End Employment Discrimination Now

There is a very important bill making its way through Congress right now.  It is S. 1584/H.R. 3017, The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA.  This bill ends discrimination against people who are gay, lesbian and trans-gendered.

I know that this is a controversial stand and it may well cost me some potential clients.  I accept that.  Sometimes we must take a moral stand, regardless of the consequences.  And it is morally wrong to permit discrimination against anyone, regardless of whether that is because of race, spiritual choices, marital choices, age, gender or sexual orientation.

Employers have absolutely no business in people’s bedrooms.  Nor should they have a right to tell employees what their sexual orientation should be.  Gay and lesbian employment protection is a simple civil right that must be accorded to these law-abiding, contributing citizens.  It is morally wrong not to do so.

Being gay, lesbian or trans-gendered does not effect the work of these folks in any different way than being married or in a straight relationship does.  Many of these folks are working with you right now.  You might not be aware of it due to the unreasoned bigotry against gays, lesbians and trans-gendered people in our society.  They often have to hide their sexual orientation to avoid this bigotry from destroying their lives.  This means, in a very real way, denying the person they love most in their lives.

There are many things that are very right about America and our workplace.  Discrimination against anyone is not one of them.

The only questions that should be asked about employment have to do with the ability to do one’s job.  There are no other relevant issues that employers should be permitted to consider, whether that is race, color, spirituality, gender, pregnancy, age, smoking, size, nationality, sexual activities, configuration of genitals, or sexual orientation.  These are things that do not effect the ability of people to do their jobs in any way.

It is only bigotry and fear of someone “different” that allow for gay, lesbian and trans-gendered people to be fired, demoted, or refused promotion based on their sexual orientation.  There is no logical or rational reason why anyone should fear these folks, any more than one should fear someone, like me, in an interracial marriage, or in a non-marital sexual relationship.  It is simply wrong.

I am very proud of my daughter’s generation (she is 24).  The Millenials, even those few who are conservative, see discrimination against gays and lesbians (and trans-gendered persons) for the absurdity it is.  They are almost universally for recognizing full civil rights for these folks, including the right to work without harassment, and the right to marry.  They will, rightly, look on our bigotries the same way as we look on the discrimination against Blacks that our bigoted parents had (and many still have).  They will look on us as very narrow and very wrong.

It is we older folks who still have the old bigotries we grew up with locked in our heads that are obstructionist.

But those who live with being gay, lesbian or trans-gendered everyday, just as we live with our straight sexuality every day, cannot wait for us old fogies to die off before being accorded simple civil rights that should be guaranteed to every American.

Please write, email or call your Senators and Representative and indicate that you want simple civil rights for all Americans.  Ask them to vote “yes” on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

The opinions expressed are those of John Heckers alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Heckers Development Group, LTD, or other organizations with which John Heckers is affiliated.