Washington – A Florida senator has signed on as a co-sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) 2013.
Sen. Bill Nelson’s (D-FL) support means there are now just two Democratic Senators who are not co-sponsoring the legislation: Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Mark Pryor (D-AR). Right now, ENDA is just three votes shy of the 60 votes needed to clear the Senate.
The bill does have two Republican co-sponsors: Susan Collins (R-ME) and Mark Kirk (R-IL).
ENDA would ban workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. It is already illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, nationality, religion, age or disability.
“We are proud to see Senator Nelson standing on the right side of history and standing up for the values of equality and fairness,” said Nadine Smith, CEO of Equality Florida, in a media release.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said he would be bringing ENDA up for a vote by Thanksgiving.
