While asking the community to demand no less than full federal equality… By Cathy Kristofferson, June 8, 2014 This week saw the first national organization come out strongly against the flawed Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013 (ENDA) when the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Thursday announced it “We strongly oppose any religious exemption in ENDA… we will […]
NCLR Takes A stand Against Onerous ENDA While HRC Fights for It
#ENDAIsNOTequal #DeadENDA #ENDENDA #WTFHRC By Melanie Nathan, June 05, 2014. Washington Blade is reporting that The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) announced today that it does not support the current version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act pending before Congress because of the bill’s religious exemption. A schism has developed amongst activists with grassroots pitted […]
Federal Court’s refusal of benefits in Employee Plan shows why religious exemption hurts ENDA
Federal Court Rejects Discrimination Claim Against Catholic Hospital’s Refusal to Cover Same-Sex Spouse Under Employee Benefit Plan and ENDA is in danger Why I am calling on Freedom to Marry, NCLR, Lambda Legal, GLAAD, ACLU, Transgender Law Center, GetEQUAL to thwart the HRC push for Senate’s ENDA By Melanie Nathan, May 07, 2014. Although both […]
HRC Boots Activist Protesting ENDA’s Broad Religious Exemptions
Lesbian Avenger film screening event makes perfect backdrop for ENDA religious exemption protest By Cathy Kristofferson, March 21, 2014 Last week, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced a $2 million campaign to push for the House Vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013 (ENDA). This campaign partnership with Americans for Workplace Opportunity (AWO) is similar to […]
APB put out on ENDA
Boehner buries ENDA, where is the Executive Order Obama? By Cathy Kristofferson and Ellen Sturtz, November 20, 2013 After the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed the Senate with bi-partisan support, all eyes turned to the House. It seems when we looked there, the Bill had been buried in four different committees and House Speaker John Boehner […]
Republican amendments further water down ENDA protections
What is the point of ENDA now? By Cathy Kristofferson, November 5, 2013 Republicans have introduced two amendments to the already highly contentious religious exemption of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013 (ENDA), further watering down the bill’s protections. With all Democrats already committed to vote Yes and only 59 votes secured, supporting Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) […]
Why are LGBT Organizations and Democrats Pushing for a BAD ENDA?
IS THIS JUST ABOUT DONATIONS? By Melanie Nathan, November 04, 2013. On Thursday the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) filed cloture on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). It stands before the Senate as I write. But is it right? For the past few weeks we have been bombarded with e-mails from Senators and LGBT […]
Stand up now against the ENDA Exemptions
LGBT Americans deserve full equality and yet we grapple for an unworthy ENDA? By Melanie Nathan, October 23, 2013. ENDA as it stands, introduced with exemptions in Congress, is unacceptable. That is what we have been saying here on OBLOGDEE, as certain exemptions make it unworthy of passage. That is our position. ENDA’s lack of […]
Shame on President Obama’s Jon Carson for not getting the ENDA Picture
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, was introduced again in Congress this year — if passed, it would make sure that no one can legally be discriminated against in the workplace for being gay or transgender. By Melanie Nathan, September 05, 2013. We all know we have a Congress that will not work with this […]
ENDA passes out of committee push underway for 60 votes
By Cathy Kristofferson, July 10, 2013 Today in a wham bam no discussion just majority and minority opening statements hearing, Senate Bill 815, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) was passed out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) in a 15-7 vote. All Democrats voted in favor joined by 3 Republicans – […]
Julian Bond gives powerful statement opposing ENDA’s religious exemptions
“Religious liberty, contrary to what opponents of racial equality argued then and LGBT equality argue now, is not a license to use religion to discriminate.” By Cathy Kristofferson, June 14, 2013 Back in April when the 2013 version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) was introduced into Congress we posted here and here on OBLOGDEE […]
The Special Rights Battleground of ENDA and Immigration Reform
Seems to be exactly where the Religious Right is digging in these days. By Cathy Kristofferson, May 02, 2013. Two legislative initiatives now underway on Capital Hill greatly underscore the fact that it is the Religious Right who is seeking ‘special rights’ not the LGBT community, as we are so often accused. The Comprehensive Immigration […]
Understanding those very grave concerns about ENDA’s religious exemption
By Cathy Kristofferson, April 29, 2013 Here on this BLOG Thursday, we reported that directly preceding the introduction of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) of 2013, a press release came out expressing “very grave concerns” about the religious exemption clause contained in the Bill. The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal, the National Center for […]
