Trans-Inclusive ENDA Introduced in U.S. Senate

Freshman Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon introduced a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (S. 1584) on Wednesday which would prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity anywhere in the United States, if enacted and signed into law.

“For me, one of the huge issues that I’ve cared a lot about is equality under the law and fairness to all Americans, and this was just a core part of the way I view the world,” he said.

Merkley said he was designated as the lead sponsor of ENDA because he championed a similar non-discrimination bill in Oregon as a lawmaker in the state House, as well as legislation enacting domestic partnerships in Oregon.

As of Wednesday, Merkley had 37 co-sponsors to the legislation, including Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), according to a statement released by Merkley’s office.

Merkley is a member of the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, which would hold hearings on the legislation and fine-tune the bill before it reaches the Senate floor. But whether the committee will hold hearings on the legislation, Merkley said, has “yet to be addressed.”

“That is certainly one of the things that I’ll be pursuing with Sen. Dodd and with Sen. Kennedy’s team,” Merkley said.

Interestingly, looking at the 38 original co-sponsors of the bill, it struck MadProfessah that almost none of the Senators come from a state that does not already prohibit sexual orientation discrimination (but not necessarily gender identity discrimination) in employment. The 38 co-sponsors are:

Sen Akaka, Daniel K. [HI] - 8/5/2009
Sen Bingaman, Jeff [NM] - 8/5/2009
Sen Boxer, Barbara [CA] - 8/5/2009
Sen Brown, Sherrod [OH] - 8/5/2009
Sen Burris, Roland [IL] - 8/5/2009
Sen Cantwell, Maria [WA] - 8/5/2009
Sen Cardin, Benjamin L. [MD] - 8/5/2009
Sen Casey, Robert P., Jr. [PA] - 8/5/2009
Sen Collins, Susan M. [ME] - 8/5/2009
Sen Dodd, Christopher J. [CT] - 8/5/2009
Sen Durbin, Richard [IL] - 8/5/2009
Sen Feingold, Russell D. [WI] - 8/5/2009
Sen Feinstein, Dianne [CA] - 8/5/2009
Sen Franken, Al [MN] - 8/5/2009
Sen Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [NY] - 8/5/2009
Sen Harkin, Tom [IA] - 8/5/2009
Sen Inouye, Daniel K. [HI] - 8/5/2009
Sen Kennedy, Edward M. [MA] - 8/5/2009
Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] - 8/5/2009
Sen Klobuchar, Amy [MN] - 8/5/2009
Sen Kohl, Herb [WI] - 8/5/2009
Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] - 8/5/2009
Sen Leahy, Patrick J. [VT] - 8/5/2009
Sen Levin, Carl [MI] - 8/5/2009
Sen Lieberman, Joseph I. [CT] - 8/5/2009
Sen Menendez, Robert [NJ] - 8/5/2009
Sen Mikulski, Barbara A. [MD] - 8/5/2009
Sen Murray, Patty [WA] - 8/5/2009
Sen Reed, Jack [RI] - 8/5/2009
Sen Sanders, Bernard [VT] - 8/5/2009
Sen Schumer, Charles E. [NY] - 8/5/2009
Sen Shaheen, Jeanne [NH] - 8/5/2009
Sen Snowe, Olympia J. [ME] - 8/5/2009
Sen Specter, Arlen [PA] - 8/5/2009
Sen Udall, Mark [CO] - 8/5/2009
Sen Udall, Tom [NM] - 8/5/2009
Sen Whitehouse, Sheldon [RI] - 8/5/2009
Sen Wyden, Ron [OR] - 8/5/2009

I believe only Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Carl Levin of Michigan and Robert Casey and Arlen Spector of Pennsylvania represents states that have not (yet) passed what is commonly known as "a gay rights law." There are currently 21 states which have such a law on the books, and ENDA would provide federal legislation to strengthen protections in those states as well as states which have no gay rights laws (or openly LGBT elected officials, which is often a first step in getting a law-making body to make that step).

Note that most of the states that have legalized marriage equality (MA, CT, CA, IA, VT, ME) have both senators on board (except for Iowa's Republican Senator Chuck Grassley).