Obama's anti-discrimination measure a step for Church workers

Yesterday, President Obama signed an executive order protecting the employees of federal contractors from being discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation. Thanks to the voices of people of faith, this protection will also cover many Church workers at service provider across the country.

A coalition of religious groups had pressured the president to include expansive exceptions for the many religiously affiliated charities and providers who receive federal funds; Call To Action and over 100 other faith leaders responded with letters making it clear that we, as faithful people, do not believe in a right to discriminate.Though some exemptions still stand, the Obama administration took a stand for all workers and did not include the large exemptions that have become a norm.  Many Catholic schools, charities and hospitals receive federal grants and certainly employ capable LGBT workers.  The Equally Blessed Coalition cheered the decision saying: "We applaud President Obama’s decision to not include a broad religious exemption in his executive order, which would have left our Catholic teachers, health care workers and administrators open to continued discrimination. While the US Catholic Bishops have spent millions of dollars legalizing discrimination, the majority of US Catholics support President Obama’s decision to protect LGBT workers."

We still have a long way to go before all LGBT workers are protected from unjust firings, but Obama's insistence on covering ALL workers is certainly a victory! To find out more about the work we're doing to protect Church workers from discrimination, check out our Church Justice page.