|
WASHINGTON - January 27 - The Washington state Senate
passed a bill today protecting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
people from discrimination, making Washington the 17th state to ban discrimination based on sexual
orientation and the seventh state based on gender identity. For
procedural reasons the bill was sent back to the House, which already
passed the bill. It now goes to Gov. Christine Gregoire, who pledged to
sign it.
“States
like Washington are picking up the
slack as fairness remains stalled in Congress,” said Human Rights
Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “More than one-third of
Americans now live in a state where it’s illegal to fire a
hard-working employee just for being gay.”
A broad-based coalition
of religious organizations, large and small businesses, civil rights
groups and concerned citizens advocated for the bill. Leading supporters
include Washington employers Microsoft, Boeing,
Corbis, Hewlett Packard, Levi Strauss & Co.,
Nike and RealNetworks weathering calls for boycotts by extremist
organizations.
“Businesses support
non-discrimination protections because recruiting and retaining the best
talent is good for their bottom line,” said Solmonese.
“Fair-minded consumers, employees and investors will not soon
forget their leadership on ensuring fairness.”
A sexual orientation
non-discrimination bill was first introduced in the Washington
Legislature in 1976. It failed by one vote in the state
Senate last year.
“These important legal
protections are the product of decades of work by thousands of
Washingtonians committed to equal treatment for every citizen,”
said Solmonese. “We applaud Equal Rights Washington and other
groups who are opening hearts and minds in communities across the
state.”
Over the past year, the
Human Rights Campaign has worked closely with Equal Rights Washington in
coordinating grassroots efforts to pass the non-discrimination bill. HRC
has also provided substantial funding for advertising, polling and
administrative support in addition to sending more than 10 staff members
to Washington. Additionally, HRC helped to garner
business support for the bill by working with various large
corporations.
The Human Rights Campaign is
the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender political
organization with members throughout the country. It effectively
lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to
ensure that LGBT Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work
and in the community.
### |
Printer Friendly Version
E-Mail This Article
