Quick Note(s): Gay Rights, ENDA and the Presbyterian Church

1. ENDA

Earlier this week, President Obama announced that the White House is drafting an executive order that will ban discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people employed by federal contractors.  

This is his answer to John Boehner and House Republicans who refuse to consider the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a bill which has already passed the Senate with bi-partisan support.  The bill now boasts 205 co-sponsors and has a good chance of passing in the House; but Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will not allow his chamber to vote, incorrectly stating that "People are already protected in the workplace."  The protection which he cites prohibits discrimination based on "race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or genetic information," but does not protect members of the LGBT community.

So the Speaker is either lying outright or woefully uninformed.  My guess is that it's the former and he is choosing to protect his position as Speaker of the House rather than confront the lack of protection with which LGBT job-seekers and employees contend on a daily basis.

There will be a tremendous outcry when the President signs the executive order, followed by more complaints about him overstepping his rights, followed by more heated cries for impeachment; but the fact remains, if Boehner is so afraid of his fellow Republicans that he refuses to allow a vote and continues to lie about a protection that doesn't exist, the President has no choice but to make this (perfectly legal) move on his own.

The order will only cover employees who work directly for the federal government or for companies who do business with the federal government, but it is the right thing to do.

2. The Presbyterian Church
Yesterday, by a count of 429-175, leaders of the Presbyterian Church (USA) attending their biennial General Assembly voted to change the definition of marriage.  The Book of Order will now identify marriage as being between "two people."  

The change still must be approved by a majority of the 176 regional bodies before it becomes official--a process that could take as long as a year--but church pastors attending the Assembly said they were optimistic. 

In a second decision, the Assembly voted 371-238 to allow pastors who minister in the 19 states and the District of Columbia where same-sex marriage is legal to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies.  That decision does not need further approval and same-sex marriages can begin immediately.

Just over three years ago, the Presbyterian Church (USA), which is the largest Presbyterian denomination, voted to allow the ordination of openly gay pastors.   Their decisions are not binding on smaller denominations like the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians, a denomination known to be more conservative.

Two more bricks removed from the wall.