Subject: President Clinton Endorses the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)
From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 20 Oct 1995 11:15:53 -0400

_________________________________________________________________

NEWS from the
Human Rights Campaign

1101 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
email:  [email-masked]
WWW:    http://www.hrcusa.org
_________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 20, 1995

          PRESIDENT ENDORSES EMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT
                                    
                  Cites Current Lack of Protection From
                       Anti-Gay Job Discrimination

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                   SEE THE HRC WEBSITE FEATURE STORY,
                           THANK THE PRESIDENT
                                   AND
                     USE HRC'S ONLINE ACTION CENTER
        TO URGE URGE YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO CO-SPONSOR ENDA!
                                    
                          http://www.hrcusa.org

                   **********************************

Washington  --  A top White House adviser today announced that
President Clinton has endorsed a popular bill that would prohibit
job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. 
Currently, no federal law protects Americans from being fired,
refused work or otherwise discriminated against in the workplace
merely for being lesbian or gay.
  
     The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which was
reintroduced in June with unprecedented bipartisan support, is
backed by the civil rights community, major employers and voters
of all political stripes.  Lead co-sponsors in the 104th Congress
are Sens. James Jeffords (R-Vt.) and Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.).

     The legislation explicitly prohibits job discrimination,
quotas and preferential treatment on the basis of sexual
orientation.  It would not apply to religious organizations,
small businesses, or the military, and it would not require
employers to provide equal benefits to the same-sex partners of
employees.

     "I have the authorization of the President of the United
States to announce today the Clinton Administration's support of
legislation to protect all Americans from discrimination in the
workplace," said Senior Adviser to the President George
Stephanopoulos in a speech to the National Lesbian and Gay
Journalists Association.  "Today President Clinton has written to
Senator Kennedy restating this Administration's opposition to job
discrimination and endorsing the Employment Non-Discrimination
Act."

     The Human Rights Campaign, which has played a lead role in
championing the bill, has documented cases of job discrimination
in every region of the country in which people have lost their
jobs or otherwise been treated unfairly at work merely for being
perceived as gay or lesbian. 

     "People should not be fired from their jobs for a reason
that has nothing to do with their abilities," said Human Rights
Campaign Executive Director Elizabeth Birch.  "Today in America,
it's perfectly legal to fire someone for being gay or lesbian. 
The President stands with the vast majority of Americans in
supporting equal rights in the workplace for lesbian and gay
citizens."

     Public opinion research conducted for the Human Rights
Campaign by Republican and Democratic polling firms shows that
majorities of voters, regardless of party affiliation, oppose job
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and support
equal rights for gay and lesbian Americans.  In a poll of people
who voted in the 1994 elections, more than 70 percent said gays
"should have equal rights in terms of hiring and firing."  The
figure included 65 percent of Republicans, 71 percent of 
Independents and 77 percent of Democrats.

     Polling data also shows that, while most Americans favor
preventing job discrimination against gay people, most are not
aware that such discrimination is still legal.  A May 1995 poll
by Lake Research, Inc., found that 74 percent of Americans
favor preventing job discrimination against gay people, but 80
percent are not aware that gay people are not covered by current
civil rights law.  Citing the need for public education, Birch
says that "as more people learn that hardworking lesbian and gay
Americans face widespread job discrimination with no protection
under federal law, support keeps growing for equal rights in the
workplace."

     In Congress, ENDA currently has 29 co-sponsors in the Senate
and 128 in the House of Representatives.  A majority of House
members and nearly two-thirds of the Senate have also indicated
to the Human Rights Campaign that sexual orientation is not a
consideration in their employment practices.

     "This bill provides equal protection to all workers from
unfair treatment on the job," Birch said.  "It affects real
people like Cheryl Summerville, an award-winning cook at a
Cracker Barrel restaurant who lost her job when the company fired
all of its gay and lesbian staff. Throughout the nation, the
Human Rights Campaign has documented case after case of Americans
who have been treated unfairly at work, only to find that they
have no basic recourse under the law.  ENDA would change that,
establishing a level playing field in the workplace."

     ENDA has been championed by the Leadership Conference on
Civil Rights, the nation's largest civil rights coalition
representing more than 185 organizations.  Among the major
employers that have endorsed the bill are Quaker Oats, Apple
Computer, Harley Davidson, Merrill Lynch, RJR Nabisco and Xerox. 
A growing number of the country's most successful companies also
include lesbian and gay people under their non-discrimination
policies.  Labor organizations like the AFL-CIO, United Steel
Workers of America and Service Employees International Union
support the legislation, along with religious leaders from
organizations such as the National Council of Churches, Episcopal
Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
 
     "Today's endorsement is a historic step forward in our
movement for equal rights," Birch said.  "President Clinton is
doing his part to heal the divisions that plague this country. 
He will be remembered in history as a President who stood for the
principles of fairness and equality for everyone."

     In a survey conducted last year for Newsweek, 91 percent of
gay and lesbian people cited "equal rights in the workplace" as
the most important issue they face.

     The Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest national
lesbian and gay political organization, envisions an America
where lesbian and gay people are ensured of their basic equal
rights -- and can be open, honest, and safe at home, at work,
and in the community. 

For more information on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, go
to the "Issues Explained" feature on our World Wide Web site
http://www.hrcusa.org or contact the Human Rights Campaign at
(202) 628-4160.

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