ENDA is awesome!!!

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed through the House of Representatives on November 7, 2007. It protects employees from being fired from their job, or otherwise discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation. It is the single biggest piece of national legislation for the queer community. ENDA represents an important step in civil rights legislation and will hopefully lead to even more protections for the queer community.

This bill was first introduced into the House over 30 years ago. It has been a long hard struggle and it is far from over. We still have the Senate,we still have Bush! We still don't have protections based on gender identity. What the hell? Why is it that we refuse to protect the people who need protections the most. The version of the bill that included protections for transgendered employees did not make it past committee and when an amendment was discussed on the floor, it was appallingly evident that it did not have enough support to pass.

Let's take a look at what the "religious right" had to say. (I think the one about the queer community being a privileged class is my favorite.)

"Pray for the defeat of ENDA"
(Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council, October 4, 2007)

FACT: Concerned Women for America, an extreme organization, released an opinion noting GLBT people "suffer from clinical self-delusion":

• "If passed, the bill would grant special employment rights and protected minority status to individuals who define themselves based upon chosen sexual behaviors and others who – among other things – suffer from clinical self-delusion." (Matt Barber, Policy director, Concerned Women for America)
• "Homosexuals and cross-dressers are a privileged group, not an oppressed minority as activists would have you believe." (Matt Barber, Policy director, Concerned Women for America)

FACT: Additionally, Concerned Women for America said ENDA "legalizes sexual harassment":

• "The bill legalizes sexual harassment. …Female employees would have to endure both systematic sexual harassment and a hostile work environment by being forced to share bathroom facilities with any male employee who got his jollies from wearing a dress." (Matt Barber, Policy director, Concerned Women for America)

FACT: The Family Research Council also demanded its members to "defeat" ENDA and to stop the employment of "homosexuals":

• "ENDA must be ended by people of Christian faith who will no longer allow the homosexuals to trample our rights and freedoms through ever-increasing government discrimination." (Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council, October 4, 2007)

I hope that made you laugh/cry as much as it did me. Here at UCSB, Campus Democrats and Queer Student Union are holding a rally on Tuesday, November 27 in support of the bill passed through the House. The rally will have food, music, and some amazing speakers. Professor Aaron Belkin, a specialist in the Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy, and Daniela Sea, who plays a female to male transgender character on the L Word (amazing), have both agreed to speak that Tuesday. Through this rally, we hope to educate our campus about this important issue, show our gratitude to our leaders in the House for passing this bill, urge the Senate to quickly pass their version of ENDA, push for bigger and better legislation, and let President Bush know that the queer community and its many allies will not sit quietly if he vetoes this bill.