By Matteo D. Hudson
Greetings dearest readers! I hope last week�s column found you well. Before we begin, I must regrettably inform you that the GSA/WRRC Fall Fashion show is being postponed due to irreconcilable personnel shortages/schedules. However, the GSA clothes sale in Hoke Main Lounge will be held from Thursday, 15
November thru 17 November 2007. This week I will talk with you about ENDA. Enjoy.
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, better known as ENDA, was first proposed by President Bill Clinton and Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts. If the original bill had been passed, the LGBT community would have been protected in all federal employment situations to include military service regardless of actual or perceived homosexuality, heterosexuality, bisexuality, or asexuality. Unfortunately the original ENDA did not pass and the major result was the Don�t Ask, Don�t Tell (DADT) policy that the military now exercises. Failure of the original act was a result of bigoted right-winger Fundamentalist Christians who pressured President
Clinton into the DADT �compromise.�
Recently, a new form of ENDA was introduced into the House of Representatives by Rep. Barney Frank, the first openly gay Congressperson. This version of ENDA is not the same as the original though. ENDA 2007 does not provide protections for Transgender/sexual persons nor does the act compel churches or the military to treat any LGBTQ persons as full citizens1. After two delays in vote, the House has finally passed the Act and it has been referred to the Senate, where Senator Ted Kennedy will introduce the legislation.
Most commentators on the subject expect the Senate to pass the legislation, even if by a hair. However, President Bush is likely to veto the act. Now, if you know anything about the legislative process, you know that the Congress may overturn a presidential veto by a larger majority vote. Unfortunately, we are not likely to have enough votes to bash Bush back.
However, this piece of legislation is a milestone in LGBTQ history and the Lavender Movement. As I have stated earlier2, bigotry is a virus that is dependent on an environment of ignorance and misinformation. In order to combat this we must Come OUT and educate/expose the mainstream culture to our Rainbow culture. However, when we can be legally fired for no other reason than our gender identity or sexual orientation, Coming OUT is much less likely to occur (or succeed since we won�t be around to educate or expose). This legislation would allow us to safely Come OUT so that, while verbal and physical bashing may still occur, at least employment bashing would not.
While this bill is likely to fail, the success seen thus far in the passage of the act is a sign of future things to come. In truth, while the bigoted Bush will almost certainly veto the bill, the next presidential candidate will likely pass a third version of the act. To this end I am predicting a Democratic presidential success. I do not think this is a drastic prediction in light of how badly the Republican/Bushie party has screwed up. Our best allies in the Democratic Party are Barak Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, and Hilary Clinton. I strongly encourage all of you to write you Federal Senators for support.
For more information, simply Google �ENDA� or visit, advocate.com, 365gay.com, or planetout.com.