The Senate has approved the Employment Non-Discrimination Act 64 to 32 in a bipartisan vote on Thursday, moving the bill one step closer towards a House vote, according to the New York Times.
The bill, if passed, will approve a ban on employer discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation and gender identity, making it the first bill to include gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender identifying persons in a non discrimination law, the Times reported.
Ten Republicans voted with the 54 Democratic members to approve the bill as it faces voting on the House floor, where Speaker John A. Boehner has said he will oppose the bill, according to the Times.
After the measure passed in the Senate, President Barack Obama advised Republican House leaders to not allow voting be muddled by views that oppose those of the American people.
"One party in one house of Congress should not stand in the way of millions of Americans who want to go to work each day and simply be judged by the job they do," President Obama said in a statement, according to the Times. "Now is the time to end this kind of discrimination in the workplace, not enable it."
Majority Leader, Senator Harry Reid, joined in the President's view.
"The time has come for Congress to pass a federal law that ensures all citizens, regardless of where they live, can go to work not afraid of who they are," the Times reported, adding that most Americans already think such a law exists.
"Well, it isn't already the law, let's do what the American people think already exists," Reid said.
In an astounding bipartisan effort which is hardly seen on a social issue, few Republicans have spoken against the bill all week, but Dan Coats of Indiana said Thursday religious freedoms were at risk, even though the bill exempts all religious institutions, according to the Times.
"We can't pick and choose when to adhere to the Constitution, and when to cast it aside," Coats said, according to the Times. "The so-called protections from religious liberty in this bill are vaguely defined and do not extend to all organizations that wish to adhere to their moral or religious beliefs in their hiring practices."
Under the bill, which includes numerous protections for religious entities added this week to gain Republican support, religious institutions such as churches, synagogues and mosques are exempt, along with any retail stores or school tied to religion, but not those with loose affiliation, the Times reported.
According to the Times, the amended bill also contains a new provision which states no federal agency, state or local government that takes money from the federal government can fight back against religious institutions for not complying, including denying tax-exempt status, grant money, or licenses and certifications.
