Fight for ENDA to pass
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is moving in Congress again — and in a few short weeks we’re going to need your help to ensure that, this time, there are no more delays.
Elected officials focused on health care reform for months. Now that it’s passed, we have to act to make sure millions of LGBT people aren’t left out in the cold when it comes to equality in the workplace. ENDA has been delayed time and time again, but now it looks like it will be up for a vote very soon. Now is the time to act — our elected officials need to hear that further postponement just isn’t an option.
Right now people can be fired in 29 states for being lesbian, gay or bisexual and in 38 states for being transgender. It’s wrong — dead wrong. There’s no excuse for this kind of backwards discrimination in this day and age. ENDA can’t wait.
Help ensure that we pass ENDA once and for all. Please make a short phone call now to your legislators to keep the pressure on. They need to hear loud and clear from people who support equality. Even if you’ve called before, and even if you think your representative is supportive of ENDA, it’s critical that they hear from you again today.
Just follow these three steps:
(1) Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202.224.3121 and ask to speak to your representative. (If you’re not sure who your representative is, simply give the operator your zip code and they will connect you.)
(2) Follow this script:
My name is _____ and I live at (say your street address) in (say your city and state). I am calling to ask that you please pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act now! Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people can’t wait any longer for protection from job discrimination. So, please — no more delays. Pass ENDA right away. Thank you for your time.
(3) Go back to step 1 and call at least one of your senators — we need to make our voice for equality as loud as possible.
It’s a quick, easy way to make a real difference in the fight for equality today. And in a few weeks, when ENDA finally goes to a vote, we’ll be calling on you to take action again. We’ll need to mobilize every last supporter we can to make more calls, send e-mails, and get friends and family to do the same. This legislation is being fought tooth and nail by the right wing, so no supporter of equality can afford to be silent.
Thank you for acting with the Task Force today.
REA CAREY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE ACTION FUND
Healthcare is nothing more than congressional kickbacks
Louisiana Purchase, Cornhusker Kickback, Connecticut Concubine, Tennessee Turbine, are all names of the “sweetheart deals” to get the key votes for passage of the Health Care Reform, but where’s the Gay Gallivant? As Congress voted on the health care bill the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats forgot about the key LGBT provisions that the House version had passed in late 2009. Some of the key LGBT provisions that were set aside by the Democratic leadership in the Senate and the Administration include: A prohibition on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in providing health care; Enabling people with HIV and low incomes to obtain Medicare coverage earlier in the course of their illness; Eliminating the tax that gay employees must pay if their same-sex partners or spouses receive health coverage from their employers’ plan; A provision to collect data towards the goal of ending disparities in health care for LGBT people. While the President has met with members from the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus to discuss inclusion of specific items pertinent to their communities in the legislation, no such offer was made to the LGBT Congressional Equality Caucus.
All during the campaign, Obama promised rights for the LGBT community, however, where are they? Who’s holding him accountable for the broken promises he’s made to us and has failed miserably on?
Sunshine Republicans, a LGBT conservative club, can be found at www.sunshinerepublicans.org
A friendly phone call from President Obama
Well the President of the United States, Mr. Barack Obama, just called me personally from Airforce One. He was gracious and told me a press release is going out stated from the White House. Basically he has signed a Presidential Memorandum in the wake of Lisa’s death – which the President said was outrageous how our family was treated to direct HHS to change policies that any facility receiving medicaid or medicare funds must expand their definition of family – and he (the President) has made this change based on our family’s story. He spoke specifically about our family and the tragic way in Lisa died. I thanked the President for recognizing our family and that this will be a wonderful legacy of our children and Lisa.
JANICE LANGBEHN
