ENDA would protect Americans from job discrimination based on sexual orientation, which remains legal in most states. ENDA would prohibit preferential treatment and quotas, and it would not apply to religious organizations, small businesses or the military. Last year, it came within one vote of passage in the Senate.

Until ENDA becomes law, many of us will continue to work in fear of discrimination -- without any basic civil rights protection under the law. Without ENDA, outside of a handful of states and cities, employers can still fire good workers on the mere suspicion that they might be gay. And while most people oppose this sort of discrimination, without ENDA it remains widespread and legal.

In April, President Clinton and Vice President Gore reaffirmed their strong support for the bill, and the Human Rights Campaign released the results of a new bipartisan poll showing that 68 percent of voters favor passage of ENDA. The poll found support for the measure is strong across party lines and in every region of the country.

Last November, a poll conducted for HRC by Greenberg Research Inc. also found that an impressive 63 percent of Christians favor such legislation, when informed of the current lack of legal protection from job discrimination based on sexual orientation. ENDA already has the support of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, a broad coalition of religious, labor and civil rights groups. The bill also was endorsed recently by The Interfaith Alliance, representing a diverse constituency of people of faith.

At its reintroduction, ENDA had already earned a record number of cosponsors -- but more are needed to move forward from the Oct. 23 Senate hearing on the measure.

Act Now

Urge your U.S. senators and representative to protect Americans from job discrimination based on sexual orientation by supporting and cosponsoring the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Refer to the bill by its full name and number -- S. 869 in the Senate, and H.R. 1858 in the House.

Call your senators and representative through the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. If you aren't sure who your members of Congress are, just ask the switchboard operator and you will be informed and then connected. You can also send electronic messages to Congress through the Human Rights Campaign's online action center at http://www.hrc.org. Write to Congress through the mail as well. Include your name and address, and send your politely worded letter to:

The Honorable _______
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable _______
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515