ENDA: Majority Of Republicans Support Workplace Protections For LGBT People
The majority of Republicans (yes, Republicans) support workplace protections for LGBT people, a new poll finds. The bill, known as ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, in one form or another, has been introduced in every Congress except one, since 1974.
56 percent of Republicans support ENDA, while a whopping 68 percent of all Americans support the anti-discrimination law. What’s more, 80 percent of voters believe that it’s already illegal to fire LGBT people for being LGBT.
A famous and respected conservative, attorney Ted Olson, in the news for announcing that he and David Boies will take on Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban, today told the Washington Blade that he too supports ENDA.
“I feel very, very strongly that this country ought to stop discriminating against our citizens on the basis of their sexual orientation,†Olson told the Blade. “It is unfair, it’s unreasonable, it’s unacceptable. It serves no purpose and it does a great deal of harm.â€
The poll, conducted by a “prominent Republican pollster,” according to HRC, was conducted for the Americans for Workplace Opportunity campaign and Project Right Side.
What’s more, in each of the fifty states, the majority of voters support ENDA.
“Republicans were especially moved by two messages: The idea that ENDA represents a form of treating others the way one would want to be treated, and the notion that workers should be judged on their job performance, and nothing else,” Politico reports today:
In both cases, support among Republicans was over 80 percent.
Such messaging could provide a useful roadmap if ENDA moves through Congress and toward the Republican-run House.
HRC notes that “Republicans aren’t the only ones who back ENDA – more than 100 Fortune 500s and other businesses, big and small, support ENDA through HRC’s Business Coalition for Workplace Fairness. Religious leaders of varying faith traditions are speaking up in favor of ENDA as well.”
A separate 2011 poll, conducted by a different polling firm, found 70 percent Republican support (PDF) for ENDA.
Image by tesishay via Instagram
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