Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013

Floor Speech

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Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I rise today to discuss the need to protect all Americans from workplace discrimination. The vote that the Presiding Officer from North Dakota just announced was a tremendous victory for civil rights in our country; it was a tremendous victory for all people, gay and straight. It will mean a more productive workplace. It will mean better work conditions. It will mean an expansion of human rights. And what is not to celebrate about that?

I worked on this bill as a cosponsor starting almost 15 years ago--more than 15 years ago--in the House of Representatives, and I am thrilled to have been able to vote for it today, as I know 60-plus of my colleagues were, and I am hopeful the House of Representatives decides to do the same.

Earlier this year people of different genders, ethnicities, and ages gathered outside of the Supreme Court wanting to be there when civil rights history was made when the Defense of Marriage Act was declared unconstitutional. Clergy, people in collars, parents with children, students, seniors--everyone in between--were there too. The steps of the Supreme Court that morning were filled with people who represented every walk of life in our great country; so, too, must our laws.

Today and every day far too many Americans still go to work fearing they can be fired for who they are and whom they love. This needs to stop now. That is why the Senate needs to pass--later today, I hope--the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the House needs to bring up ENDA for a vote. ENDA would protect LGBT Americans from workplace discrimination. It is currently legal--this is what I think the public does not always hear and what I think Speaker Boehner needs to hear--it is currently legal in 29 States to discriminate based on sexual orientation. Think about that. Twenty-nine States--in this great country, with this Constitution, with this Bill of Rights--29 States allow gay Americans to be fired solely on the basis of their sexual orientation. In 2013 you can still be fired for whom you love in 29 States. It is legal to do that.

We have laws protecting Americans from workplace discrimination based on the color of their skin, as we should; based on their religion, as we should; based on whether they are a man or a woman, as we should; or whether they have a disability, as we should have those laws in place.

We should offer these same protections to LGBT Americans. We currently do not protect or workers, though, from being fired for whom they love. It is morally wrong. We are not living up to the basic moral standards. We teach our children the Golden Rule: that we are to treat others as we would want to be treated. This country was not built on the ideal that only some people deserve equality and justice. We know that no one should be discriminated against simply because of who they are.

Many Fortune 500 companies and small businesses have already taken steps to protect their employees because they know it is right. In a meeting a few months ago, I listened to a Cincinnati-based engineer from Procter & Gamble discuss the importance of ENDA. She said, simply: People should be able to bring all of themselves to work, not needing to hide herself or her family in the workplace. She gets it. Unsurprisingly, so does her employer, Procter & Gamble, an American icon.

Passing ENDA makes good economic sense. In a competitive global economy, it is essential that businesses attract talented, hard-working employees. That is difficult to do when discrimination is allowed. If we want to create jobs and compete on a global level, then we need all workers from all walks of life to be contributing to the economy. Purposefully leaving out a portion of our workforce only puts us behind in that global competition.

We have already made progress in the fight for equality, but we need to continue to move forward. We repealed don't ask, don't tell. This June the Supreme Court held the Defense of Marriage Act--which five of my Senate colleagues voted against in 1996, a few of us in the House voted against--as unconstitutional. As a result, couples are able to legally marry in many States across the country, the newest of which is Illinois. We must continue this progress to create a most just, inclusive Nation. Dr. King once said, ``Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'' Workers fought for the right to organize, woman for the right to vote, African Americans fought for equal justice, and now LGBT Americans of all backgrounds are fighting for equality. They are entitled to the support of their government, of all of us, in that fight.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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