Gay Rights Gets Boost in Committee Vote

David Hawkings: “Three Republicans joined all the Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee as it endorsed legislation that would ban workplace harassment and job discrimination nationwide based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The 15-7 approval vote makes clear that a majority of senators support passage, and that the roster of supporters is no more than a handful short of the 60 necessary to overcome a guaranteed filibuster from Republican cultural conservatives.”

“Nonetheless, the vote is the most significant federal legislative victory of this decade for advocates of gay rights. It also is a signal that, at least at the federal level, the rapidly changing political attitudes are affording them a viable chance for a legislative success before the 2014 midterm elections, something as important as the victories they just won in the courts.”