STATEMENT ON THE HOUSE VOTE ON THE EMPLOYMENT NONDISCRIMINATION ACT

Today, for the first time, the United States House of Representatives passed an employment nondiscrimination act that, if enacted, would ban discrimination against most lesbians, gay men, and bisexual people in the workplace.  Equality Federation acknowledges three decades of work by our allies in Congress and by national lgbt organizations who have been passionate and determined to bring this civil rights legislation before Congress.

 Many lesbian and gay people will celebrate the passage of this legislation, and it certainly reflects progress in the long march toward equality.  However, Equality Federation remains steadfast in its opposition to this bill – not because of what it purports to do, but because of what it fails to do. This bill does not ban discrimination based on gender identity – despite the fact that transgender people experience phenomenally high unemployment rates and are the members of our community most in need of employment protections.

 Over the past few weeks, Equality Federation and 40 state organizations have stood with over 350 national, state, and local lgbt groups in the United ENDA coalition to urge Congress to pass legislation that bans discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers.  Federation member groups educated their constituents about the importance of inclusive legislation, and tens of thousands of equality supporters from across the country contacted their congressional representatives urging passage of an inclusive ENDA.

 Equality Federation and state leaders are profoundly disappointed that these voices were not heard.  But we are not defeated.  The legislation passed today will not become law.  Instead, it will be debated and reintroduced in a future session of Congress.  Equality Federation and state organizations will continue educational and lobbying efforts to ensure that the ENDA finally enacted will be an inclusive law. 

 Twenty states and the District of Columbia already ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Only seven of those states do not ban discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Our movement has a great deal of experience passing non-discrimination laws at the state level, and our experience is clear: while it sometimes takes additional time and effort to pass inclusive laws, it is far less certain that laws excluding transgender people will be amended even with significant additional time and effort.  Yet transgender people are the members of the lgbt community with the highest unemployment rates – and the greatest need for protection against discrimination.

 Today we acknowledge the difficult achievement of taking a key congressional step toward the goal of passing a federal employment nondiscrimination law.  Tomorrow, Equality Federation will begin work with all of our allies – both within and beyond the United ENDA coalition – to achieve the goal shared by all organizations within the lgbt community:  passage of an inclusive employment discrimination law that protects lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

 Equality Federation is a national alliance of statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy organizations working to achieve equality in every state and territory by building a state-based movement.  For more information, visit our website at www.equalityfederation.org.