Lord of Dance Gay Icon Stephen Fry visits Uganda in the same week Kill the Gays on Parliament’s Agenda
Melanie Nathan, February, 17, 2013. Thanks to Michael Petrelis it has come to my attention that British actor Stephen Fry has been tweeting about his arrival in Uganda. Fry describes himself on his Twitter accounts as “British Actor, Writer, Lord of Dance, Prince of Swimwear & Blogger – NEVER reads Direct Messages. London · http://www.stephenfry.com/ […]
Anti-Gay Bill on Ugandan Agenda together with Request to Borrow Millions from Islamic Dev Bank
By Melanie Nathan, Feb 12, 2013. Although the Ugandan LGBT community braces for a second read of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill today, the Ugandan Parliament’s Oder Papers reflect that the Bill is scheduled to be debated as #7 on the Order Papers. However sources informed me that the Parliament may randomly pick an order and that […]
Controversial Journalist Andrew Mwenda on educating Ugandans to counter homophobia
Andrew Mwenda is still a great ally and an important voice and I do not purport to understand Ugandans better than he does, however I believe strongly that it is time for people in his capacity to introduce a much more productive and proactive route toward the truth about homosexuality for presentation to Ugandans. View […]
Ugandan Parliament resumes with anti-gay bill 8th on Agenda
Keeping guard over the Kill the Gays Bill By Melanie Nathan, Feb. 05, 2013. By the time the Ugandan Parliament went into holiday recess at the end of last year the Anti-homosexuality bill had not yet seen passage. At that time the Bill had teetered at number one position on the Order Papers (Agenda) for […]
Kill The Gays Bill slips off Ugandan Parliament Agenda in Favor of Presidential Speech
Museveni to provide Special Parliamentary Address and no sign of Kadaga Xmas Gift By Melanie Nathan, December 13, 2012. There is one day left of Uganda’s Parliament for the year and after a month of taunting LGBT Ugandans while the Anti-Homosexuality Bill sat at position No. 1 for days on the Parliament Order Papers, the […]
ENDA could save the Facebook Privacy Invasion
By Melanie Nathan, 03/26/2012 I read an article today in SF Gate, noting that some companies and government agencies are going beyond merely glancing at a person’s social networking profile and may have the audacity to ask for log in information, such as the usernames and passwords. The idea is that a prospective employer can […]
SABC Allows use of Airwaves to Attract Listeners to Pastor’s Anti- LGBTI Agenda
The South African LGBT community is in an uproar about Riekert Botha, a radio evangelical from South Africa who has been spewing anti-gay comments at the expense of the South African taxpayer. South Africa, which has a fully inclusive constitution outlaws discrimination against LGBTI people and have anti-hate speech laws to protect groups against hate […]
Fred Karger Republican Presidential Candidate Fights for ENDA
By Melanie Nathan, Dec 02, 2011 Yesterday, Fred Karger launched his issues campaign. It was my pleasure to write an article for the Advocate that posted at the moment of Karger’s launch. While still a staunch Democrat and supporter of President Obama, I believe that I am still obligated to provide Fred Karger, the first […]
CRUSADES vs. GAYS – The Manhattan Declaration- where does it lead? Church’s Hate Gay Agenda
I wrote this Article for Lez Get Real and have received many anti-gay comments.:Feel free to go to LGR site and comment – thanks for your support UPDATED: By now we have all heard about the Manhattan Declaration put out by various religious right figures and groups urging, among other things, non-cooperation with laws that […]
Deputy President of Kenya wants to Eradicate Gays
Posted from African HRC, May 4, 2015 As homophobia continues to rise in many African countries, Kenya seems to be joining the crusade against its LGBTI citizens. Kenya’s deputy president, William Ruto, has told worshipers at a church service in Nairobi that homosexuality has no place in Kenya. “We will not allow homosexuality in our […]
Jamaican Activist asks President Obama to keep Visa Ban of gay hate Reggae Artists
By Melanie Nathan, April 13, 2015. A famous Jamaican Reggae artist is begging for a visa so he can come back to the United States. Yes, America is a fine place to make money for recording and performing artists. But should we support hate with our U.S. dollars? As Americans we should be standing behind […]
Ugandan LGBT Refugees in Kenya Launch UNHCR Protest
While pleading with International LGBT Community for Help By Melanie Nathan, March 09, 2015. There are many problems currently brewing in Kenya for Ugandan refugees who, after fleeing homophobia and persecution in Uganda, have been caught in a quagmire of funding and fraud issues. What follows is a desperate plea written by Ugandan refugees in […]
Marin County School Superintendent Pleads for Measles Vaccinations
The greater good of the community demands that we take action to prevent any further spread of the measles in Marin County. By Melanie Nathan, February 04, 2015. I barely write about local issues. Marin Country, where I live, has become the epicenter of the controversy around Measles and parents who refuse to allow their […]
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