Will This Battle Over ENDA Ever END?
Bad news; worse news: The vote on ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) scheduled for Wednesday of this week has been postponed yet again. And, to make matters worse, the White House has finally “assumed the position” on ENDA which, unfortunately, adds more complexities to this already overly-compromised bill. For the latest on why the ENDA vote was postponed and the new arguments against the bill that the President’s senior advisors have announced, check out the Washington Blade’s story.
If that isn’t enough to piss you off, listen to this interview with Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), the chief sponsor of the original trans-inclusive ENDA bill that he pulled from consideration, according to him, due to lack of support on Capitol Hill — and lack of support from the GLBT community. What?!? That’s hard to hear, but maybe it’s true. Some of us like to think of the GLBT community as a unified community that also includes all our wonderful straight allies. But, Barney Frank counters that he and others on Capitol Hill really didn’t hear from many of these folks when the original trans-inclusive ENDA bill was originally before the Congress. In fact, it wasn’t until headlines screaming in the GLBT community press that the “T’s” had been summarily dropped from ENDA and that a “new and improved” slimmer version of ENDA would be put before the Congress for a vote that a groundswell of united support magically appeared and shocked everyone leading the fight on our behalf…especially the HRC (Human Rights Campaign) who apparently were so busy “leading” our fight, they forgot to check-in with us on who they should be fighting for. But, like the new and improved “T-less” ENDA bill, I digress….
Rep. Frank makes it clear that we, the late-to-the-fight supporters of the original trans-inclusive ENDA bill are living in Fantasyland if we think all our collective efforts should be put soley behind a we-and-the-T’s anti-discrimination employment bill. He cites past civil rights struggles that “necessarily” left smaller, less strong minority groups to fend for themselves while their larger, stronger counterparts were slowly granted the same rights as the prevailing majority. Yes, that’s true. That’s the way it was. That’s the way it unfolded over many, many years. But, I have to ask: Is that the way we WANT it to be? Is it time that we collectively stand on principle and simply “do the right thing”? How else do we — the G’s, L’s, and B’s — step on the shoulders of our “T” brothers and sisters and tell them they’ll be able to come up for the fresh air we’re hoping to partake of once we have fully ascended the top of the Equality Train? How can we — the G’s, L’s, and B’s — look down into their weary eyes and tell them that again, this day is not for them, but instead only for us — and that with patience, their time will come (not that any of us will be there to pull them up as our straight allies are working now to pull us up)? I simply can’t do that. And, I won’t. I’m hoping you won’t either. It’s time for the G’s, L’s, B’s AND T’s to ascend together…as any fabulously feathered flock would.
More:
- Symbolism or Substance in ENDA Debate?
An op/ed by Jody M Huckaby, Executive Director of PFLAG National
- PFLAG Phoenix Joins UnitedENDA.org
Tags: Commentary, ENDA, Rights
