What’s Missing

I was looking over Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin speech at the Southern Comfort Conference today in Atlanta. He apologizes many times for the snub that they gave the trans-community and he talks about the future including passing ENDA.

First things first: an inclusive ENDA. It’s an absolutely essential piece of legislation. It will change millions of lives for the better. And as an organization, HRC will continue to invest in and fight for an inclusive ENDA.

But even a broad, inclusive ENDA isn’t enough.

If you’re trans, a fully inclusive ENDA doesn’t do much good if you’re living on the street because you’ve been kicked out of your apartment…if you haven’t been able to finish school…if even getting a job interview in the first place seems light-years away. 

I agree with the last part, having a job doesn't do you much good if you do not have a roof over your head. He goes on to say we need a LGBT civil right law and I agree with that also, We need protection federally in housing, public accommodation, credit as well as employment.

 But one thing I noticed he didn't say was that ENDA or any of the proposed legislation cannot have an expanded religious exemption. If my memory serves me correctly the HRC backed the expanded religious exemption ENDA bill while all the other LGBT organizations called for the same religious exemption as in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.