The LGBT community has long had a sense of alienation from the Republican Party owing to the party’s general refusal to support any gay rights issues. Now, a group of Republican donors is aiming to help change that. Calling itself the American Unity Fund, the group is trying to push the party more towards the center in the gay rights debate on the national level. A great first step in this process would be for the Republicans to join the Democrats in passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) this year.
The essence of ENDA is to ban discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation or gender identity, making it illegal to fire or not hire someone based on this identity. It is modeled after the Title VII employment protections already in place to protect against discrimination based on national origin, race, color, religion and gender. It is seen as the most significant gay rights measure since “don’t ask, don’t tell” was repealed.
The Senate bill has the support of all Democrats and Independents in the chamber, but only four of 44 Republican senators have endorsed it. Former Republican Senator Norm Coleman of Minn., who now lobbies with the American Unity Fund, describes the Republican “empathy gap” when it comes to gay rights issues.
He sees that the lack of Republican support for the issue is costing the party voters not only in the LGBT community but among the younger generation in general. “I believe that if we’re to be a majority party, “that we have to be a growing party, rather than a narrowing party,” said Coleman in an Oct. 30 article on Politico.
Indeed, polls show that younger voters overwhelmingly support gay rights, and even young Republicans support these rights and legal recognition of same-sex relationships by wide margins.
Republican pollster Jan van Lohuizen has recognized the rapid increase in support for gay marriage and rights has accelerated across all partisan lines. He found an approximately one percent annual increase in support before 2010 an approximately five percent annual increase in years since then. Most surprisingly, some older voters are actually changing their minds on the issue, which complements the overwhelmingly pro-gay rights stance of younger voters.
Van Lohuizen said “As people who promote personal responsibility, family values, commitment and stability, and emphasize freedom and limited government, we have to recognize that freedom means freedom for everyone,” which appeared in a Denver Post opinion piece on Oct. 23.
In Washington D.C., some Republicans are still concerned that ENDA is too expansive and does not do enough to protect religious institutions from its reach. Proponents say that it ensures that enough latitude is given to these institutions to sufficiently protect their independent liberties and own values.
A victory on ENDA in the Senate and House with Republican support would be a tangible and meaningful way for the party to show its younger voters and the LGBT community that it cares about the discrimination gays and lesbians are subject to in the workplace by offering protection. This would help start to close the “empathy gap” that Coleman noted exists in the Republican Party. Changing an archaic party precedent and supporting non-discrimination protections all at once is as simple as a yes vote.
