Gay Activists Push for Bias Ban

[Marcus Marulus]

Gay Activists Push for Bias Ban

By AP/ANDREW MIGA

Monday, Sep. 17, 2007

(WASHINGTON) — Gay rights advocates expect Congress will soon move closer to approving a federal ban on job discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender workers.

Rep. Barney Frank, a leading proponent, predicts the ban will win House approval in coming weeks.

But he and other gay rights supporters are less optimistic about the fight ahead in the narrowly divided Senate, where they would need 60 votes — rather than a simple majority — to overcome anticipated GOP stall tactics, such as a filibuster. "You don't know if anything can pass the Senate," said Frank, D-Mass., one of two openly gay members of Congress. "No predictions are possible about the Senate."

Conservative activists, too, are bracing for a Senate showdown. "We know it's going to be very close," said Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues for Concerned Women for America.

It is legal for employers in 31 states to fire someone for being gay, the ban's supporters said.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would make it illegal for employers to make decisions about hiring, firing, promoting or paying an employee based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Churches and the military would be exempt.

Federal law bans job discrimination based on factors such as race, gender and religion. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have laws against sexual orientation discrimination.

Ban opponents say it could undermine the rights of people who oppose homosexuality for religious reasons. "It would force Christian, Jewish, Muslim business owners to leave their faith at the workplace door," Barber said.

Critics say gay rights advocates are exaggerating the extent of anti-gay discrimination in hopes of boosting their political agenda. "It is affording extra protection to a group that has not been disadvantaged," said Tom McClusky, vice president of government affairs for the Family Research Council, a socially conservative group.

GOP Senate leaders are expected to oppose the measure, McClusky said. President Bush has not said where he stands.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., plans to introduce Senate legislation this month proposing a discrimination ban. "It's always harder to pass bills in the Senate than in the House, but until we pass this bill, there will be a gaping hole in federal civil rights legislation," said Kennedy, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights group, said the ban's Senate supporters would have momentum if the House approves the bill.

The Log Cabin Republicans, a gay-Republican group, said the ban is an easier sell than more controversial issues such as gay marriage. "It's a matter of basic fairness that the overwhelming majority of the American people and Republicans support," said Log Cabin president Patrick Sammon. "We're on firmer ground on this issue, so I think we've got a stronger case to make to Republican members of Congress."

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