News

ENDA’s religious exemption still concerning as vote nears

Brown says religious exemption should be same for LGBT workers as other categories

Published

13 years ago

November 3, 2013

Sen. Sherrod Brown believes the religious exemption in employment discrimination law should be the same for LGBT workers as with other categories (D-Ohio) (Photo public domain).

Shortly after filing cloture on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) held a 30-minute conference call with Nevada LGBT leaders late Thursday in anticipation of the bill coming to the Senate floor this week.

Among those on the call was Derek Washington, lead organizer for the LGBT group GetEQUAL Nevada, who said he raised with Reid concerns about ENDA’s religious exemption.

That language would provide leeway for religious institutions, like churches or religious schools, to discriminate against LGBT workers in non-ministerial positions even if ENDA were to become law. It’s broader than similar exemptions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for categories of race, gender, religion and national origin.

“I mentioned to him that it was something that just was not palatable,” Washington said. “I asked him what he felt about it, and he felt that the main thing to do was get the vote taken care of, and then deal with it later. As often times happens, you don’t get something perfect the first time around, you go back and fix it later, so that was basically his take on it.”

That account was corroborated by Faiz Shakir, a Reid spokesperson, who said the Democratic leader understands the concerns, but wants to get the bill passed first, then go back and address the exemptions.

“Sen. Reid’s first priority is to pass the strongest possible legislation which can garner 60 votes,” Shakir said. “He believes the current legislation meets that test.”

Washington was unfazed by Reid’s response that the religious exemption won’t see change before passage, insisting the Nevada Democrat is one of the greatest champions for the LGBT community, noting, among other things, he was the first elected official to endorse the National Equality March in 2009.

“I think it would a shame to write a story about any of this without mentioning that that man is a hero to us, and I don’t think people get that,” Washington said.

That symbolizes the situation with narrowing the broad religious exemption in ENDA before the Senate approves the bill. Despite concerns that it’s too expansive, the idea of limiting it at this time — such as the amendment process — isn’t getting a lot of traction either from LGBT advocates or lawmakers.

Instead, those with concerns over ENDA’s religious exemption have more modest aspirations: Get LGBT friendly lawmakers in the Senate to speak out against the language on the Senate floor.

Ian Thompson, legislative representative for the American Civil Liberties Union, is among those saying he’s not seeking an amendment to religious exemption on the Senate floor, but wants the provision addressed in some way.

“By doing that, it’s certainly our hope more and more pro-equality members of Congress and their staff will come to understand the potential harm of the current exemption, and I think we’ll see growing support for narrowing it moving forward,” Thompson said.

Thompson added he’s “definitely hopeful” that senators will speak out against the exemption of the floor, but declined to name any prospects for who would articulate concerns.

Heather Cronk, co-director of GetEQUAL, said her organization “didn’t anticipate” being able to change the religious exemption, but is looking for senators to speak out against the language.

“What we were hoping for for — which hasn’t happened yet because the senators haven’t gone to the floor yet — is for some of the more progressive senators to speak out from the floor against the religious exemption,” Cronk said. “So, we’ll wait and see what happens on the floor to see if we get those statements.”

GetEQUAL has petitioned four senators with a reputation for being champions of progressive values — Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Al Franken (D-Minn.) — to speak out against the religious exemption. As of Sunday, the petition has just under 6,000 signatures.

It remains to be seen whether any senator will speak out in favor of limiting the religious exemption when ENDA comes to the Senate floor this week. Of these four senators, the only office who responded to the Washington Blade’s request to comment on the extent of the religious exemption was that of Brown.

Meghan Dubyak, a Brown spokesperson, said the senator’s focus is passing is ENDA, although he shares the belief the religious exemption for LGBT discrimination should be the same it is for other categories.

“Sen. Brown’s top priority is overcoming a likely filibuster and ensuring passage of ENDA,” Dubyak said. “He believes the religious exemption in ENDA should be consistent with the federal law that currently protects people against discrimination.”

In July, Gillibrand said during a Third Way event that said she’d go even further and amend ENDA to remove the religious exemption. However, her staffers have apparently backtracked from that statement as they’re now mum on the issue.

For its part, the White House is staying out the argument over the religious exemption. Shin Inouye, a White House spokesperson, reiterated in an email weeks ago President Obama supports ENDA, but is leaving the details to Congress.

