...The religious exemption in the proposed anti-discrimination law was added last year in a successful effort to attract some Republican support in the Senate, which passed the bill, 64 to 32. But some activist groups had been uncomfortable with the breadth of the exemption, and the Supreme Courts Hobby Lobby decision heightened concern over how it could be interpreted. ENDAs discriminatory provision, unprecedented in federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, could provide religiously affiliated organizations — including hospitals, nursing homes and universities — a blank check to engage in workplace discrimination against LGBT people, the ACLU and four other national gay rights legal groups said in a statement announcing their position. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force announced separately that it was withdrawing its support... ...Because House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) opposes ENDA, the measure is stalled with little chance of even getting a vote in the House. The precise terms of the executive order, meanwhile, are in dispute... ...The White House has strongly backed the anti-discrimination law with the religious exemption, but gay rights leaders familiar with the deliberations do not expect Obama to include the exemption in the executive order.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 04:20:06 +0000
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