President Obama Calls For ENDA Passage At White House LGBT Pride Event

Chris Johnson reports at Washington Blade:

President Obama energized attendees at the annual Pride reception held at the White House on Thursday by saying “we need to get” the Employment Non-Discrimination Act passed. Citing a letter he said he received from a PFLAG mom from Ohio named “Susan” expressing concern that LGBT people aren’t protected from harassment in the workplace, Obama said, “I share that concern,” and issued a call to pass ENDA — without mentioning the bill by name.

“There’s a bipartisan bill moving forward in the Senate that would ban discrimination against all LGBT Americans in the workplace, now and forever,” Obama said. “We need to get that passed. I want to sign that bill. We need to get it done now.” Despite difficulties in passing ENDA — mostly notably the fact that Republicans are in control of the House — Obama told attendees in the East Room of the White House that he sees a path for passing the bill based on the successes the LGBT community has seen in recent years.

“And I think we can make that happen — because after the last four and a half years, you can’t tell me things can’t happen,” Obama said. “Look around. We’ve got gay and lesbian soldiers, and sailors, and airmen, and Marines who are here today. We’ve got married couples from places like New York and Washington State.”

The video below has been posted to the official YouTube channel of the White House. From the president’s remarks: “We’re not going to have to wait that long — because from Minnesota to Maryland, from the United States Senate to the NBA, it’s clear we’re reaching a turning point.”