“We look forward to lawmakers moving forward on this bill that upholds America’s core values of fairness and equality,” Inouye said. “While we defer to Congress on the specifics of the legislation, we believe lawmakers will be able to find a balance that protects LGBT workers and religious liberty.”

Since the introduction of ENDA this year, the ACLU has called for narrowing the religious exemption along with groups like GetEQUAL, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal and the Transgender Law Center, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force.

On the other hand, groups working on like Freedom to Work, the Human Rights Campaign and the Center for American Progress have endorsed the current exemption in ENDA.

Tico Almeida, president of Freedom to Work, co-wrote the religious exemption currently found in ENDA while working as a House staffer in 2007. Neither he nor HRC responded to multiple requests to comment for this article.

Winnie Stachelberg, vice president of external affairs for the Center for American Progress, said the religious exemption is necessary to enable bipartisan support to move the bill forward.

“The current religious language reflects a bipartisan compromise that represents a pragmatic balance between ensuring that LGBT workers have the protections they need and organizations,” Stachelberg said. “While the religious exemption is broader than other civil rights statutes it will ensure that LGBT workers have the protections they need.”

If anything, the movement in the Senate on ENDA’s religious exemption this week may be more toward expanding it even further.

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), seen as a potential supporter of ENDA, has said he’s behind the basic premise of the legislation, but has concerns about restrictions on religious liberties and wants to strengthen the bill to ensure they’re protected.

Prior to the committee vote on ENDA in July, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) had prepared an amendment that would replace the bill’s religious exemption with more comprehensive language for religious employers. It was never brought up before the committee. Paul’s office didn’t respond to a request to comment on whether the senator would introduce the amendment on the Senate floor.

Concerns over the existing religious exemption were ramped up last month when Tippi McCullough, formerly a teacher for 15 years at Mount St. Mary Academy in Little Rock, Ark., was forced to resign after the school learned she had married her same-sex partner in New Mexico. Because the school is a religious institution, it would not be subject to liability under ENDA.

Thompson said the consequences of passing ENDA with its current exemption in place are hard to predict, but said it would be “a dramatic, and from our view, and very troubling expansion of an exemption like this in our federal civil rights law.”

“I think that it wouldn’t be too into the future before we saw instances of employment discrimination occurring against workers who should be protected from employment discrimination and may find out that because the scope of the existing religious exemption that they may not be,” Thompson said.

LGBT advocates who oppose the religious exemption chose their words carefully about whether they want to see ENDA passed this year with the current language — as opposed to letting it die in Congress so that it could be passed with a narrow exemption at a later time.

Thompson said the ACLU has been a “longtime champion of ENDA” because of the protections in the bill “are critically important and long overdue.”

“We’ve endorsed it, so that’s a position that we’ve taken,” Thompson said. “We have consistently, also though, raised concerns about the scope of the religious exemption and said that that is should be appropriately narrowed ultimately before it ends up on the president’s desk, and that’s our view, but at the same time because of the protections that it would afford to LGBT people are so important and so needed, we also support the bill.”

Cronk said GetEQUAL neither supports nor opposes the bill and believes “any time that that pro-LGBT legislation comes up in Congress, we want that legislation to move forward.”

“Our organizers didn’t feel good about organizing in support of the bill because there wasn’t that change to the religious exemption and because the grassroots network we work with feel the impact of that everyday,” Cronk said. “They work in hospitals in the closet, or they teach at schools where they’re in the closet, and they have a really clear sense about who would be left behind by this legislation, and didn’t feel that was in line with our vision.”

United Kingdom

UK government makes trans-inclusive conversion therapy ban a legislative priority

King Charles III on Wednesday delivered King’s Speech

Published

2 hours ago

May 14, 2026

Michael K. Lavers

(Photo by Rob Wilson via Bigstock)

King Charles III on Wednesday said a transgender-inclusive ban on so-called conversion therapy in England and Wales is among the British government’s legislative priorities.

“My government will bring forward a bill to speed up remediation for people living in homes with unsafe cladding [Remediation Bill] and a draft bill to ban abusive conversion practices [Draft Conversion Practices Bill],” said Charles in his King’s Speech that he delivered in the British House of Lords.

