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FAITH IN ACTION

Ralph Reed: ENDA is dumb politics

Since 1964, federal law has protected Americans from discrimination based on race, religion, sex or national origin. The Senate is about to add a new, special right based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This is bad public policy and should be rejected. What its supporters call the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, should really be labeled the “Trial Lawyers Full Employment Act.” It burdens any business with 15 or more employees with new threats of litigation, frivolous law suits and additional compliance costs. I oppose workplace discrimination in all its ugly forms and believe in respecting the individual’s essential dignity. I have worked with and hired gay employees my entire career. But ENDA criminalizes hiring and promotion based on the subjective criteria of sexual orientation and gender identity — an often fluid standard that can be known only by violating an employee’s right to privacy. Employers, including schools, would be required to allow men to show up for work dressed as women, or women as men. Personal objections aside, this is an unnecessary disruption of the workplace. It is also a dagger aimed at the heart of religious freedom for millions of Americans. The bill’s so-called religious exemption is vague and inadequate. Based on previous court rulings, faith-based charities may be subject to harassment and junk lawsuits. Like Obamacare’s nearly identical “religious exemption,” which turned out not to protect most faith-based employers, it is as porous as Swiss cheese. Click here to read the full article.

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