Seriously, are Employment Protections that Threatening?

By Kyla Bender-Baird

Did you know that in 37 states it is still legal to fire someone because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender?  Blew my mind when I first learned this fact.  And it continues to amaze me that somehow we are unable to push through basic employment protections for LGBT employee at the federal level.  Instead, we are left with a patchwork of state and local laws that leave the majority of U.S. workers vulnerable to sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination.  Once again this year, Congress failed to pass the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA).  As Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, points out in the video below, advocates have been pushing for basic protections for 36 years. That's ten years longer than I've been alive! 

Tired of this routine, some people are organizing to make this summer "the equality summer."  Jude Stevens, a straight, cisgender ally issued a call to action on The Bilerico Project yesterday:

We will not march on Washington D.C. Washington D.C. will come to us. We need one to five people from every state to visit their Senators. We need one to five people from every Congressional District to visit their representatives.

To learn more, read the rest of Jude's piece. Then visit the Facebook group, ENDA Summer 2010, to get involved.