ENDA: Jesus Must Be SO EMBARRASSED! [View all]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bishop-gene-robinson/enda-vote-jesus_b_4234440.html

Jesus Must Be SO EMBARRASSED!
Bishop Gene Robinson
Posted: 11/07/2013 2:16 pm

Sometimes, Jesus must just hold his head in his hands with embarrassment at being associated with people who claim to be his followers.

Jesus was always preaching compassion and acceptance for the most marginalized in his time, those pushed to the edges of society by the condemnation of secular and religious authorities. He saved his sharpest criticism for those who claimed to be religious, but seemed the most reluctant to reach out in love to society's outcast. From the religiously observant priest and Levite who passed by the man mugged and left for dead (and ultimately saved by The Good Samaritan), to the religious leaders who criticized him for dining with notorious sinners, Jesus rebuked those who claimed to do the loving will of God, but had little evidence to show for it.

There is a religious spectacle taking place in Congress right now that surely would make Jesus cringe. The debate surrounding the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which just passed in the U.S. Senate and is now headed for the House, has a number of religious leaders arguing against it. The proposed legislation would make it illegal to fire someone from her/his job simply for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). Oddly enough, 90% of Americans believe this protection is already in place for LGBT workers. But they would be wrong. That protection only exists for gay and lesbian citizens in 21 states, and only 17 of those states include protections for transgender people based on gender identity. So, in most U.S. states, there is no legal recourse when someone LGBT is fired - not for poor performance on the job, but simply because the boss discovered that the person is LGBT.

Although the membership of every major Christian denomination shows a majority of support for this legislation, opposition to this bill is coming in large part from many of the leaders of these same religious denominations, demanding ever-broader exemption from the provisions of this law. One amendment which would have added these exemptions to ENDA was defeated in the Senate, but will undoubtedly reappear in the House debate. They would create a hole in the protections big enough to drive a PopeMobile through. It would allow an exception for non-profits and for-profits alike from having to implement the legislated protections, providing they could show at least a thin connection to some religious entity which takes a dim view of LGBT people.