Quote from: Pictrig18 on June 27, 2014, 09:30:38 AM
Why is everything done state by state, city by city? Why can't there just be a blanket law for the entire country? Same with the marriage issue...why can't someone step in and just take care of it all?
Because in the United States, the Republican party claims that these decisions should be left up to majority vote on a state by state basis. They also refuse to bring up legislation (such as enda) because they claim that it's covered under the 14th amendment which states:
"No state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws"and therefor they claim the passage of such laws as ENDA and equality in marriage are redundant.
In short: Where they have a majority, they scream in terror at the very notion of LGBT people having equal rights and say that it's not covered under the 14th amendment, thus they can deny things to LGBT people like equal rights in marriage, and employment, and housing, and health care, and treatment of those accused of crimes ... then they refuse to pass or delay the passage of bills by trying to say that it's covered under the 14th amendment and thus, doesn't need to be brought up at all since it's frivolous, or such issues need to be 'left to the majority for vote' if it's addressed at all.
In the past that majority has been less than helpful, but that's starting to change ... so now they try to avoid bringing measures up for vote all together ... or fight them tooth and nail when they do get passed even well past the point of obvious defeat just to try to delay the law going into effect (Such as the petition drives to try to stop equality in schools for transgender students in the state of California ... which makes me particularly upset because while I feel it's bad when they attack adults for being LGBT ... it's a whole new level of low when they
go after children!)
John Bohener (Republican) is particularly bad about this, and he's currently the speaker of the house and is directly responsible for why ENDA hasn't been passed yet. Despite ENDA passing the senate, he's refusing to even bring it up in the house for a vote at all, because he knows that the majority of people in the U.S. would be for it, but that the republican controlled house would vote it down, which would hurt them come election time in November because many people in the U.S. have a more positive view of LGBT people now. So ... they're saying "You already have these rights" Then they deny them to us every chance they get and at every level of government, because, well,
they can.
Things would be a lot easier if the U.S. Supreme Court would rule officially stating that LGBT rights are covered under the 14th amendment (...which they haven't done even in cases brought before them and they sided with LGBT plaintiffs) or if congress would pass a resolution similar to the civil rights act of 1964, Something democrats had the chance to do from 2007-2009 if memory serves when they had control of the house, senate, and presidency, but instead elected
not to. This has left me personally with a very bitter view of the democratic party as well, as I feel they only use us to get out the vote, and don't really care about how the laws affect us.
Until they do either of those things they're putting us in a position where we have to win equal rights (which the more conservative element in the United States often frame as LGBT people asking for special rights or special protection) city by city and state by state. And even then, we have to just hope that the state or city chooses to enforce those laws properly.
