Legislative Activity
On May 14, 1974, the fifth anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, Reps. Bella Abzug (D-NY) and Ed Koch (D-NY) introduced H.R. 14752, the "Gay Rights Bill", which would have added sexual orientation to the protected classes specified in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibited discrimination in employment and access to public accommodations and facilities.
In the early 1990s, supporters of the legislation decided to focus on employment. Rep. Gerry Studds introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act on June 23, 1994. The legislation failed in 1994 and 1995. In 1996, the bill failed on a 49-50 vote in the Senate and was not voted on in the House. Its level of support in the Senate may have represented an attempt by some to compensate for their recent support of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. These early versions of ENDA did not include provisions to protect transgender people from discrimination and ENDA was not introduced in the 109th Congress.
Read more about this topic: Employment Non-Discrimination Act
Famous quotes containing the words legislative and/or activity:
“The dignity and stability of government in all its branches, the morals of the people, and every blessing of society, depend so much upon an upright and skilful administration of justice, that the judicial power ought to be distinct from both the legislative and executive, and independent upon both, that so it may be a check upon both, as both should be checks upon that.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“In communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, shepherd or critic.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)