keep coming back until it was voted on,” explained Heather Cronk, GetEqual spokesperson, who was participating in the protest. “So this is us making good on our promise, asking her to make good on her promise over the last few years on ENDA.”

The group of about 20 LGBT activists entered the Capitol as part of a routine tour through the Capitol. Upon reaching the rotunda, they sat down and pulled out signs reading, “Pass ENDA Now!” and “This Is Your Reminder.” Meanwhile, they began their signature chant, "I am ... somebody ... I deserve ... full equality." Eight to nine people were risking arrest in the action, according to Cronk, with the other half present to provide support including a couple legal observers.

The story is still developing. Following along at GetEQUAL's Twitter feed.

UPDATE: Metro Weekly's Chris Geidner reports that eight arrests were made and provides the below video of the protest.

GetEQUAL & Las Vegas Activist Derek Washington Spar Over ENDA Protest

Via Karen Ocamb's LGBTPOV, here's an audio clip of GetEQUAL's Robin McGehee and Las Vegas Stonewall Democrats chairman Derek Washington sparring over the effectiveness and purpose of GetEQUAL's blockage of the Las Vegas strip during Netroots Nation. This was recorded during Washington's local radio show and things get rolling at the 9:00 mark. Below are photos I later took of the two at a party in Mike Rogers' hotel suite.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Speaks About ENDA At Netroots Nation

Obviously referring to GetEQUAL's protests, Pelosi said, "I would target [politicians] in a positive way. This is America, show your appreciation to those that are with us." More about Pelosi's speech at LGBT POV.

(Video by Good As You's Jeremy Hooper.)