LAC News
ENDA: Shoving a Liberal Agenda Down the Throats of People of Faith
By By LaToya Cain
May 2008

Because of varying views on any given issue and the number of freedoms we are afforded in our great nation, many people in this country are convinced that imposing Christian beliefs on the rest of society is a terrible thing to do.  However, those same people seem to find nothing wrong with using federal law to impose liberal views about homosexuality on Christians.  If H.R. 3685, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), becomes law, it will do just that.  On the vague basis of perception, ENDA expands the civil rights protections of homosexuals while infringing upon the individual freedom of religion rights guaranteed to every American under the First Amendment.

Intent on regulating the consciences of all Americans and further mainstreaming homosexual behavior, “gay” rights activists are intent on passing policies that protect and promote their ideological beliefs.  For years, liberals have tried to make ENDA law and unfortunately have made a few good strides toward that end.  In November 2007, the House passed H.R. 3685 by a vote of 235-184, with little regard for the number of religious liberty questions that have yet to be adequately answered.  Fortunately, the votes against the legislation were enough to sustain a presidential veto, which the Administration has indicated is the President’s intention.

In an attempt to appease Christians who oppose ENDA, a few weak provisions were injected  into the bill which seemingly exempt certain Christian institutions and organizations from some of the requirements of hiring and protecting potential or current homosexual employees.  Left unaddressed is the fact that individual employers remain unprotected.  The First Amendment freedom of conscience clause extends to individuals, not institutions or organizations.  

Matt Barber, CWA’s Policy Director for Cultural Issues, said, “This dangerous bill would pit the government directly against the free exercise of religion, a situation which is unconstitutional on its face.  Members of Congress should join the President and exercise their sworn duty to defend the U.S. Constitution by voting ‘no’ on ENDA.”

ENDA is now headed to the Senate where liberal Senators are gearing up to expand federal laws on employment discrimination to include “sexual orientation.”  “Gay rights” advocates assert that their success in passing this legislation in the House is a victory, regardless of the fact that this anti-Christian, ideologically driven legislation seeks to thwart the religious liberties of people of faith.  Unlike the “hate crimes” legislation which passed out of the House in May 2007, ENDA did not move as quickly.  Nonetheless, the homosexual agenda is gaining momentum, as we have seen recently with California’s Supreme Court ruling in favor of “gay” marriage.

Normalizing this behavior forces people who oppose homosexuality to accept and legitimize homosexuality as a civil rights issue instead of a moral one.  Sexual behavior is not a civil rights issue; it is a moral issue.  Proponents of ENDA, who insist on equating homosexuality with ethnicity in order to call it a civil rights issue, marginalize the struggles of many black civil rights activists in their fight for equality. 

Despite the fact that homosexuals do not meet any of the historical criteria used to determine a disadvantaged minority group, many are still pushing and selling this legislation as a necessary law for advancing civil rights and equality.  The dangerous precedent that ENDA would establish will have a grave impact on the morality of our country.

Shari Rendall, CWA’s Director of Legislation and Public Policy, says of ENDA, “This bill will unfairly extend special privileges based on an individual’s changeable sexual behaviors, rather than focusing on immutable, non-behavior characteristics such as skin color or sex.  Its passage will both overtly discriminate against and muzzle people of faith and is even more dangerous than the pending ‘hate crimes’ legislation.”

Recently, Crystal Dixon, former associate vice president of human resources at the University of Toledo, was suspended and then fired because of an opinion column she wrote — not as an employee of the university, but as a private citizen — explaining why homosexuality is not an equivalent civil rights issue to race.  Clearly, Crystal Dixon’s dismissal shows that the goal of the one-sided, so-called anti-discrimination legislation (ENDA) gives special rights and work-related protections to homosexuals that are not afforded to every U.S. citizen. 

Despite the claim of proponents, that the purpose of this legislation is to end all forms of discrimination and make the U.S. a more tolerant and open place, the civil rights of many U.S. citizens are threatened by the effect and impact of the principle and ideology behind ENDA.  The civil rights of one group of U.S. citizens will be trumped in favor of another group.  It is the freedom of conscience clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution that covers this right for all U.S. citizens.

Proponents of ENDA do not recognize that an employer affirming his/her religious beliefs and convictions to meet the objectives of the mission of the organization is not the equivalent of discriminating on the basis of religion.  

They also continue to deny that this legislation is about hindering the rights of people of faith, instead asserting that its purpose is to end all forms of discrimination.  What makes ENDA even more dangerous is that it affirms the homosexual lifestyle on the basis of humanistic standards of right and wrong, or in other words, on the basis of perception. 

ENDA is about regulating the thoughts and convictions of people with religious or moral objections to the homosexual lifestyle.  Yes, it is right to want to end discrimination, however, the dangerous precedent and ramifications of this law on persons who do not embrace homosexuality only increases discrimination. 

Constitutional equal rights and protections make for good law; imposing liberal worldviews that create special rights is not.

Action Item:

Please contact your Senators and urge them to uphold religious freedom over the radical homosexual agenda by voting “no” on ENDA!

Senate Switchboard: 202-224-3121