Members of Congress, Faith Groups Send Letters to Obama Appealing for LGBT Anti-Discrimination Order

[Better Believe It]

Did Your Member of Congress Sign the ENDA Executive Order Letter to President Obama?
By: Jane Hamsher
May 4, 2012

We had hundreds of people calling their representatives yesterday to ask if they would sign the letter to President Obama, telling him to issue an executive order preventing federal contractors from discriminating against employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

LGBT activists lobbying on the Hill report that the DNC is actively discouraging the letter in order to shield the President from the pressure within his own party.

Lyndon Johnson signed such an executive order in in 1965 prohibiting discriminating on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex or national origin.”

Call your member of Congress today and ask them to sign the letter to President Obama, asking him to issue an executive order to end LGBT discrimination in the federal workplace.

http://firedoglake.com/2012/05/04/call-reports-did-your-member-of-congress-sign-the-enda-executive-order-letter-to-president-obama/


Read the full text of the letter at:

http://www.scribd.com/Firedoglake/d/92250398-LGBT-Workplace-Non-Discrimination-EO-Letter-to-President-Obama

The following members of Congress have signed the letter:


Raúl Grijalva, AZ-07

Susan Davis, CA-53

Donna Edwards, MD-4

Yvette D. Clarke, NY-11

George Miller, CA-07

Diana DeGette, CO-1

Chris Van Hollen, MD-8

Nydia Velázquez, NY-12

Barbara Lee, CA-09

Jared Polis, CO-2

Chellie Pingree, ME-01

Carolyn Maloney, NY-14

Pete Stark, CA-13

Jim Himes, CT-4

Gary Peters, MI-09

Charles B. Rangel, NY-15

Mike Honda, CA-15

Eleanor Holmes-Norton, DC

Sander Levin, MI-12

Nita Lowey, NY-18

Zoe Lofgren, CA-16

Ted Deutch, FL-19

Hansen Clarke, MI-13

Maurice Hinchey, NY-22

Sam Farr, CA-17

Hank Johnson, GA-4

Keith Ellison, MN-05

Brian Higgins, NY-27

Lois Capps, CA-23

John Lewis, GA-5

David Price, NC-04

Louise Slaughter, NY-28

Brad Sherman, CA-27

Bruce Braley, IA-1

Rob Andrews, NJ-01

Earl Blumenauer, OR-03

Howard Berman, CA-28

Jesse Jackson, Jr., IL-2

Frank Pallone, NJ-06

David Cicilline, RI-01

Adam Schiff, CA-29

Luis Gutiérrez, IL-4

Bill Pascrell, NJ-08

Steve Cohen, TN-09

Henry Waxman, CA-30

Michael Quigley, IL-5

Steven Rothman, NJ-09

Silvestre Reyes, TX-16

Judy Chu, CA-32

Jan Schakowsky, IL-9

Rush D. Holt, NJ-12

Bobby Scott, VA-03

Maxine Waters, CA-35

André Carson, IN-7

Martin Heinrich, NM-01

Jim Moran, VA-08

Janice Hahn, CA-36

Jim McGovern, MA-3

Shelley Berkley, NV-01

Jim McDermott, WA-07

Laura Richardson, CA-37

Barney Frank, MA-4

Tim Bishop, NY-01

Adam Smith, WA-09

Linda Sánchez, CA-39

Niki Tsongas, MA-5

Gary Ackerman, NY-05

Tammy Baldwin, WI-02

Bob Filner, CA-51

Mike Capuano, MA-8

Jerrold Nadler, NY-08

Ron Kind, WI-03

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23 Faith and Humanist Groups Send Letter to President Obama Calling For ENDA Executive Order
By Noah Baron
May 3, 2012

In 2008, President Obama made a commitment to sign an executive order banning discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees of federal contractors. Yet a few weeks ago – and about four years after he made that promise – he announced that he would not be signing that executive order after all. Many LGBT advocacy groups have already expressed their disappointment about the president’s decision, and the RAC recently coordinated 23 faith and humanist organizations recently in joining those groups and urging the president to change his mind and issue the executive order he promised four years ago.

Among those groups were the Union for Reform Judaism and the Central Conference of American Rabbis – the congregational and clergy bodies of the Reform Jewish Movement in North America, which together encompass more than 1.5 million Jews and 1800 rabbis.

The Reform Movement has long been active in the struggle for civil rights for all Americans. For over three decades, we have called for equality for LGBT people. As people of faith, our holy texts teach us that all people are created b’tselem Elohim, in the Divine image (Gen. 1:27), and as such are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect. As Jews, our tradition and history teach us that we should not stand by as others suffer discrimination – we envision a government which “to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance” (George Washington, in a letter to Moses Seixas, 1790).

We hope the White House will reverse course on this vital issue and protect LGBT Americans and their families from discrimination.


