Two top donors to the Republican Party, billionaires Paul Singer (whose son is gay) and Seth Klarman, are quietly and surefootedly attempting to convince more Republicans to come out and support a legislative bill that would ban workplace discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Web site, “There is no federal law that consistently protects LGBT individuals from employment discrimination; there are no state laws in 29 states that explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, and in 33 states that do so based on gender identity. As a result, LGBT people face serious discrimination in employment, including being fired, being denied a promotion and experiencing harassment on the job.”
Currently, there are 202 House co-sponsors and, of those, only six are Republicans. But according to a report on Politico.com, the two, along with HRC have raised over$2 million to help build the infrastructure needed to convince moderate Republicans and others that supporting ENDA legislation isn’t just good politicking, it’s the right thing to do. ““I see this legislation as the workplace equivalent of the Golden Rule — do unto others, as you would have them do unto you,” Coffman said in a statement to Politico. “In the workplace, in 2014, we should judge employees the way we would want to be judged — based on our qualifications, our contributions and by our character, period,” notes Colorado Republican Rep. Mike Coffman.
According to the report, “The group has more than 30 field organizers on the ground in seven states and has engaged eight Republican-leaning public affairs firms. Over the past month, the campaign has driven more than 1,000 calls to members district offices, sent post cards and held several district meetings. And, they have plans in the coming weeks to hold more than 100 volunteer engagement events, including 56 canvassing events, 43 phone bank events and 14 other events and community meetings in priority districts.
According to the latest surveys, most Americans, regardless of political affiliation, agree with the idea that a worker should be judged on his or her performance and not what goes on in their personal lives. Freedom To Work, a national organization committed to banning workplace harassment and career discrimination against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender Americans through public education, policy analysis, and legal work, has reported that,”a majority of Americans have supported equal rights and opportunities for gay people in the workplace since polls as early as the 1980’s. Polling questions about transgender workers have only been asked recently. However, the 2011 CAP poll shows that voters support transgender protections at almost the same rate they support gay protections. Seventy- five percent of likely voters say they favor “protecting gay and lesbian people from discrimination in employment,” while 73 percent say they favor these protections for “gay, lesbian, and transgender people.” The responses in the CAP poll are essentially identical, and demonstrate strong support for a fully inclusive ENDA.
In their latest vote, the U.S. Senate voted by a margin of 64 to 32 to support legislation that would ban workplace discrimination against the LGBT community. Sadly, however, nine out of ten voters mistakenly believe that a federal law is already in place protecting LGBT people from workplace discrimination.
