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There is a crucial vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) scheduled for later this month in the House Committee on Education and Labor. ENDA would create workplace protections for members of the LGBT community, so it's a big step in advancing gay rights.
But there's a strong possibility that the bill the committee will vote to mark up will NOT be the same bill PFAW has supported this year -- the Democratic leadership are pushing a version of the bill that doesn't include protections for transgendered people because they say it has a better chance of passing..
If your representative is on the Education and Labor Committee — see its member list below — please call her or him with the message: do not mark-up ENDA unless it includes the original language protecting victims of discrimination based on gender identity.
Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
People For, along with activists and organizations representing both the civil rights and the LGBT communities, strongly opposes a move to strip gender identity from the bill's language. Here's why:
- It violates the spirit and intent of this legislation to single out one group of people as somehow not worthy of protection from job discrimination.
- The years-long battle to pass this historic nondiscrimination legislation would be undermined by leaving out any part of the LGBT community.
- Transgender Americans are perhaps the most vulnerable group within the LGBT community to various forms of discrimination, so they arguably need these protections the most.
- Allowing employers to discriminate based on real or perceived "gender identity" could also affect people who are not technically transgender, just based on certain behavioral traits they may or may not exhibit.
We're committed to passing federal employment nondiscrimination legislation, but not at any cost. Moving this bill forward without gender identity will leave an often discriminated-against group of Americans without protections for the foreseeable future — this is unacceptable.
Please tell your representative to move the ENDA bill forward ONLY IF it includes gender identity.
Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
Don't Leave Groups Out of ENDA Protections
Dear Representative,
<strong>Please do not mark-up ENDA unless it includes the original language protecting victims of discrimination based on gender identity. </strong>Moving this bill forward without gender identity will leave an often discriminated-against group of Americans without protections for the foreseeable future. This is unacceptable.
[Your name]