LGBT Group Pulls ENDA Support After Hobby Lobby Ruling

[DonViejo]

Source: TPM

CAITLIN MACNEAL – JULY 8, 2014, 1:28 PM EDT

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force pulled its support for a Senate bill to protect LGBT people in the workplace, citing concerns over the legislation's broad religious exemption following the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling, the Washington Post reported.

The group fears that the exemption in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act as it is now could be used by companies to object to the law the same way Hobby Lobby successfully objected to parts of the health care law's contraception mandate.

Basically, the the current bill could still allow companies to fire gay people by simply citing religious beliefs, according to the group's executive director, Rea Carey.

"If a private company can take its own religious beliefs and say you can’t have access to certain health-care, it’s a hop, skip and a jump to an interpretation that a private company could have religious beliefs that LGBT people are not equal or somehow go against their beliefs and therefore fire them," Carey told the Post. "We disagree with that trend. The implications ofHobby Lobby are becoming clear."

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Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/lgbt-group-pulls-enda-support

[William769]

1. I don't blame them.

Why support a bill to protect LGBT people, that actually doesn't protect LGBT people.

[Jefferson23]

2. Recommend. n/t

[geek tragedy]

3. yup. and a short hop from there to invalidating state anti-discrimination

statutes under the 1st amendment or pre-emption.

it has become very clear that the free exercise clause is now a vehicle for oppression, not a defense against it

[myrna minx]

4. What's next - overturning fair housing laws on the basis of religion?

It's chilling.

[FBaggins]

5. The Fair Housing Act already has religious exemption language

though it's more tightly constrained to religious organizations and nonprofits that are cloely related to them.

See the 2011 Intermountain Fair Housing Council v. Boise Rescue Mission

[Politicub]

6. Good move

[YOHABLO]

7. And then the 5 Supremes would rule in favor of religious beliefs trumping ENDA

What do we expect. It's only getting worse folks.

[defacto7]

8. The Gang of 5 strikes again

and not even with a fight. Their power over the minds and fears of the majority of Americans is tantamount to torture, forced sexual intrusion, the inquisition, and burning the constitution, the bill of rights and the Declaration of Independence in synchronous harmony to "Onward Christian Soldiers" or rapping to the Nicene Creed.

They are our Lords and masters and we do their bidding down to their right to the first night... every woman's first night could be their claim by the powers of Feudal Lordship over individual choice. You can't say no. That is the ramification of their arrogant decision to control the body and mind of women. They allow a corporation to have religious beliefs which in turn dehumanizes real beings. Corporate church decides the fate of Women and assures future generations of children in poverty.

I don't care what it takes... we must stop these tyrants once and for all.