Obama Bans LGBT Discrimination

Gay Rights
On Monday, the president signed an executive order before a crowd of a few hundred gay rights activists, religious leaders and lawmakers against LGBT discrimination, angering conservatives in the process.

“In too many states and in too many workplaces, simply being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender can still be a fireable offense,” Mr. Obama said. “So I firmly believe that it’s time to address this injustice for every American.”  He also told LGBT attendees that the “passionate advocacy and the irrefutable rightness of your cause” led to Monday’s action, which prompted shouts of “Amen!” from many who were present during the signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House.

The two-part order also protects transsexuals, banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for companies receiving federal contracts.

Despite soaring support of gay rights among the general public, not everyone is happy with President Obama’s use of his executive order.

Gay Rights
Carmen Fowler LaBerge, president of the Presbyterian Layman Committee has come out as critical of Mr. Obama’s actions. “Clearly nobody is in favor of discrimination, so using that language is intended to stir the pot,” LaBerge said. “The question is how do you hold sincerely held religious beliefs that limit sexual expression to certain relationships and forms in balance with what the government now views as its legitimate role and in defending the rights of a particular group of people. You have a special interest group on both hands, and you have the government clearly favoring one group over another.”

The Family Research Council’s Senior Fellow for Policy Studies Peter Sprigg, also took issue with the president. “Religious faith is not simply a matter of intellectual affirmation but of active practice,” Sprigg said. “A religious organization which is denied the power to require its employees to conduct their lives in a way consistent with the teachings of their faith is an organization which is being denied the right to exercise its religion, period. People with deeply held convictions regarding the morality of certain types of sexual behavior should not be bound by the dictates of President Obama’s agenda.”

Since the Bill Clinton presidency, the federal government has banned discrimination against gays and lesbians in federal employment. Broader legislation banning employment discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals passed the Democratically controlled Senate last year, but is still awaiting action from the Republican led House of Representatives.