A landmark bill that would ban workplace discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender people passed a key vote in the US Senate on Monday, relying on support from a few initially reluctant Republicans.
The procedural vote to move to a Senate debate on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (Enda), viewed as a key test of support for the bill, passed the Senate by 61 votes to 30, one more than required.
But the prospects of the bill eventually becoming law were dealt a blow when the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, said he did not support it. “The Speaker believes this legislation will increase frivolous litigation and cost American jobs, especially small business jobs,” Boehner’s spokesman, Michael Steel, said.
Boehner had previously avoided committing to a position on the legislation, and his opposition was a setback for supporters of the bill.
Barack Obama strongly supports Enda, and, in an op-ed piece published by the Huffington Post yesterday, said millions of LGBT Americans currently went to work fearful of losing their jobs.
“It’s offensive. It’s wrong. And it needs to stop because, in the United States of America, who you are and who you love should never be a fire-able offence,” the president wrote.
Obama compared the battle over Enda to efforts to end discrimination against women and religious and racial minorities. “Passing Enda would build on the progress we’ve made in recent years,” he added. “When Congress passes it, I will sign it into law, and our nation will be fairer and stronger for generations to come.”
