ENDA victory in the House

Last night the Employment Non Discrimination Bill (H.R. 3685) passed in the house with 235 members voting in favor and 184 opposed.

This was a difficult vote in many ways. The House leadership made the calculation that the only way the bill would pass was if gender identity and expression were stripped from it. They felt that a victory in the House was essential in order for an inclusive bill to have a chance in the next few years. If the bill had gone down in defeat or had been pulled from the floor it would make it nearly impossible for it to come up again in the next couple of years and our efforts would be set back at least 10 years. By giving members of Congress the "good feeling" that they had moved civil rights in this country one step forward, it will be easier to convince them of the importance of including the whole LGBT community in the near future when we have a new President who may sign it into law.

This calculation has caused friction within the LGBT community and there is an enormous amount of healing that now needs to occur.

Still, as we move forward and try to figure out the best strategies toward getting a fully inclusive ENDA to the desk of a President who will sign it, we also need to stop for a moment and reflect on the historic nature of this victory. It has been nearly 30 years of massive education on the part of LGBT groups around the country that has gotten us this far. We now have to roll up our sleaves and start doing the same level of education on transgender issues.

Even though this victory is bittersweet the win is still enormous. It signals to the public that gay and lesbian people ought to have basic civil rights protections and not to be fired or live in fear of being fired simply because they are gay.

To follow the live blog from the debate in the House go to HRC's Back Story.