DeSaulnier non-discrimination resolution passes
SACRAMENTO – The California Senate this week stood up for equal rights by passing a resolution calling for Congress to pass and the president to sign the Federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009.
Senate Resolution 27 by Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, supports a federal act that would prohibit workplace discrimination based on an employee’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
“The Federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act is about fairness in the workplace,” DeSaulnier said after the resolution passed Thursday. “Sexual orientation and gender identity shouldn’t factor into a job evaluation any more than race or military service.”
Federal law already protects people from discrimination due to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, military service and genetic information.
While California law protects against discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation, 19 other states have no employment protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender employees.
SR 27 is sponsored by Equality California and co-authored by the Chair of the Legislative LGBT Caucus Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.
Read the resolution: http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sr_27_bill_20090818_introduced.html
Both state senators are to be highly commended for putting forward SR 27; let us hope their resolution helps push through this federal act and that we shall soon see President Obama sign it into law. This is positively a step in the right direction, though we have a long way to go before we achieve true and full equality for all LGBT persons. It is a sad fact that a large segment of society still regards gay men and women, among various minorities, as second-class citizens - or worse. That is the salient point of my recently released biographical novel, Broken Saint. It is based on my forty-year friendship with a gay man, and chronicles his internal and external struggles as he battles for acceptance (of himself and by others). More information on the book is available at www.eloquentbooks.com/BrokenSaint.html.
ReplyDeleteMark Zamen, author