President Obama Speaks Out in Support of ENDA
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/11/04/president-obama-speaks-out-support-enda?utm_source=snapshot&utm_medium=email&utm_content=110413-topper
This week, the Senate is expected to take up a critically
important piece of legislation: the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA.
This bill would make it explicitly illegal under federal law to fire someone
because of their sexual orientation or gender identity – and it’s long overdue.
President Obama has long supported a fully inclusive ENDA
and he has expressed this support repeatedly over years. In an op-ed published
in The Huffington Post, the President speaks directly to the American people to
ensure everyone understands what’s at stake and why it’s so important that
Congress move forward on this legislation.
Congress Needs to Pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act
Here in the United
States, we're united by a fundamental
principle: we're all created equal and every single American deserves to be
treated equally in the eyes of the law. We believe that no matter who you are,
if you work hard and play by the rules, you deserve the chance to follow your
dreams and pursue your happiness. That's America's promise.
That's why, for instance, Americans can't be fired from
their jobs just because of the color of their skin or for being Christian or
Jewish or a woman or an individual with a disability. That kind of
discrimination has no place in our nation. And yet, right now, in 2013, in many
states a person can be fired simply for being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
As a result, millions of LGBT Americans go to work every day
fearing that, without any warning, they could lose their jobs -- not because of
anything they've done, but simply because of who they are.
It's offensive. It's wrong. 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.
Americans ought to be judged by one thing only in their
workplaces: their ability to get their jobs done. Does it make a difference if
the firefighter who rescues you is gay -- or the accountant who does your
taxes, or the mechanic who fixes your car? If someone works hard every day,
does everything he or she is asked, is responsible and trustworthy and a good
colleague, that's all that should matter.
Business agrees. The majority of Fortune 500 companies and
small businesses already have nondiscrimination policies that protect LGBT
employees. These companies know that it's both the right thing to do and makes
good economic sense. They want to attract and retain the best workers, and
discrimination makes it harder to do that.
So too with our nation. If we want to create more jobs and
economic growth and keep our country competitive in the global economy, we need
everyone working hard, contributing their ideas, and putting their abilities to
use doing what they do best. We need to harness the creativity and talents of
every American.
So I urge the Senate to vote yes on ENDA and the House of
Representatives to do the same. Several Republican Senators have already voiced
their support, as have a number of Republicans in the House. If more members of
Congress step up, we can put an end to this form of discrimination once and for
all.
Passing ENDA would build on the progress we've made in
recent years. We stood up against hate crimes with the Matthew Shepard Act and
lifted the entry ban for travelers with HIV. We ended "Don't Ask, Don't
Tell" so our brave servicemen and women can serve openly the country they
love, no matter who they love. We prohibited discrimination in housing and
hospitals that receive federal funding, and we passed the Violence Against Women
Act, which includes protections for LGBT Americans.
My Administration had stopped defending the so-called
Defense of Marriage Act, and earlier this year the U.S. Supreme Court struck
down that discriminatory law. Now we're implementing that ruling, giving married
couples access to the federal benefits they were long denied. And across the
nation, as more and more states recognize marriage equality, we're seeing
loving couples -- some who have been together for decades -- finally join their
hands in marriage.
America
is at a turning point. We're not only becoming more accepting and loving as a
people, we're becoming more just as a nation. But we still have a way to go
before our laws are equal to our Founding ideals. As I said in my second
inaugural address, our nation's journey toward equality isn't complete until
our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law, for if
we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must
be equal as well.
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." That's what ENDA helps us
do. When Congress passes it, I will sign it into law, and our nation will be
fairer and stronger for generations to come.