There are many signs we are becoming a kinder, more just society. We are now going through the 50-year anniversaries of the turbulent 1960s when black Americans sought equal rights. I remember my hometown where we had separate schools, separate drinking fountains and separate waiting rooms, restrooms and public entrances.
Our neighborhoods were segregated and so were our churches. Black people were not allowed into restaurants or soda fountains, motels or the front seats of buses. Or in the voting booth. All of this was legal.
We’ve just celebrated the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom where Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Next year we will observe the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act ending legal discrimination on the basis of race.
I remember the extreme fears of those days. That bill was fi libustered for three months by a bloc of Southern Democrats before it could be passed. In thosedays, it could be dangerous for an interracial couple to walk down the street. Those days are over. Thankfully.
Today our lesbian-gaybisexual-transgender neighbors appear to be close to gaining their own measure of legal equality.
It is likely this year will see passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would extend federal workplace protection on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Currently we have legal protection prohibiting workplace discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender and disability. That is good and just. Workers should be judged on their merits and their performance, not their religion, race or sexual orientation.
I’m encouraged by how quickly our society isrecognizing our inherited traditions of discrimination against our LGBT neighbors. We are changing our minds and customs. Eleven years ago, about 60 percent of Americans said they didn’t know someone who was gay or lesbian. Now, about 90 percent know a gay person. Eleven years ago, only 38 percent of U.S.
adults considered homosexual relations to be morally acceptable. Last year, about 60 percent believed them to be morally acceptable.
Americans are becoming more accepting.
Two consulting groups, one serving Democrats and another serving Republicans, recently conducted a bipartisan poll of Arkansas citizens.
They found a convincing majority of Arkansans support federal (61 percent) and state (63 percent) legislation “that protects gay and transgender people from employmentdiscrimination.”
A majority of Arkansas Christians who say sexual intimacy is only appropriate between marriedheterosexuals also believes discrimination against LGBT people is a sin.
75 percent of observant Christians agree with the statement, “My faith leads me to the conclusion that the law should treat all people equally, including lesbian, gay, bisexual andtransgender people.”
90 percent agree “we should all follow the Golden Rule and treat others as we would like to be treated, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.”
Christians who believe
sex should be only between a married man and woman are also standing up to say it is wrong for LGBT persons to be fi red, denied a promotion or harassed just because they are gay. Churches have the right to express their moral convictions, but all citizens should also have equal civil rights as Americans.
The proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act exempts houses of worship and religiously aft liated organizations, just as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does. If there is still a church that teaches races should be segregated, that church can still have separate entrances and separate seating for black and white members. IfENDA passes, churches can still fire a gay employee for being gay. Clergy always have an absolute right not to marry or bless anyone they do not feel they should marry or bless. Religious aftliation is voluntary, and religious freedom is strong.
But our American tradition of freedom applies to all people. “We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Being able to work and support yourself and your loved ones is a key element of the pursuit of happiness. It goes against our American values to deny a competent person their right to work based solely upon who they are - their race, religion, gender, gender identity, disability or sexual orientation. Join me in encouraging Congress to extend freedom by passing ENDA by the 50th anniversary of our fi rst civil rights legislation.
LOWELL GRISHAM IS AN EPISCOPAL PRIEST WHO LIVES IN FAYETTEVILLE.
Opinion, Pages 13 on 09/15/2013