I was pretty shocked to understand that laws against discrimination based on race, gender, religion, national origin, and disability don’t account for sexual orientation. GLBT Americans can still be legally fired in 31 states just for being gay - and 39 states just for being transgender. This must be changed. As the Employment Non-Discrimination Act goes before The House, please let The Human Rights Campaign know where you stand.
It’s hard for me to believe that in this day and age, in this iteration of America, that open discrimination is so still alive and so very well. After all the work and sacrifice of the Civil Rights struggle, and the efforts expended to ensure equality for women, it’s still perfectly acceptable and legal in most of our great nation to discriminate against Gays and Lesbians. I’m not one to endorse a lifestyle I have no interest in leading, but neither do I believe that people who by and large just want to be left alone should be pushed to the margins of American society with no recourse.
Despite what many of the ignorant and fearful may believe, there is no “homosexual agenda”…unless wanting to be left alone to live as one chooses passes for some sort of insidious political agenda. Homosexuals don’t “recruit”. They’re not setting up table next to the Marines or National Guard trying to get you to sign up (Sure, and if you want, you can do your basic training on Castro St. in San Francisco!! Fabulous!!)
Try walking a mile in these shoes and see how you feel: you love your job, you’re good at it, and you have the respect of colleagues and customers. Nonetheless, you know that your boss is a relentless homophobe, and so you live in mortal fear of being fired simply for being who you are. What’s worse is that you live in a state in which this sort of discrimination is perfectly legal; you can be fired for the “crime” of being “one of them”. How would you feel? Can you believe that in 21st century America that this sort of thing is even still possible? Have we really come all that far from the says of “Colored” and “White” water fountains? Apparently not.
Isn’t it about time that this sort of trollery went the way of poll taxes and the KKK? Shouldn’t ALL Americans be able to enjoy the freedoms that we all take for granted? Shouldn’t ALL Americans be able to live the lives and go to work secure in the knowledge that they cannot be discriminated against simply for who they are, the lifestyle they lead, or what they happen to believe? For those of you who honestly believe that our sons and daughters are fighting and dying in Iraq to “protect our freedom”, can you honestly say that “protecting our freedom” means protecting only those freedoms that don’t offend you?
Current federal law protects workers against discrimination based on their race, gender, religion, national origin, and disability - but NOT based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
ENDA [Employment Non-Discrimination Act] is NOT about special treatment. It does not excuse poor job performance. It simply gives gay and transgendered workers the same rights and protections as their colleagues.
Nearly 90% of Fortune 500 companies now include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies. It’s time the government caught up with the private sector.
With the Employment Non-Discrimination Act coming up before the House, we’ll have a chance to find out just how committed to freedom our elected representatives are. Personally, I’m not holding out a lot of hope, as it’s virtually a given that significant amounts of pandering to the hateful lowest common denominator will take place during the debate. Then again, doing the right thing takes courage, something noticeably lacking in this Congress. We’re better than this…aren’t we?
If you want to make a difference, you can start here. I don’t often advocate in this manner for direct action on a specific issue, but I also believe that we cannot honestly call ourselves a nation built on freedom until ALL citizens are able to share in and enjoy that freedom. It’s time to make yourself heard.
