The U.S. Senate approved an anti-discrimination bill that aims to prohibit all sexual discrimination in the workplace.
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act has been endorsed by numerous public figures, including President Barack Obama. Numerous legislators have called upon the U.S. House of Representatives to repeat the approval process to pass the bill into law.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a statement he supports legislative passage of the bill.
“The time has come for Congress to pass a federal law that ensures all citizens, regardless of where they live, can go to work not afraid of who they are,” Reid said in the statement.
Additionally, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., applauded the bill while also calling upon the House to repeat the action.
The bill faces opposition, primarily from House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and U.S. Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., who voiced concern over the few exemptions the bill makes to include the hiring practices of religious organizations.
Pocan responded to the Republican concerns saying a large portion of the public already supports the bill’s mission.
“Speaker Boehner now has a choice—stand behind frivolous excuses and remain on the wrong side of history, or join with the majority of the American people and honor the equality deserved by all Americans,” Pocan said in a statement.
A similar bill protecting gay rights and promoting nondiscrimination failed by one vote 17 years ago in the Senate.
