Democrats are once again flinging themselves against the brick wall that is House Speaker John Boehner's refusal to even allow votes on a long list of incredibly popular bills. This time, it's a renewed effort on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act; Rep. Jared Polis has
filed a discharge petition on the bill.
There's been some controversy over what shape ENDA will take, with the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision highlighting the dangers of the extremely broad religious exemption included in the version of ENDA passed by the Senate. Several major LGBT organizations withdrew their support of the Senate ENDA over that issue, and when President Obama subsequently issued an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, he did not include any new religious exemptions, saying that existing ones were strong enough. The discharge petition from Polis is in that spirit:
Following the outcry of these groups, Polis introduced a resolution before the House Rules Committee, H.Res. 678, that would narrow ENDA’s religious exemption in the event the committee approved the bill for a vote on the House floor.
It’s that version of ENDA that would come up for a vote if the discharge petition is successful.
Of course, while ENDA not only enjoys widespread support among voters but a majority of Americans actually believe it is already illegal to fire people for being LGBT, Republicans will not sign a discharge petition even if they would vote for the underlying bill, Boehner will not allow a vote, and Republicans in the Senate who voted for a bill with a Hobby Lobby-style religious exemption might refuse to vote for a bill with a narrower one. So, once again, all Democrats can do is remind voters of the gulf between Democratic priorities and Republican ones, and lay the groundwork for the kind of legislation they'd pass if they controlled Congress.