Some deep-pocketed Republican donors, in addition to former GOP lawmakers are working with a gay rights coalition and pushing for the U.S. House to support a bill that bans workplace discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, USA Today reports.
America is a place where the freedom to be who you are shouldn’t be a barrier to your ability to get a job and provide for your family, said Paul Singer, a billionaire hedge fund founder and big Republican donor. Singer is putting $375,000 toward the push for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. In the workplace, employees should be judged on their merit and hard work and not on aspects that are irrelevant to their performance.
Seth Klarman, a billionaire GOP donor also put up $375,000 to the Human Rights Campaign, which is the nation’s largest gay rights lobby, to supplement the additional $1.3 million it’s using to try to get the support of 218 House lawmakers to support the bill.
The group says if it can get the support of 218 lawmakers to support the legislation, then House GOP leaders may have to think again about their decision to not take a vote on it this year. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said he opposes the ENDA because it could hamper businesses, in addition to sparking frivolous lawsuits.
A recent poll, however, shows that views on gay rights are changing, with support for gay marriage hitting a record level.
Via USA Today
