October 16, 2007 02:45 PM

Employment Non-Discrimination Act Still not Dead

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) has once again been introduced in Congress. It will be written up this week, with several options being considered. No matter which option is selected, however, it will have a far-reaching impact on Christians, churches, non-profit organizations, and the entire business community.

Concerned Women for America's Robert Knight summarizes ENDA as follows:

ENDA would prohibit discrimination based on “sexual orientation,” thus opening businesses with 15 or more employees to harassment by homosexual activist lawyers.

ENDA is billed as an expansion of equality, but it is really a “gay” power grab that would severely curb constitutionally guaranteed “unalienable” rights that Americans hold dear, including the freedoms of speech, religion and association.

Current national policy is committed to upholding and supporting marriage and family. ENDA would initiate an inevitable assault on marriage as “discriminatory” and further weaken efforts to restore marriage to its societal primacy.

ENDA puts the federal government in an adversarial role against the basic sexual morality of the major faiths in America. It is so sweeping that it threatens the freedoms of speech, religion and association.

ENDA will inspire lawsuits by homosexual activists, who will cry “homophobia” when an employer cleaves to policies that favor marriage, family and traditional sexual moral.

ENDA proponents point to the religious exemption in the legislation. But the exemption narrowly applies only to church-related organizations. Anyone else is unprotected. The bill utterly ignores freedom of conscience for individuals. And the question must be asked: If there is a presumption that it would be immoral to impose ENDA on religious bodies, why is it moral to impose it on everyone else?