November4, 2013
TheHonorable
UnitedStates Senate
Washington,D.C. 20510
DearSenator,
ConcernedWomen for Americas Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) and its more than500,000 members would like to express our objections to the Employment Non-DiscriminationAct (ENDA) of 2013 (S. 815).
Ifpassed, ENDA would severely curb constitutionally guaranteed unalienablerights that Americans hold dear, including the freedoms of speech, religion,and association. The measure seeks to grant special employment rights andprotected minority status to individuals on the basis of sexual orientationand gender identity, elevating a few individuals and ignoring the practicalimplication of the theoretical concepts explored in the legislation relating tofamilies, especially women and children.
ENDAseeks to prohibit any organization of 15 employees or more fromdiscriminat[ing] against any individualbecause of such individuals actual orperceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Such broad, subjectivelanguage opens the door to many sensitive issues of concern to families,especially as they relate to women and children.
Itis unacceptable for the government to prohibit employers from taking intoaccount the safety of women and children in situations concerning theirprivacy. The effects of ENDA regarding shared facilities, i.e. bathrooms orlocker rooms, puts women in a dangerous situation because it forces employersto allow a biological man to use shared facilities with biological women.
Itis also telling that previous versions of ENDA sought to remedy controversial concernswithin the bills language. These troublesome areas show, and perhaps itssupporters are finally ready to admit, that there is no real way to fix thislegislation.
Itis for these reasons that CWALAC opposes ENDA and reserves the right to score everyvote taken on S.815.
Sincerely,
PennyYoung Nance
ChiefExecutive Officer and President
Concerned Women for America Legislative ActionCommittee