WASHINGTON — The House voted Wednesday to extend the nation’s employment discrimination protections to gay workers, the first time the long-proposed measure has passed either chamber of Congress.
In the debate, which lasted more than five hours, some members of Congress referred to the historic civil-rights fight against racial prejudice while others appealed to the Democratic majority not to infringe on the rights of Christians who consider homosexuality an affront to God.
Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who survived beatings during marches for civil rights, said that he had “fought too long and too hard to end discrimination based on race and color not to stand up against discrimination against our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.”
But Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., argued that, because of the bill, “religious rights will now be trumped by sexual rights.” Calling the bill a disaster for religious bookstores, which could be required to hire gay workers, he said the measure invited litigation and set “precedents that we will regret.”
Under the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, businesses with 15 or more employees would be prohibited from discriminating in hiring, firing or promoting individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation. The armed forces, private clubs and religious organizations would be exempted.
The 235-184 vote came after Democratic leaders, following weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations, opted not to include transgender individuals in the bill for fear that the inclusion of gender identity would cripple the coalition supporting the measure.
“The last five weeks have been divisive and ugly and utterly unnecessarily,” said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. He called the victory “a symbolic vote” unlikely to survive the Bush administration’s veto threat or even a Senate debate.
The administration warned that the bill could weaken the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as the legal union between a man and a woman.
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