ENDA Changes: Religion and Retaliation Sections Modified

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Tuesday October 02, 2007 · 5:15 PM PDT

2007/10/02 · 17:15

As jessical noted in her diary yesterday, markup of the Employment Non-Discrimation Act of 2007 has been postposed in order to allow its proponents to argue for a bill with the broadest possible protections.

If you are just joining the discussion, my diary yesterday spells out the differences between including gender identity in ENDA, as in the original version of the bill (H.R. 2015) and not including it, as in the current version (H.R. 3685).

I didn't realize at the time, however, that there were other very significant differences between the original bill and the current bill. Barney Frank made no mention of them in his statement last week. It wasn't until homogenius's comment in yesterday's diary that Lambda Legal had done a preliminary analysis of H.R. 3685 that I thought to compare the two bills line by line. Go below the fold to see what I found.

A Yankee in Texas

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Monday October 01, 2007 · 12:58 PM PDT

2007/10/01 · 12:58

Tomorrow, I am going to call my congressman to urge him to vote NO on H.R. 3685, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007 (ENDA for short), as introduced on September 27, 2007.

H.R. 3685 is the version of ENDA that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation alone. The original version of ENDA, H.R. 2015, prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

It is my opinion that the current version of ENDA, H.R. 3685, is a toothless bill which will protect in a meaningful way only a small fraction of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community, and virtually no one who is transgender or otherwise gender variant. Because of its legislative history of being derived from a broader bill, there is little chance that it will be interpreted more broadly by the courts to include some gender-based protections, even for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. Simply put, it does not offer enough protection to warrant the political compromises needed to ensure its passage.

The original ENDA, H.R. 2015, is far more comprehensive and would give meaningful employment protection not just to the entire GLBT community, but to a significant portion of the non-GLBT community as well. I'll explain why below the fold.

Poll

134 votes Show Results

If you were a member of the House of Representatives, for which version of ENDA would you vote?

134 votes Vote Now!

If you were a member of the House of Representatives, for which version of ENDA would you vote?

H.R. 3685 (sexual orientation only)

9 votes

H.R. 2015 (sexual orientation and gender identity)

97 votes

both versions

20 votes

neither version

4 votes

not sure

4 votes

A Suggestion for Improving Ratings

A Yankee in Texas

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Wednesday May 31, 2006 · 4:35 PM PDT

2006/05/31 · 16:35

Yeah, yeah... another ratings diary.

I was just commenting in one of the front page stories when the following idea for adding nuance to the comment ratings system came to me: I would like to add a way to balance recommends (say, an "unrecommend" button) and a way to balance troll ratings (say, an "un-troll" button).

Users would no longer have to use recommends to balance out troll ratings, and they would have the ability to express their disapproval over a comment without troll-rating it. The comments would then display the net numbers of recommends and troll ratings, with some appropriate ratio of net recommends to net troll ratings hiding the comment.

Go below the fold for the details. Read More

Vermont Gender Identity Bill: Letter to Representatives

A Yankee in Texas

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Tuesday May 23, 2006 · 11:58 AM PDT

2006/05/23 · 11:58

Last Friday and Saturday, I wrote about Vermont House Bill 865, which would make "gender identity or expression" a protected class under Vermont's nondiscrimination statutes. The bill passed the Vermont House 88-47 and by voice vote in the Senate, but Republican Governor Jim Douglas vetoed the bill last Thursday. If there is a vote to override the veto, it will occur Thursday, June 1.

My Friday diary gave a primer on what it means to be transgendered and transsexual. It also gave some rebuttals to Governor Douglas's reasons for vetoing the bill. If you are at all uncomfortable about transsexuality, please be open minded and read this diary. My Saturday diary explains the steps necessary to override a veto, as well as gives a list of addresses for the representatives absent for the first vote and the four Democrats who voted against the bill.

Today, as promised on Saturday, I am posting the letter I sent these representatives. Please go below the fold to read this letter. Read More

Vermont Gender Identity Bill: Override the Veto!

A Yankee in Texas

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday May 20, 2006 · 5:05 PM PDT

2006/05/20 · 17:05

On Thursday, Republican Governor Jim Douglas of Vermont vetoed House Bill 865, which would have added "gender identity or expression" to the list of protected classes covered under Vermont's non-discrimination statutes.

Yesterday, I posted a diary giving the details of the bill, a list of reasons that Governor Douglas gave for his veto, and a primer on gender identity issues and what it means to be transgendered. Today, I am going to give the details of the House and Senate votes, including the names and contact information for those Democrats, Progressives, and Independents who either voted no on the bill or were absent for the vote, and the Republicans who were absent.

If the idea of a transgendered or transsexual individual makes you uncomfortable, then I implore you, as an open-minded member of the Daily Kos community, to read the above diary. Please take the time to educate yourself and to cut past the conservative dogma that so often prevents us from seeing a person for who she really is. Read More

Vermont governor vetoes gender identity discrimination bill

A Yankee in Texas

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday May 19, 2006 · 6:25 PM PDT

2006/05/19 · 18:25

On Thursday, Governor Jim Douglas (R) of Vermont vetoed House Bill 865, a bill which would have added "gender identity or expression" to the list of protected classes in Vermont's non-discrimination statues.

The bill, which was passed 88-47 in the House and by voice vote in the Senate, would have enshrined into Vermont law protections for transgendered individuals against, among other things, employment discrimination, housing discrimination, and discrimination in public accommodations.

Please read below the fold to find out why you should care about the rights of transgendered individuals in Vermont. Read More

RSS

ENDA Changes: Religion and Retaliation Sections Modified

Tell Congress: Vote NO on ENDA (Update)

A Suggestion for Improving Ratings

Vermont Gender Identity Bill: Letter to Representatives

Vermont Gender Identity Bill: Override the Veto!

Vermont governor vetoes gender identity discrimination bill