PRESS RELEASE: Call To Action Reiterates Call To Protect All Workers

Call To Action Reiterates Call To Protect All Workers

For Immediate Release

July 9, 2014. Catholic Church Workers and their allies are grateful to see lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights groups pushing back against the religious exemptions in the proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

Call To Action, the nation’s largest progressive Catholic organization in the country, has been steadfast against religious exemptions in the ENDA legislation for several years. Equally Blessed, a coalition of faithful Catholics committed to full equality for LGBT people in the church and civil society, an organization in which Call To Action participates, issued a letter in September urging the United States Senate to pass ENDA without exemptions for religious employers. Today we reiterate our support for employment protection for all LGBT people, including those employed by religious organizations.

Religiously affiliated organizations employ millions of people, from musicians to teachers to nurses and janitors. One’s private life, including their sexual orientation, does not impact their ability to do their job. Like other employees, they deserve the same protection against discriminatory practices.

Further, LGBT-motivated firings harm individuals and their families and damage communities and institutions across the country.  From professionals serving in doctor’s offices to classrooms, these firings could have a catastrophic impact.

Finally, while many Catholic prelates advocate for discriminatory religious exemptions, they do not represent mainstream Catholics who hold a much more favorable view of their LGBT brothers and sisters and their right to protected workplaces. In a recent Public Religious Resource Institute (PRRI) finding, 73% of Catholics support protections for gay and lesbian workers and 93% believe that transgender individuals deserve protections against discrimination. This is further evidenced by the fact that recent firings of gay, lesbian, or bisexual individuals have sparked an outpouring of public protest by the communities in which they serve.

Call To Action will continue to organize against religious exemptions in anti-discrimination laws. We appreciate all those who are standing – and will stand – with us to ensure individuals cannot be discriminated against because of who they are.

Media Contact:

Ryan Hoffmann, Director of Communications, ryan@cta-usa.org, 773.404.0004 ext. 285

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Call To Action is a national progressive Catholic organization working for equality and justice in church and society. With over 25,000 members and supporters and 50 chapters, Call To Action educates, inspires and activates Catholics to act for justice and build inclusive communities through a lens of anti-racism and anti-oppression principles. For more information visit us online at www.cta-usa.org