Biden gets out in front of Obama on LGBT discrimination

[Capt. Obvious]

Vice President Joe Biden appeared to once more pull ahead of his boss on LGBT equality, this time telling the Huffington Post that he couldn’t see any reason why the president should continue to stall on extending workplace protections to gay and transgender employees of federal contractors.

“I don’t see any downside,” said Biden on Thursday, when asked about the president’s reluctance to expand an existing executive order that already prohibits federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin – but not sexual orientation or gender identity.

However, Biden did say that the better approach would be for Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would cover the country’s entire workforce, not just the quarter employed by federal contractors.

“The way to do this is to pass ENDA,” said the vice president. “That ends [anti-LGBT discrimination] everywhere.”

MSNBC

[Bluenorthwest]

1. The VP is perhaps aware that ENDA has been introduced and rejected in each Congress but one since

1994 and that similar legislation has failed to pass since Bella Abzug and Ed Koch introduced the first version in 1974. 40 years of trying to get Americans to oppose discrimination in the workplace. More delay on any aspect that could proceed into law is very hard to rationalize in the context of Congressional bigotry, because so far, no matter which Party is in the majority the bigots are the actual majority.

[fadedrose]

2. Biden was the first to publically back LGBT rights

He never waits to see how the wind is blowing (unlike other politicians), he goes with his heart.


I notice the Pope made some remarkable statements this week. Took a lot of courage for both of these men who are unafraid of criticism.....