I Just Don’t Understand Why We Can’t Pass Anti-Discrimination Laws

In the former Soviet block country of Albania they just unanimously passed an Anti-Discrimination law. According to the ILGA…

Albania is a potential candidate country for joining the European Union and is required to adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation. ILGA-Europe regards new Albanian anti-discrimination legislation as very positive step as Albania is now one of a very few countries in Europe which explicitly bans discrimination on the grounds of gender identity. It also goes further compared to some latest EU Member States which only ban discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in employment and not in other areas of life.

While here in the United States we get this…

SAFE SCHOOL PROPOSAL: Two lawmakers want to exclude gay and lesbian students
Gay rights groups say the bill singles out gay students for harassment
WHO Ch 13
By Emily Carlson
Two Iowa legislators are getting heat from the gay community. The lawmakers want to remove protection to lesbians, gay and transgender students from the Safe Schools Law, in and effort to reverse the Iowa's Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage.
…
"The Bully Bill or Safe School Act doesn't protect anyone anyway. Schools are already doing this, so to remove few words doesn't change the intent or effect of the law," says Rep. Jason Schultz.

And on the MSNBC Chris Mattews show, Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg from the said…

MATTHEWS: Do you think we should outlaw gay behavior?

SPRIGG: Well, I – I think certainly it’s defensible.

MATTHEWS: I’m just asking you, should we outlaw gay behavior?

SPRIGG: I think the Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which overturned the sodomy laws in this country, was wrongly decided. I think there would be a place for criminal sanctions against homosexual behavior.

MATTHEWS: So we should outlaw gay behavior.

SPRIGG: Uh, yes.

Mean while our supporters in Congress go off on a tirade about lack of support for the ENDA bill. Rep Barney Franks had this to say on the Michelangelo Signorile on SiriusXM…

On Thursday, Representative Barney Frank gave an interview to Michelangelo Signorile on SiriusXM. Frank was alternately defensive and apoplectic. He spent the entire time blaming the LGBT community for lack of movement in Congress. He was full of rage and contemptuous of the community. It was a shameful performance.

The incredibly unflappable Signorile asked about the failure of Congress to move on ENDA and DADT, and the President's failure to lead. Frank's angry response was that the LGBT community has failed to lobby Congress. He characterized our community as "lazy" and "whining". He said "that is why we will lose" on ENDA and DADT. It was obvious he was more interested in defending himself and his cronies than in providing any leadership. .

Lobbying has increase substantially over the years, when you consider that the LGBT community makes up only around 5% of the population, we have strong national and local support for Anti-Discrimination laws. The polls show a strong support for Anti-Discrimination laws. Gallup polling shows that in 1978, 56% favored Anti-Discrimination laws and by 2010 it was up to nearly 90% supported the law, in Massachusetts in 2010, 76% support the legislation, in 2008 a New York poll found that 76% of the voters backed a non-discrimination law there, and in Maryland in 2006 over half of the voters supported Anti-Discrimination laws.

Unlike marriage equality ballots votes, anti-discrimination laws have passed when they went before the voters. Just recently, they passed in Gainesville FL with 58% of the votes and Kalamazoo MI, 65% of voters has approved the non-discrimination ordinance.

Its time for our legislators to pass the Federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and for Connecticut to pass an amendment to the state Anti-Discrimination law adding gender identity and expression to the statutes. It is time for the legislators to listen to what the people want; a fair and equal chance for all. Not the radical right wing conservation agenda of re-criminalizing homosexuality, banding divorces and abortions.