Today the House passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act which would make it illegal for employers to discriminate in the processes of hiring, firing, promoting or paying an employee due to their sexual orientation. The one thing that this bill did not include was protection for transgendered individuals.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D,MA) will now introduce comparable legislation in the Senate. The Senate is will be a much tougher fight and if legislation does get passed, Bush will more than likely veto it. The possibility of having enough votes to override the veto is pretty much nil.

Even though the bill excludes churches and military from having to follow these practices, the loudest argument against it is that it would override religious freedom. This argument makes my skin crawl. Even pretending for a moment that the religious argument against homosexuality has any credence, letting that spill over into keeping someone from working is appalling.

I know that the Religious Right is terrified of being indoctrinated into gayness but really their fear of working alongside a homosexual is laughable, or would be if it weren’t such a serious situation. By ignoring the teachings of Jesus and using vague and often mistranslated scripture, Christians (and other religious sects) are able to keep spewing forth hatred and bigotry against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered individuals.

Why on earth would someone’s sexual orientation factor into rather or not they were right for a job? Just like denying jobs to minorities based on pure dislike for someone different, discrimination against sexual orientation is not right. It does not infringe on anyone’s religious right to make sure that no matter who it is, everyone gets a fair shake at employment. It does not mean that a person endorses homosexuality or that their religious beliefs need to change, or cannot exist in the presence of a gay person.

Using that logic it calls into question other anti-discrimination laws. Anyone who worships anything other than the biblical god is denounced by christians so allowing people of other religions to work without discrimination could then be an infringement of their religious rights.

Allowing the beliefs of some to determine the lives of everyone is something that has to stop in this nation. It goes against the very beliefs and ideals that our nation was founded upon. I encourage everyone to contact their Senators and urge them to pass the legislation once it’s proposed. You can find contact information here.

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