Sanford Bishop: “as one who has suffered the stigma and painful effects of state-enforced legal discrimination based on my race for the…”

“as one who has suffered the stigma and painful effects of state-enforced legal discrimination based on my race for the first 20 of my 60 years, and having spent all of my professional life as an attorney and as an elected official fighting to eradicate unlawful discrimination based on race, creed, color, religion, gender, age, disability or national origin, and based on my study and understanding of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, I cannot condone discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation. The only appropriate consideration in employment should be the willingness and the ability to perform the job. Sexual orientation, unless it adversely affects job performance, is a private matter and should not be a basis for legal discrimination with the possible exception of the armed services and religious organizations. Accordingly, after prayerful consideration, I must therefore support H.R. 3685, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. I urge my colleagues to do the same.”