This is a daily feature identifying Congresspeople who need to be contacted by their constituents on passing the Employment Nondiscrimination Act.
Senator Bill Nelson (the second sitting Congressmember to fly in space), has generally been a supporter of the LGBT community.
But where is he on ENDA? We don't know, because he hasn't declared a position on it yet. We're at 56 likely yes votes in the Senate. Those last four are getting increasingly hard to find. Senator Nelson is not one of them, though he could be.
Please call him today to ask for his support of S1584. Facts and contact info after the jump.
Sen. Nelson is a Democrat, and usually good on LGBT issues. For example, he has consistently voted for the hate crimes bill, unlike the disappointing vote by Sen. LeMieux last week to continue the Republican filibuster. However, constituents who contacted Senator Nelson's office back in June and July were told by his office that he is "undecided" on ENDA. We've heard nothing different as yet.
Interestingly, it was reported over the summer that Senator Nelson's formet adviser, Matt Nosanchuk, has joined the civil division of DOJ as a liaison to the LGBT community. Let's hope that Mr. Nosanchuk will talk to Senator Nelson to help him get on the right track.
Meanwhile, LGBT people have been meeting with Senator Nelson, and asking him to support the bill. The HRC "No Excuses" campaign issued a story about meeting with Senator Nelson's office in September. Senator Nelson unfortunately couldn't make the meeting, and so they met with Nelson's district director, Ms. Brown. Participants gave her high praise for being quite attentive.
I tried for some months this summer to schedule a meeting with Senator Nelson's office at the request of several Florida residents, as part of the Inclusive ENDA Facebook campaign, to talk to him about ENDA, but we couldn't even get an aide.
Meanwhile, I have been in contact with several groups in Florida that have been working on Senator Nelson with great vigor. But so far, Senator Nelson has remained mum. Please call and ask him to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, S1584.
If you're not sure what to say when you call, click here for a "Step-by-Step Script For Calling Legislators On ENDA."
You may get a staffer who is unaware of the Senator's position on ENDA. Take a moment to explain what it is, and to ask if he or she can get some information on the Senator's position. Tell us what they said in the comments below.
Senator Nelson:
DC Phone: 202-224-5274
(Toll free DC Capitol line: 866-220-0044)
District Offices:
Jacksonville 904-346-4500
Ft. Myers 239-334-7760
Tampa 813-225-7040
Davie 954-693-4851
Coral Gables 305-536-5999
Orlando 888-671-4091
West Palm Beach 561-514-0189
Tallahassee 850-942-8415
This was originally written by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss at Bilerico. It is reposted here with her permission.