Merkley to introduce new LGBT anti-discrimination law

Kari Chisholm

Senator Merkley is taking his fight against discrimination further.

He has announced that he plans to expand ENDA -- which is limited to employment discrimination -- and introduce a comprehensive LGBT anti-discrimination bill in the next Congress.

He told TIME magazine:

It can’t be right that people are thrown out of their rental housing because of their LGBT status or can be denied entry to a movie theater or to a restaurant. That simply is wrong and we need to take on this broader agenda.

His bill would cover housing, public accomodations, financial transactions, employment, and more. In his announcement, as reported by the Washington Blade, Merkley said:

Last year, we passed in the Senate employment non-discrimination, but isn’t it time to do what Oregon did in 2007 and so many other states have done and pass a law that broadly prohibits discrimination throughout the world of the individual, as Eleanor Roosevelt put it, so that housing is covered, financial transactions are covered, public accommodations, restrooms, theaters are covered?” Merkley said. “If discrimination is wrong in marriage, it’s wrong in employment. If it’s wrong in employment, it’s wrong in housing. If it’s wrong in housing, it’s wrong in financial transactions and public accommodations.

According to the Center for American Progress, there are, amazingly, 14 states where you can get married -- but you can also get fired just for being gay.

By Kari Chisholm Dec. 16, 2014