(GayWebSource.com – Gay Media & Press Network) – Posted by Michael Lamb – Echelon Magazine

Freedom to Work Urges Senators to Protect LGBT Americans From Workplace Discrimination

With the federal government shutdown over, and the threat of default lifted, the U.S. Senate is set to take a vote on the LGBT Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which passed a historic milestone in July, garnering all Democrats and three key Republican votes — Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) — to pass from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee to the floor in a 15-7 vote.

ENDA already has public pledges of support from 55 Senators, and Freedom to Work has teamed with the Log Cabin Republicans on lobby efforts to increase the number of Republican votes.  Next week, Freedom to Work will launch Latino voter outreach efforts in Arizona and Nevada targeting undeclared Republican Senators in those states, which follows a partnership with MoveOn targeting online petitions to the three undeclared Democratic Senators from Arkansas, West Virginia and Florida.

Tico Almeida, founder and president of Freedom to Work, who previously served as ENDA’s lead counsel in the U.S. House of Representatives, released the following statement:

“It’s long past time for Congress to pass workplace protections for LGBT Americans.  We’ve lobbied every target Republican office, discussed ENDA’s strong protections for religious freedom, and we’re confident we have more than 60 votes to move this legislation forward.”
FreedomtoWork.org is a national organization committed to banning workplace harassment and career discrimination against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender Americans through public education, policy analysis, and legal work.

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