Pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act with Transgender Inclusion and Protection 2007 Action of Immediate Witness

WHEREAS our Unitarian Universalist Principles call us to affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person and to promote justice, equity and compassion in human relations;

WHEREAS Largo. Florida City Manager Steve Stanton was summarily fired after his planned transition from male to female was disclosed:

WHEREAS Unitarian Universalist congregations condemned on the national stage the action of the Largo City Commissioners but could not point to any record of General Assembly action supporting rights of transgender persons:

WHEREAS only 13 states plus the District of Columbia have policies prohibiting both sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in employment, seven other states have laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation only, and about 100 municipalities in the 30 other states without non-discrimination statutes have local non-discrimination laws;

WHEREAS most people employed in the United States can be fired on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity;

WHEREAS H.R. 2015, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), as introduced in the 1 10th Congress, would prohibit discrimination against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and provide employment protections similar to those of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (also known as "Title VII") but specifically directed to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees;

WHEREAS opponents of the law often make misleading statements, use questionable statistics or outright falsehoods in opposition to ENDA;

WHEREAS this issue has been discussed in the UU Church of Berkeley Welcoming Congregation Committee and the Pacific Central District Interweave Chapters, and this issue gives Unitarian Universalists the opportunity to be truly inclusive of all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOL VED that the 2007 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association expresses its support for immediate action in Congress to pass into law H.R. 2015, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the delegates of the 2007 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association call upon all member congregations and individual Unitarian Universalists to:

  • Support passage of employment non-discrimination legislation at all municipal, county and state levels;
  • Oppose attempts to remove sexual orientation and/or gender identity any proposed employment non-discrimination legislation;
  • Speak out against misleading and false statements made by opponents of ENDA, particularly those that encourage further intolerance against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community; and
  • Urge our elected representatives in Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act