San Diego LGBT Leaders Issue Open Letter In Support of ENDA and Scott Peters for Congress

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 22, 2014CONTACT: Lucas O’Connor, [email protected]

San Diego LGBT Leaders Issue Open Letter In Support of ENDAand Scott Peters for Congress

Call on candidates to clarify position on making ENDA a reality

SAN DIEGO — Today, as we honor the life and work of Harvey Milk, San Diego’s LGBT elected leaders issued an open letter emphasizing the importance of strong leadership in passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

They laud the strong position taken by Congressman Scott Peters, thank him for his commitment and outspoken advocacy on LGBT Equality, and call on all candidates for Congress to make clear to voters before the June 3 primary election whether they too would fight for ENDA’s passage. Peters has called on Speaker John Boehner to let Congress vote on this important civil rights legislation. He is the only candidate in this race who has.

Read the full letter below:

May 22, 2014Open Letter in Support of ENDA and Scott Peters for Congress

To voters of California’s 52nd Congressional District:

In 29 states, it is legal to fire or refuse to hire someone based on their sexual orientation. It is long past time for Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to guarantee that no one willing to work hard has to risk their job because of who they are.

The need is simple, and so is ENDA. It simply affords to all Americans basic employment protection from discrimination based who they are and who they love. These Americans pay taxes, vote, and contribute to our communities, and should not have to risk their jobs or be denied the ability to provide for their families because of who they are or who they love. ENDA makes sure that all people are treated fairly under the law, including businesses. That is why 90% of Fortune 500 companies have similar non-discrimination policies in place.

There is only one candidate in the race for the 52nd Congressional District who has called on the Speaker of the House to bring ENDA to a vote and who has been an outspoken advocate urging its passage. That candidate is Congressman Scott Peters.

For this, for his long history of standing up for what’s right, we strongly support his re-election. Those seeking to support true equality and represent our community must be leaders, and public support and advocacy for this critical civil rights legislation should be the minimum we expect.

Representative Scott Peters is a co-sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and has spoken out about its importance in advancing core civil rights on the House floor and in the media. He even published an opinion piece on the editorial page of UT San Diego, whose owner was one of the largest financial backers of Proposition 8.

Voters deserve to know before this primary election whether the other candidates in this race will match Peters’ support of ENDA by committing to sign the Discharge Petition and calling on Speaker John Boehner to bring ENDA to a vote on the House floor.

Today, as we honor LGBT pioneer Harvey Milk, we call on all candidates in the race to make their position on ENDA clear prior to June 3, and we recommit our support for Scott Peters for Congress.

Sincerely,

STAsig Speaker of the California Assembly Toni Atkins