Rights of passage

Politics: Federal gay anti-discrimination bill alarms religious employers and constitutional lawyers | Mark Bergin

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which bans bias against lesbians, gays, and bisexuals in the workplace, has little chance of becoming federal law anytime soon. Though it passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 235-184 in November and could move through the Senate in the coming weeks, a response statement from the White House indicates President George W. Bush would veto the bill should it ever reach his desk.

Such political realities aside, the legislation raises important questions about the creation of protected classes, the defense of religious liberty, and the unity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movement. Many Christian conservatives condemn the bill for treating sexual orientation the same as innate human characteristics like race or gender. On the flip side, many LGBT advocacy groups are upset that the final House version affords no protection for the transgendered, a category that includes transsexuals and cross-dressers.