Speed Reads
ENDA-run around Congress
Obama will circumvent Congress to bar LGBT discrimination
The White House announced Monday that President Obama plans to sign an executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating against gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender employees. Though some states already have laws prohibiting LGBT discrimination, 29 have no such laws, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
Obama had asked Congress to send him a bill banning all employers — not just those who contract with the federal government — from discriminating against LGBT employees. Yet House Republicans have refused to act on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which passed the Senate in November by a 64-32 vote.