Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise today to thank my colleagues for their support earlier today of an amendment that I offered strengthening the protections for religious liberty in the ENDA legislation, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. This amendment was cosponsored by Senators Ayotte, Heller, Hatch, and McCain. I thank Senator Collins for the key role she played in its passage. I firmly believe that no one should be subject to unjust discrimination, so I support the basic premise of ENDA, which is that people should be judged by their experience, their qualifications, and their job performance, not by their sexual orientation. The bottom line is people should not be able to be fired just because they are gay. I believe the legislation currently before this body will help create that level playing field and ensure employment opportunities for all. But it does not mean it is a perfect bill. It should be improved and my amendment seeks to ensure that this legislation, designed to promote tolerance of one kind, doesn't enshrine intolerance of another kind. Religious liberty is an important part of the Employment Non- Discrimination Act already. The underlying bill includes a significant exemption for religious employers. But we have to be certain that in pursuit of enforcing nondiscrimination, those religious employers are not subject to a different kind of discrimination that would be government retaliation.…”