This is a short but sweet diary that I just wanted to spread the word about:
http://www.washingtonblade.com/...
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) has signaled he’ll add his name to the growing number of lawmakers who’ve signed on as co-sponsors of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act — giving it arguably more co-sponsors than any other LGBT bill in history.
Jamal Raad, a spokesperson for Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), told the Blade late Tuesday Rockefeller would sign on as a co-sponsor Wednesday morning. Rockefeller’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The West Virginia senator would become the 52nd U.S. senator to sponsor the anti-LGBT job bias legislation.
In the past week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have announced they’ll co-sponsor ENDA. The legislation now has a total of 51 co-sponsors, which, in addition to support from lead sponsor Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), means the bill has a total of 52 sponsors.
The new co-sponsors means the 2013 version of ENDA now has more sponsors than the 2001 version of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act sponsored by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, which previously held the record for the most sponsors of any LGBT bill.
ENDA arguably now has more co-sponsors than any legislation in history devoted to LGBT issues — beating out the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal bill, hate crimes protections legislation and the Respect for Marriage Act in terms of the number of co-sponsors. - Washington Blade, 6/19/13
Thank you Senator Rockefeller. You will be missed come 2015. In the mean time, lets get the remaining Democratic Senators to become co-sponsors. Please call their offices and put the pressure on them:
Senator Tim Johnson (D. SD): (202) 224-5842
Senator Bill nelson (D. FL): (202) 224-5274
Senator Joe Manchin (D. WV): (202) 224-3954
Senator Mark Pryor (D. AR): (202) 224-2353