The House has passed historic legislation protecting employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation. Jesse Russell has more:

By Jesse Russell

While the Employee Non-Discrimination Act will protect employees from discrimination based on their sexual orientation, its fate is not yet known. If it passes the Senate, President George W. Bush has vowed to veto it. Carolyn Maloney of New York explained why she voted in favor of the legislation:

[Maloney]: "It is legal in 30 states to fire someone simply because he or she is gay, lesbian, trans, or bisexual. Hard working, tax paying Americans shouldn’t be forced into the shadows and live with the fear that they can lose their jobs."

Many Republicans who voted against the measure felt the act was sacrificing religious freedom in order to protect an individual’s sexuality. Indiana Representative Mark Souder:

[Souder]: "We are moving so far as to restrict the rights in the workplace of the Christians in the workplace to hold or say anything about their views. People can’t even hold bible studies in some places, its been ruled because that would be offensive to homosexuals in the workplace."

Many Democrats who voted for the bill were disappointed that it didn’t go even further to fight discrimination against transgendered employees. Wisconsin Rep. Tammy Baldwin removed an amendment that would have done just that, because she didn’t have enough votes:

[Baldwin]: "In America, we judge our fellow citizens by their integrity, their character, their talents and not their sexual orientation or gender identity, race or religion, age or disability."