From: Philattey@aol.com Date: Fri, 6 Sep 1996 10:40:13 -0400 Subject: ENDA Now Free-Standing Vote On Tuesday ________________________________________________________ NEWS from the Human Rights Campaign 1101 14th Street NW Washington, DC 20005 email: communications@hrcusa.org WWW: http://www.hrcusa.org ________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Sept. 6, 1996 IN A STUNNING TURN OF EVENTS, ANTI-GAY JOB BIAS BILL SCHEDULED FOR FREE-STANDING VOTE NEXT WEEK Senate Set for Historic Vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act Tuesday, Sept. 10 WASHINGTON -- In a late-night announcement on the Senate floor, and a stunning turn of events, Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., announced yesterday that the Employment Non- Discrimination Act (ENDA) will come up for a vote as a free- standing bill next Tuesday, Sept. 10. ENDA, a bill first introduced in 1994, would ban job discrimination against lesbian, gay and bisexual people. "We are within striking distance of passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the Senate," said Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest national gay political organization. "While still an uphill battle, a momentous civil rights victory for our community, our families, our friends, and indeed all fair-minded Americans is within reach." Lott announced that ENDA would be voted on the same day as the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a bill originally sponsored by Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole that would deny federal recognition of same-sex marriages in the event that a state should ever legalize such marriages in the future. ENDA was to be offered as an amendment to the anti-gay bill as part of an agreement made before Congress recessed in August. "When it became apparent to the anti-gay bill's sponsors that ENDA could pass, they balked and the agreement collapsed," said Daniel Zingale, HRC's political director. DOMA's sponsors feared that ENDA would kill their bill if it was successfully attached, and worked frantically behind the scenes to unravel the agreement. "We were a victim of our own success," said Zingale. "While killing the Defense of Marriage Act would have been an outstanding result in our view, the introduction of ENDA as an amendment was simply an attempt to gain something positive out of an utterly dismal political situation." Zingale said that HRC has counted 43 senators voting for ENDA and has targeted 14 others whose support is possible. In a New York Times interview published today, Senator Alfonse D'Amato, R-N.Y., announced his support for the measure. "My position is clear: People should be judged on the basis on their ability," D'Amato told the Times, predicting the Senate would ultimately approve ENDA. At the same time the Human Rights Campaign is hailing the prospects of passing landmark civil rights legislation in the Senate, it vowed to continue fighting the Defense of Marriage Act in Congress and beyond. "While DOMA proponents continue to inaccurately soft peddle their aim as reasonable -- denying gay people equal marriage rights will not stand," Birch said. "In the end America has always come down on the side of fairness, and there is no question in our minds that denying legal recognition of our relationships is discriminatory and unconstitutional. We will do everything in our power to work to defeat DOMA legislatively, and in our country's courts of law and public opinion." Earlier this month the Human Rights Campaign aired televsion commercials in San Diego at the Republican National Convention asserting that "Bob Dole and Congress have better things to do than attack gay relationships." The organization ran a different commercial this week in the Washington area, entitled "Fairness," showcasing four very different public figures -- New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, Coretta Scott King, former U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater and Kathleen Gingrich, mother of House Speaker Newt Gingrich -- all of whom agree that gay people deserve basic job protection and support the bill. "A gay person can legally be fired simply for being gay in 41 states," David M.Smith, HRC communications director, said at a news conference Tuesday to release the ad. "The four national figures featured in our ad are among the 85 percent of Americans who agree that job discrimination against gay men and lesbians is wrong." ENDA prohibits quotas, and does not apply to religious organizations, small businesses, and the military. Next week's Senate vote on the measure will mark the first time in the history of the United States that Congress has voted on a civil rights bill that would include lesbian and gay Americans. The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian and gay political organization, with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that lesbian and gay Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community. - 30 -