URGE YOUR CONGRESS MEMBERS TO LISTEN TO THE LGBT COMMUNITY AND OUR ALLIES!
WE OPPOSE HR 3685, A NON-INCLUSIVE EMPLOYMENT BILL!
In an unprecedented act, Congressional leadership is moving forward to pass
civil rights legislation that is not supported by a single organization within
the LGBT community that the bill is intended to protect.
House leaders have scheduled HR 3685 for mark-up in the House Education and
Labor Committee on Thursday, October 18, with a floor vote as soon as October
23. The Committee is holding a special meeting on Tuesday to discuss this
strategy. HR 3685 is an employment non-discrimination bill that does NOT ban
discrimination based on gender identity; it also includes a far more sweeping
religious exemption than we have seen in any other civil rights legislation of
this kind. This bill is opposed by over 300 LGBT organizations. Tens of
thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and our allies have
contacted our members of Congress to express our dismay and to urge Congress to
only consider HR 2015, the inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)
that will best protect ALL members of our community.
This issue is especially important for the lesbian community. Many
lesbians—especially those who are masculine or butch—are targeted for
discrimination because of their gender expression. For a first person account of
why passing a unified ENDA is so important to lesbians, please go to this guest
entry on Kate's Blog <
http://tinyurl.com/33fu4q> from Jennifer Levi of Gay &
Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD).
HR 3685 is a bad bill for all of us because:
* It is unprecedented for Congress to pass civil rights legislation that is not
supported by a single organization in the community the law is supposed to
protect. Over 300 LGBT organizations representing over 2 million Americans
actively oppose any employment non-discrimination legislation that does not
include gender identity.
* HR 3685 does NOT provide sufficient protection against discrimination for
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans. Not only does this bill
completely fail to protect transgender people, but it also fails to protect
lesbians, gay men, bisexual, and straight people who do not conform to gender
stereotypes.
* HR 3685 includes a sweeping religious exemption. Under this version of ENDA,
tens of thousands of hospital and university employees would NOT be protected.
* HR 3685 allows discrimination in the provision of employee benefits. Under
this bill, employers could provide benefits to families of straight employees
and not to families of LGBT employees.
* HR 3685 will undermine state efforts to pass inclusive legislation. The trend
in state legislatures over the past five years has been to keep gender identity
in civil rights legislation—the last seven states to pass these laws were
successful at banning discrimination based on both sexual orientation and gender
identity. We have been able to do this because we refused to back down on the
need for inclusion—but if Congress passes HR 3685, it will send a powerful and
negative signal to state legislatures. We do not want to turn back the clock on
equality!
* HR 3685 is morally and strategically wrong. Not only is it morally wrong to
leave part of the LGBT community out of this bill, but it is also strategically
wrong. We have learned from our work in the states that it is far easier to
include gender identity in civil rights legislation the first time it is passed
than it is to try to go back and add it in later.
What will it take to get Congress to listen to the American people? Your voice
is urgently needed! Please call, fax, and email your representative in the House
TODAY—even if you have already done so. We must continue to stand together to
make our voices heard.
http://www.nclrights.org/site/PageServer?pagename=issue_employment_enda&JServSessionIdr009=ot32sglzo1.app1bNever before has your voice been so important to our future and our community.
When we fight, we win! Please join us in fighting for a bill that truly protects
all of us.
useful links
NCLR's ENDA Action Page-
ENDA: get the facts (pdf)
- NCLR's legal analysis
<
http://ncflr.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=press_ENDAlambdasupport101007>
-
United ENDA-
Kate's Blog
