Senate committee approves ENDA with bipartisan vote

[ProSense]

Senate committee approves ENDA with bipartisan vote

by Laura Clawson

A Senate committee approved the Employment Non-Discrimination Act Wednesday morning. And get this: The vote was bipartisan, with Republicans Orrin Hatch of Utah, Mark Kirk of Illinois, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining Democrats in support for a 15 to seven margin.

With the bill having had 53 cosponsors before Hatch and Murkowski decided to vote for it, it appears to now have 55 votes, within striking distance of filibuster-busting levels. And Hatch's support, which was contingent on strong exemptions for religious employers, should help some other Republicans, like Ohio's Rob Portman, to support the bill. You'd think.

ENDA would prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Currently, 21 states and the District of Columbia have such laws, with only 16 of those offering protection based on gender identity, meaning that workers can be and are fired or otherwise abused for these reasons. The United States has made huge strides in recent years on marriage equality. But people need equality in the workplace, too, and too many LGBT people don't have that yet. This vote is a good step. Getting the bill through the Senate will be a better one, even if the Republican House is likely to continue to stand in the way.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/07/10/1222511/-Senate-committee-approves-ENDA-with-bipartisan-vote

[MineralMan]

1. Good news, but there will still be obstacles.

The very best thing we can do is to make sure that Democrats increase their majority in the Senate and gain a majority in the House.

GOTV 2014!