With a vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 (ENDA) coming soon in the U.S. House, the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce® (NGLCC) is urging everyone to contact their representatives in the U.S. House and advocate ENDA's passage.
"The House has said it plans to have a vote on ENDA very soon, so we would like to encourage everyone to contact their representatives to let them know that we cannot wait any longer on the passage of a fully inclusive ENDA," said Justin Nelson, co-founder and president of the NGLCC.
The NGLCC is one of more than 400 organizations—all members of the United ENDA coalition—urging their members to reach out to public officials to co-sponsor the bill, and, at the very least, support its passage.
In addition to its work with United ENDA, the NGLCC and the Human Rights Campaign are working together on the Business Coalition for Workplace Fairness. This business-focused coalition has brought together Fortune 500 corporations and small businesses to push for the passage of an inclusive ENDA. To add your business to the coalition click here.
An April 18 article in Metro Weekly includes a statement from Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who introduced the legislation last June, saying that a House vote on the bill is expected in the next two weeks. The article also quoted Frank as saying that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has "promised" to hold a floor vote on the legislation shortly after committee passage.
"We will get this done fairly quickly," Frank said.
The inclusive ENDA would prohibit employment discrimination, preferential treatment and retaliation on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity by employers with 15 or more employees. The gender-identity provision is a stipulation that earlier versions of the legislation left out.
United ENDA has made many resources available to those interested in joining in the grassroots efforts. To send an e-mail asking your representative to co-sponsor the bill, click here to use United ENDA's e-mail distribution tool.
Download the Task Force ENDA Toolkit to learn more about what you can do to get ENDA moving in Congress.
