An update from Cris Johnson at HRC:

To temporarily roadblock ENDA, House Republicans use motion to adjourn to stop debate

BREAKING: Minutes ago, House Republicans used a procedural motion to adjourn the U.S. House as a desperate delaying tactic to keep ENDA from moving forward....

From the Library of Congress:
A motion to adjourn is a nondebatable motion to end the day's session of the House or Senate or a committee. It sometimes specifies the time or day for reconvening, or makes reconvening subject to the call of Chair. Since a motion to adjourn is of the highest privilege, it must be voted on immediately. It cannot be offered in the Committee of the Whole.

Unbelievable. Our opponents are determined to make this a long, ugly debate...

Labels: anti-discrimination, ENDA, federal

Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives' Education and Workforce Committee voted 21-27 to report H.R. 3685, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act providing workplace protections on the basis of sexual orientation, out of committee and onto the floor of the House for a full vote expected next week. Four Republican amendments were offered in committee and were defeated.

To view the language and a description of each of the four amendments go to HRC's The Back Story.

Labels: anti-discrimination, ENDA, federal

Just days after Speaker Pelosi pledged to ensure to bring a trans-inclusive ENDA to the floor when their were sufficient votes, a 'gay-only' bill (House Resolution 3685) is moving in the House.

For a look at the national and statewide groups only supporting fully inclusive legislation and for a list of the 171 co-sponsors of this version of ENDA, visit www.unitedenda.com.

From the Washington Blade:

In a private meeting late Friday on Capitol Hill, congressional leaders told gay and transgender activists that they would move ahead with a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that lacks trans protections.

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, and Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, attended the meeting and confirmed to the Blade that House leaders would first seek to pass the sexual orientation-only version of ENDA.

But in what Solmonese called an unprecedented commitment, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed to give the trans-inclusive version of ENDA a floor vote "the minute" enough votes are secured to pass it.

"Our strategy throughout has been to stay at the table and fight for the ultimate goal that we all share," Solmonese said. "Today, that strategy has proven to be successful."

Keisling, however, said her organization would stand among the groups that continue to oppose the amended version of ENDA introduced by gay Rep. Barney Frank.

She said that bill, known as House Resolution 3685, lacked the support of "a single LGBT or other civil rights organization," and was inferior to the trans-inclusive version, House Resolution 2015.

"I can't stress enough how we are focusing on passing 2015," she said. "The truth is we feel the strategy around 3685 is bad strategy. We think it's been handled badly, we think it is harmful and we oppose it."

The decision by House Democrats to move ahead with the sexual orientation-only ENDA comes two weeks after Pelosi delayed a vote on that measure to give gay and transgender rights groups more time to persuade House members to back a trans-inclusive ENDA.

Solmonese said it was determined at today's meeting that there were not sufficient votes to pass the trans-inclusive measure and House leaders would press ahead with the other version.

Read the entire article over at the Washington Blade.

Labels: anti-discrimination, ENDA, federal

Reports started coming in yesterday that the Federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) was in jeopardy. The issue? Trans inclusive language in the bill.

From the Bay Area Reporter:

The federal trans-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act that has been a centerpiece of LGBT legislation for the Human Rights Campaign and other gay rights groups appeared headed for collapse in the House of Representatives Thursday, September 27 with a plan by gay Congressman Barney Frank to introduce two versions of the bill – one addressing sexual orientation and one addressing gender identity.

This has had some pretty serious consequences. A letter went out to openly gay U.S. Rep. Frank and others stating that most of the nation's GLBT rights organizations would not support ENDA without trans inclusive language.

This issue? HRC refused to sign onto the letter and I am still not sure why they made that decision, which by all accounts is a very poor decision.

Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, told the Bay Area Reporter Thursday afternoon that his organization was told of Frank's plan earlier in the day.

"We will oppose a non-inclusive bill," Foreman said.

[...]

"One thing we know is there are inevitable jitters at the end when it comes close to passing LGBT bills, and the answer is to go talk to members and move forward," Foreman said. "There were similar jitters with the hate crime bill and it passed."

The trans-inclusive hate crime bill passed the House in May; it passed in the Senate Thursday.

"In the last five years, gender identity has been added in state legislation and did not derail it," Foreman added. "We think they should take a step back and solidify support, not go forward with a strategy that leaves part of our community behind."

Labels: anti-discrimination, ENDA, federal, transgender

BIPARTISAN EMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION BILL TO BE INTRODUCED ON TUESDAY

Washington, DC--Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA), Deborah Pryce (R-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Christopher Shays (R-CT), along with representatives from the religious, corporate and advocacy community, will hold a press conference to announce the reintroduction of the bipartisan Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) on Tuesday, April 24 at 1:00 p.m. The proposed legislation will extend important federal employment protections to gay men and lesbians and will prohibit employment discrimination based on gender identity. Every year, qualified hard-working Americans are denied job opportunities because of who they are. Countless others live in fear of losing their jobs. In 33 states, it is legal to fire someone who is otherwise qualified simply because of his or her sexual orientation; the same is true in 42 states based on gender identity. ENDA is aimed at addressing this problem on a national level.

Here it goes. For more information on ENDA you can go here.

Labels: anti-discrimination, ENDA, federal