The Employment Non-Discrimination Act

Monday night the Senate took a vote that will more than likely send The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to congress. However, what congress will do with it is yet to be determined.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act is much like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. We know that the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender, national origin, age and disability. ENDA is set to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or sexual identity. Supposidely, the law would not apply to religious organizations, members of the armed forces, or companies with fewer than 15 employees.

The problem with both ENDA and the Civil Rights Act is that while the intention is to help, these laws also take away the freedom of the business owner. No one should force their beliefs upon others whether it be Republican's not allowing gay marriage or gay's forcing business owners to run their business a certain way. When a company first starts off the entrepreneur takes a risk and puts a lot of time and money on the line. The business owner has ownership of his/her company just as an employee has ownership over his/her own self. If a business owner does not want to hire someone who is gay that is their right. It is their company and their building which was accomplished by the risk they took. If someone is not hired by a company then they have the right to work for another company or start their own. Perhaps, they could start a company that only would hire gays. The second issue that is has drawn out this legislation is the claim that gays do not make as much as their colleagues. I have good news regarding wages though. Regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation any employee has the right to quit their job and find another if they feel they are not being paid enough. There should be no entitlements! I'm not sure what has happened to America but when it comes to employment you have to earn what you get.

ENDA and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act provide freedom for some while taking it from others. Passing a gay marriage law would be great because while I am not gay, two others who are would not harm me in the least bit. In addition gays should have every right to the same protections and benefits that being legally married allows a non-gay couple. However, ENDA is wrong because it takes away freedom from business owners just like TItle VII of the Civil Rights Act has done. The problem here is not equal rights but rather a group of people who feel they are entitled to something and do not want to work for what they get. If someone who is gay is getting paid less than their colleugues than they can quit. However, if someones skills are truly valuable to a company, whether they are gay or not, their employer will give them the equal pay they are looking for not because they are required to by the government but because that person earned it!