The government writes the King’s Speech, which outlines its legislative agenda. The British monarch delivers it at Parliament’s ceremonial opening.

“Conversion practices are abuse, and the government will deliver the manifesto commitment to bring forward a trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices,” said the government in an addendum to the speech.

Then-Prime Minister Theresa May’s government in 2018 announced it would “bring forward proposals to end the practice of conversion therapy in the U.K.”

Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government in 2022 said it would support a ban that did not include gender identity. The decision sparked outrage among British advocacy groups, and prompted them to boycott a government-sponsored LGBTQ conference that was ultimately cancelled.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party ahead of the 2024 elections included a conversion therapy ban in its manifesto. Charles delivered the King’s Speech against the backdrop of growing calls for Starmer to resign after the Labour Party lost more than 1,000 council seats in local and regional elections that took place on May 7.

Stonewall, a British advocacy group, on April 30 said the government “has failed to meet its own timeline to publish a draft bill to ban conversion practices.”

“We should not have to wait any longer,” said Stonewall CEO Simon Blake in his group’s statement. “Conversion practices are abuse. LGBTQ+ people do not need fixing or changing. They need to hear and feel that government is going to protect their safety and dignity. Not at some random date in the future. No more delays.”

Commentary

‘Live Your Pride’ is much more than a slogan

Waves Ahead forced to cancel May 17 event in Puerto Rico

Published

4 hours ago

May 14, 2026

Ignacio Estrada Cepero

(Courtesy image)

On May 5, I spoke by phone with Wilfred Labiosa, executive director of Waves Ahead, a Puerto Rico-based LGBTQ community organization that for years has provided mental health services, support programs, and safe spaces for vulnerable communities across the island. During our conversation, Labiosa confirmed every concern described in the organization’s public statement announcing the cancellation of “Live Your Pride,” an event scheduled for Sunday in the northwestern municipality of Isabela. But beyond the financial struggles and organizational challenges, what stayed with me most was the emotional weight behind his words. There was pain in his voice while describing what it means to watch spaces like these slowly disappear.

This was not simply the cancellation of a community event.

“Live Your Pride” had been envisioned as a celebration and affirming gathering for LGBTQ older adults and their allies in Puerto Rico. In a society where many LGBTQ elders spent decades hiding parts of themselves in order to survive, spaces like this carry enormous emotional and social significance. They become places where people can finally exist openly, without fear, apology, or shame.

That is why this cancellation matters far beyond Isabela.

What is happening in Puerto Rico cannot be separated from the broader political climate unfolding across the U.S. and its territories, where programs connected to diversity, inclusion, education, mental health, and LGBTQ visibility increasingly find themselves under political attack. These changes do not always arrive through dramatic announcements. More often, they happen quietly. Funding disappears. Community organizations weaken. Safe spaces become harder to sustain. Eventually, the absence itself begins to feel normal.

That normalization is dangerous.

For years, organizations like Waves Ahead have stepped into gaps left behind by institutions and governments, particularly in communities where LGBTQ people continue facing discrimination, social isolation, economic instability, and mental health struggles. Their work has never been limited to organizing events. It has involved accompanying people through loneliness, trauma, rejection, depression, aging, and survival itself.

“Live Your Pride” represented much more than entertainment. It represented visibility for LGBTQ older adults, many of whom survived decades of family rejection, religious exclusion, workplace discrimination, violence, and silence. These are individuals who came of age during years when living openly could cost someone employment, housing, relationships, or personal safety. Many learned to survive by making themselves invisible.

When spaces like this disappear, something deeply human is lost.

A gathering is canceled, yes, but so is an opportunity for healing, connection, recognition, and dignity. For many LGBTQ older adults, especially in smaller municipalities across Puerto Rico, these events are not secondary luxuries. They are reminders that their lives still matter in a society that too often treats aging and queer existence as disposable.

There are still political and religious sectors that portray the rainbow as some kind of ideological threat. But the rainbow does not erase anyone. It illuminates people and stories that society has often tried to ignore. It reflects the lives of young people forced out of their homes, transgender individuals targeted by violence, older adults aging in silence, and families that spent years defending their right to exist openly.

Perhaps that is precisely why the rainbow unsettles some people so deeply.

