Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I want to follow my friend and colleague from Minnesota in explaining why I too support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, known as ENDA. As she has very well articulated, the notion that somehow or other discrimination of any kind against anybody should be allowed in our workplaces is something I hope we would be able to, on a bipartisan basis, come together on from all corners of the country and recognize this is not an acceptable direction, this is not a place or a process we should endorse. As we all know, current law protects against discrimination in the workplace for many classes of individuals. Many of us have been involved in working to refine these laws that protect against discrimination--discrimination that affects employment practice not on the basis of the merit of one's work or qualifications, but solely on the basis of factors unrelated to an individual's work experience, such as race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, age, disability, and sex or gender. We have made sure to put in place these protections against discrimination in the workplace for these classes, these categories of individuals. But we now need to do the same for those in the LGBT community, for whom discrimination on the basis of sex does not apply. ENDA bridges that gap, and it is time that gap was closed. In fact, that separation that has been in place is eliminated here. Discrimination should never be tolerated in any workplace.…”