The executive order prohibiting anti-LGBT discrimination among federal contractors is ready for the president's signature

http://blogs.rj.org/rac/2012/05/03/faith-and-humanist-groups-call-for-enda-executive-order/


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The following is the text of the letter to President Obama:


May 3, 2012

ISSUE AN EXECUTIVE ORDER PROTECTING LGBT AMERICANS FROM DISCRIMINATION BY U.S. GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS

Dear President Obama:

On behalf of the undersigned groups representing a wide variety of faith and belief systems, including non-theistic beliefs, we write to express our disappointment in your decision not to issue an executive order to include sexual orientation and gender identity among the prohibited forms of discrimination in the hiring and employment practices of U.S. government contractors.

We believe that no one should face discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity: Our various faith traditions and belief systems counsel the treatment of all people with dignity. They inspire us to act with compassion and to work to ensure that all are accorded respect and equal opportunity. Moreover, many of us draw on our experience as members of groups that historically have known discrimination as a reminder of the importance of such anti-discrimination measures as a means of ensuring fairness in employment.

LGBT Americans face significant discrimination and harassment in the workplace, which threatens their and their families’ economic security. Research has shown that up to 43 percent of gay Americans have experienced some form of workplace discrimination or harassment; this number is significantly higher for transgender Americans (90%). Moreover, between 8 and 17 percent of LGBT workers said that they had been passed over for a job or fired as a result of their sexual orientation or gender identity. As a result of this discrimination, 14 percent of LGBT Americans earn less than $10,000 per year, compared to only six percent of all Americans (Center for American Progress and the Williams Institute, Memo to Congressman Barney Frank re: LGBT Equality in Government Contracting, January 13, 2012).

The concept of prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment is supported among Americans of all political stripes. A poll commissioned by the Center for American Progress discovered that almost three-quarters of those asked supported protecting LGBT people from discrimination in the workplace. Supermajorities of Democrats (81%), Independents (74%), and Republicans (66%) all supported anti-discrimination provisions (Memo to Congressman Barney Frank re: LGBT Equality in Government Contracting).

For these reasons, we strongly urge you to reconsider issuing an executive order prohibiting discrimination by U.S. government contractors on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Signed,

Anti-Defamation League
American Humanist Association
American Conference of Cantors
Central Conference of American Rabbis
The Center for Inquiry
The Episcopal Church
The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Global Justice Ministries
Interfaith Alliance
Institute for Science and Human Values
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
Metropolitan Community Churches
Muslims for Progressive Values
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of Churches USA
National Minority AIDS Council
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Secular Coalition for America
Union for Reform Judaism
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
Women of Reform Judaism

[Better Believe It]

1. Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Support Executive Action to Ban Anti-LGBT Workplace Discrimination

Americans Overwhelmingly Support Executive Action to Ban Anti-LGBT Workplace Discrimination

It’s not often that an issue is supported by everyone from born again Christians to liberals to rural residents to Catholics. It goes to show the tremendous popularity of a common-sense Executive Order that would ban discrimination by federal contractors on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

A new poll put out by HRC shows overwhelming support for this kind of executive order. 73 percent of 2012 likely voters favor such an order and support remains strong regardless of age, race, education, political ideology, and a number of other demographics.

When asked: “As you may know, under current federal law and in many states, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are NOT protected from discrimination in the work place. Would you support or oppose a policy that required companies that do business with the federal government to not discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people in employment?” 73 percent said they supported the policy, 9 percent opposed the policy and 9 percent were unsure.

The national survey of 800 likely voters was conducted for HRC by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research from November 9 – 13, 2011. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.46 percentage points.

Read the article and see the poll results at:

http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/americans-overwhelmingly-support-executive-action-to-ban-anti-lgbt-workplac

[Better Believe It]

2. CBS: Impatient Gay-Rights Groups Putting Pressure On Obama

Impatient Gay-Rights Groups Putting Pressure On Obama
May 4, 2012

One source of frustration is Obama’s stance on same-sex marriage – he has yet to endorse it even though he advocates equal rights for gay and lesbian couples. Tensions may mount as activists and many leading Democrats call for the Democratic National Convention to support marriage equality in the platform it will adopt in September.

The other dispute involves a months-long campaign by gay-rights advocates urging Obama to issue an executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The White House says Obama supports the goal of such workplace protections but believes the best solution is for Congress to pass the long-pending Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would extend those protections to workers in all sectors nationwide.

Many gay activists don’t buy that explanation, given that the act has no chance in the current Congress. They wonder why issuing the executive order doesn’t fit with Obama’s recently adopted “We can’t wait” strategy of taking actions that don’t need congressional approval.

Read the full article at:

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/05/04/impatient-gay-rights-groups-putting-pressure-on-obama/

[Bolo Boffin]

3. More negative priming.

[FreeState]

4. K & R