Its colors expose abandonment, hypocrisy, inequality, and fear. They force societies to confront realities that are easier to ignore than to address honestly. They reveal how fragile human dignity becomes when political agendas decide that certain communities are no longer worthy of protection, funding, or visibility.

The greatest concern here is not solely the cancellation of one event in one Puerto Rican town. The deeper concern is the message quietly taking shape behind decisions like these — the idea that some communities can wait, that some lives deserve fewer resources, and that safe spaces for vulnerable people are expendable during moments of political tension.

History has shown repeatedly how social regression begins. Rarely with one dramatic act. More often through exhaustion, silence, budget cuts, and the slow dismantling of organizations doing essential community work.

Even so, Waves Ahead made one thing clear in its statement. Although “Live Your Pride” has been canceled, the organization will continue providing mental health and community support services through its centers across Puerto Rico. That commitment matters because people do not survive on slogans alone. They survive because somewhere there are still open doors, trained professionals, supportive communities, and people willing to remain present when the world becomes colder and more hostile.

Puerto Rico should pay close attention to what this moment represents. No healthy society is built by weakening the organizations that care for vulnerable people. No government should feel comfortable watching community groups struggle to survive while attempting to provide services and compassion that public institutions themselves often fail to offer.

The rainbow has never been the problem.

The real problem is the discomfort created when its colors force society to confront the wounds, inequalities, and human realities that too many people would rather keep hidden.

Rehoboth Beach

What’s new in Rehoboth Beach for summer 2026

Moon changes ownership, Market 59 debuts, and much more

Published

6 hours ago

May 14, 2026

Peter Rosenstein

The beach beckons in Rehoboth. (Blade file photo by Daniel Truitt)

Another year and Rehoboth Beach, Del., is ready for the new summer season. The crowds will come for sun, sand, surf, and the boardwalk. It will cost a little more to get to the beach this year, as gas prices are way up. But once you are in Rehoboth, you know it’s worth it.

One aesthetic change you’ll notice at the boardwalk is the installation of a security gate and bollards near the bandstand, intended to enhance security during large events. The town plans an expanded fireworks show for July 4 to honor the nation’s 250th birthday.

Most of the commercial establishments in Rehoboth are along and between three blocks: Baltimore Avenue, Rehoboth Avenue, and Wilmington Avenue. This column will seem like I am walking back and forth because I am, and you will too. One thing to remember: Parking in Rehoboth is difficult and expensive and free parking is over as of May 15. There are parking permits available for either a day or longer at the non-metered spots.

During more than 40 years that I have been going to Rehoboth, including more than 30 owning a place in Sussex County, I have witnessed the town transform from a summer vacation spot to a vibrant, year-round community. This was hastened by the COVID pandemic, when lots of people moved to the beach when they could work virtually. Others, reaching retirement age, decided the beach was the place to be. This influx of residents has given many businesses a reason to stay open year round.

Over the years, Rehoboth has become a real foodie town, with many more restaurants, many of them high-end, opening. There are local gay-led restaurant groups like the award-winning Second Block Hospitality Group, which operates The Pines, Bodhi Kitchen, and Drift. Another group, JAM Holdings, owns Eden, which relocated to Route 1 in January after 20 years on Baltimore Avenue; and Jam, which is expected to reopen on Rehoboth Avenue later this year after leaving its Wilmington Avenue location that was demolished over the winter. That building was home to several beloved restaurants over the decades, including Chez la Mer and Azzurro.

Among the new businesses this year, be sure to stop at the gay-owned Bay Laurel Home and Garden, located at the old Farmer Girl site on Route 1 for your gardening needs. The Waypoint Hotel opened in December on Rehoboth Avenue, site of the former gay-owned Shore Inn.

Another of the newbies is the upscale Market 59 on Baltimore Avenue. The owners plan to add a restaurant and bar before July 4 called Fifty-Nine. The market offers grab-and-go options for the beach plus homemade breads and pastries, produce, and seafood. Then there is the renamed Frankie and Louie’s across the street, now called Pazzo Italiano. Still the same great takeout and now hooked up with The Pines leading to some new menu items. Then I hear there will also be a new Champagne Bar opening soon on Baltimore Avenue.

Then there are the established and stellar standbys, including the Back Porch, on Rehoboth Avenue; Megan Kee’s restaurants La Fable, Houston White, and Dalmata; and the restaurants on Wilmington Avenue, including Mariachi, Salt Air, and Henlopen Oyster House, where you can sample the Rehoboth Rose oysters from the gay-owned Nancy James Oysters. Then on 1st Street there is Goolee’s Grill for a comforting breakfast and Bloody. Walk up the second block of Rehoboth Avenue and you reach the Purple Parrot and its ever-popular Biergarten.

The iconic Blue Moon restaurant and bar was recently sold to new owners who have pledged to keep it an LGBTQ-affirming space, according to longtime owner Tim Ragan. Ragan and his partner Randy Haney sold the Blue Moon to Dale Lomas and Mike Subrick, owners of Atlantic Liquors on Route 1. “They don’t want to change a thing,” Ragan told the Blade. Happy hour continues all summer long from 4-6 p.m.

For morning coffee nothing beats The Coffee Mill, in the mews between Rehoboth and Baltimore Avenue, where I can be found every morning I am at the beach. The owners, Mel and Bob, also own the Mill Creamery ice cream shop, and another Coffee Mill in Dewey Beach. Mel is proud of his clothing store BRASHhh on 1st Street. On the Rehoboth Avenue side of the mews is the beloved Browseabout Books where you can find a beach read, grab a coffee, and shop for everything from toys to home decor. A few doors away on Rehoboth Avenue is the fun Gidget’s Gadgets.

My favorite place for happy hour is Aqua Bar & Grill for good drinks, food, and service. Say hi to Katie Lyell behind the bar at Aqua, winner of the Blade’s Best Of Award for Best Rehoboth Bartender. Aqua, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, hosts Taco Tuesdays and half-price burgers on Thursdays, all on the spacious outdoor deck. While you are on Baltimore Avenue make sure to stop by CAMP Rehoboth, the LGBTQ community center. Pick up your copy of Letters and take a peek at the art exhibit in their offices. Maybe even say hello to the new executive director, Robin Brennan, Ph.D. I had the chance to stop in and meet her and my congratulations to the board. I think they made a great choice for executive director and the organization is clearly in good hands. Then stop in the CAMP Courtyard, and get something to eat at Lori’s Oy Vey café, celebrating her 30^th season, and still the best chicken salad at the beach. Visit the newly relocated Gallery 50 on Baltimore Avenue, which moved from Wilmington Avenue. Then stop in at Elegant Slumming, also on Baltimore Avenue, say hi to Philip, and shop his exquisite jewelry, and some great artwork. If you have a pet and want to treat them to something nice, stop by Critter Beach on Rehoboth Avenue.

After a day in the sand, and a good dinner, there is the nightlife. Diego’s on Rehoboth Avenue Extended hosts regular entertainment, including drag shows and internationally renowned DJs. A new partially enclosed patio offers an expanded space to hang out. Don’t miss their Sundays with local icon Pamala Stanley, now in her 21st season at the beach; in addition to her Sunday dance party, she performs her “Piano Pam” show on Monday evenings. Then there is always fun at Freddie’s Beach Bar, on 1^st Street with its video bar and regular entertainment. Clear Space Theatre on the first block of Baltimore Avenue has a busy summer of shows including “The Cher Show”(June 23-Aug. 27), “Mean Girls” (June 26-Aug. 29), and “Pretty Woman” (July 1-Aug. 25). Clear Space always hosts talented casts including many college students who are getting their first chance to shine. Some come back when they are a little more established. This year that includes Caetano de Sá who first performed at the beach in “Jersey Boys” when he was a student at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where he earned his BFA in musical theater. He will be back as of May 25 for the summer rep to play Sonny in the production of “The Cher Show,” Martin/Coach Carr in “Mean Girls,” and Mr. Hollister in “Pretty Woman,” along with some cabarets. The incredibly talented Ashley Williams is also back in town and will host a cabaret show on Aug. 2. Tickets for all the shows are available online and they sell out fast.

So, make your plans now to head to the beach. Stay a day, or a week, or more, in a hotel, or a rental house. But make those plans quickly, as things sell out fast in Rehoboth. Look forward to seeing you at the beach!